The Conservative Right

[rhythmaning]

I can't quite get my head around the Conservatives' right-wing and their "alternative Queen's speech".

If they persuade their leadership to dump the coalition agreement, what do they hope to achieve?

Are they really seeing signs of a desire of the electorate for a shift to the right? That would explain why the Conservatives were trounced in the local elections by the Labour Party.

Or perhaps they are hoping to piss the LibDems off so much by going back on their agreed agenda that the coalition will fall. Leading to a general election. Which, on current views, Labour would walk.

Do they actually want to be in power?!

Comments

[andrewducker]

I know, it baffles me too!

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure it's useful to think of the Tory "right". What's going on is much more complex than a shift from "left" to "right" and vice versa as surely the Greek and French elections show. There's a growing distrust of "crony capitalism" and, by extension, the political elites in general. The populist faction within the Conservative party wants to exploit aspects of this; the traditional Daily Mail agenda; blame immigrants and the EU, get tough on crime and welfare "cheats" etc. What they won't face up to is that to become the voice of that disaffection they would have have to cut a bunch of their traditional ties and that they can't even contemplate. So basically it's just noise and noise that Cameron can easily ignore.

[hoiho.livejournal.com]

Peter Bone MP was on the BBC news channel yesterday, and his explanation was they were trounced because they weren't right wing enough (and the decent right thinking right wingers had stayed at home in disgust at all the parties), and that every time they are more right wing, they win. Yes, it's barking.

[hano.livejournal.com]

My guess is that they're terrified. The election drubbing has been a bit of an eye opener and they're realising just how unpopular they are. So, they're reacting the only way they know how, thinking they'll pick up more votes by out heiling the Daily Mail and reoccupying UKIP's position on the political spectrum. They've deluded themselves into thinking it will work, but it's not as if the Tory right has ever engaged much with the reality based community so why change now.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

"Reality-based comunity..." is very good! Is that yours, or did you nick it from The Thick Of It?!

[hano.livejournal.com]

Actually its a comment from a White House staffer* c.2003/4 talking about George W and Iraq. Goes something like 'to you in the reality based community, we're an Empire now and we make our own reality.' It chilled me to the bone when I heard it back then and it chills me still.

*It was either Scooter Libby or Karl Rove, in an interview in the New York Times but I've never seen definitive confirmation as to who. When I have time I'll try and dig out the original quote

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia says Karl Rove... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality-based_community

I can't help thinking that anyone who could even think like that is a pretty long way removed from reality.

It also proves that reality outdoes satire every time!

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I wonder how much of this attitude from the Tory Right is a result of spending too much time only talking to other members of the Tory Right and persuading themselves that most people share most of their views.

If I were the Lib Dems I’d be very keen to exploit this and see if I can provoke right-wing Tories into public outbursts that push the left-wing of the Tory party towards voting Orange Book Liberalism and the right-wing towards voting for UKIP.

“Vote Cameron get Clegg” is perhaps not a bad electoral slogan for both the Lib Dems and UKIP.


(I would also ask - are you sure that they are in power? Or perhaps, are you sure that they recognise that they are in power?)

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

It had occurred to me that actually Cameron might be moving to the LibDems rather than the other way around - his conference speech about gay marriage, for instance, seemed very surprising coming from the mouth of a Conservative prime minister.

And you are right - the Tory backbenchers clearly don't feel they are in power: because they are having to vote for all these LibDem policies! The joys of coalition...!

BTW if you haven't seen this, it might amuse you (http://markreckons.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/coalition-negotiations-2015-play.html).

And this: Play the Tory Blame Game (http://liberalconspiracy.org/2012/05/08/play-the-tory-right-blame-game/).

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Yes that did amuse me and I enjoyed the Tory Blame Game also. Commentators there are right. It needs a few more options. I’d maybe go d20 and mix it up a bit. Make the Today programme earn its keep by second guessing the bullshit.

Part of what’s going on with Cameron is I think generational. He’s the same age as MLW so I’m not surprised that he’s more progressive on issues like gender and sexuality. Perhaps not so much progressive as progressed.

Also, perhaps he is not entirely mad of Evil (sorry Gramps, I’ll say ten Clause 4’s and a Jerusalem before bed by way of penance.)

I think the Tory right are feeling impotent because the wings of their party have suddenly become much broader and the internal rules much more complex. Before coalition governments the Tory Right could threaten to unseat any leader they wanted to. Even a serving Prime Minister and it was formally an internal Conservative Party matter. Thatcher leaves, Major arrives. They might have a tussle with the Tory left but they would recognise the opposition as Tories and the number of people who would throw up their hands in disgust and say “I can’t work with this guy!” was small.

This time round the process to sack Cameron is more complex. It involves people for whom many members of the Tory Right are persona non grata as Leader of the Conservatives and ex officio Prime Minister. Effectively those who have a vote (or a veto) on the Tory leader include some left-wing Lib Dems who left the Labour Party because it became too right wing.

The risk isn’t just an ugly internal fight gets leaked to the public. The risk is the government falls.

So the Tory Right have limited credible options. They know their favoured candidate for Leader won’t be acceptable to the Lib Dems. Some of them may have accepted that they would get badly beaten at a general election in August. One of their few option is to dial up the volume.

It’s why toddlers have tantrums, they have so few other levers to pull.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I think if I felt that impotent I would shut the fuck up because the risk of a tantrum would make it that much more apparent...!

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I don't think they can afford not to be seen doing something. Silence might be seen as complicity.

So with no influence short of defecting to UKIP and no option to stay silent a tantrum is all that's left.