Notes from a blue corner: The illiberal left

When I was but a mere student of politics, studying for my A Levels back in 2005/2006 we were introduced to the heady world of ideology, the very building blocks of modern political thought. Sat in the hot, stuffy classroom on a Monday evening we listened as our teacher attempted to dazzle us with the significance of Edmund Burke, the controversy of Michael Oakeshott (the Conservative thinker, not the former Lib Dem peer), different disciplines of Socialism, Eli Kedourie and Nationalism and of course the schism in Liberalism between the Classical and the Modern, or more appropriately the nightwatchman and the interventionist. Exciting concepts indeed! 

The reason that I raise this split in the first instance is that I think it importantly qualifies the silent battle that is currently being waged across the country, the struggle for survival of freedom of thought and expression, between those who believe that, however distasteful a free democracy and media means total freedom (Classical Liberals) and those who would seek to have state and legislature control what people have access to and effectively govern our moral compass (Modern Liberals). It is the latter that I want to focus on as it is a likely possibility that it is this bunch who will come to power in May.

The squeeze on freedom has crept up on us, over the last 20 years, disguised beneath words such as ‘fairness’, ‘equality’, ‘parity’ and ‘inoffensive’; stemming primarily from the principles of social democracy laid down by the Wilson Government in 60‘s, refined by Giddens’ ‘Third Way’ and put into practice by the Blair and Brown governments. I think the first inklings of the new system of being offended, on other peoples’ behalf, was the quiet death of political satire during Tony’s first two terms (except Private Eye and latterly Armando Iannucci’s Friday Night Armistice and The Thick of It) where it had run rampant during theThatcher and Major years. It’s gradually returning but perhaps that’s because Cameron has a strong enough constitution to grin and bear it, and the Tories have long been an easy target. 

Of course, the liberal left notoriously have an incredibly thin skin and little sense of the ridiculous, afraid of the media they have sought over the years to impose restrictions, campaign to ban sections regarded as ‘exploitative’, censor contrarian commentators and the like. They are so quick to get offended. Look at how uncomfortable most of their front bench are with the media, look how their various interviews are so devoid of humour. Read some of their statements out aloud in the comfort of your own home (which I have done) and listen to how unhinged they sound - especially those of Harriet Harman! What’s so scary is that, in seeking to control media output they believe they are doing the nation a great service... oh dear. 

The ‘Brave New World’ we entered in 1997 - and still haven’t left behind - was one which both had a (wrongly) positive view of human nature and one which sought to engineer the state to level competition, stifle aspiration and lazily churn out lowest common denominator policies, which looked good on the surface but were deeply flawed beneath the surface (like American cars). It preached the message of freedom of equality but the freedom to succeed was unattractive and should be frowned upon, even now the British public are wrongly sniffy of those who do  well in life. Indeed, it would seem that to the ‘modern’ liberals who dominate the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats  ‘success’ is a dirty word, never mind that it’s these ‘successful people’ who drive the economy.

It seems that we now like nothing better than seeing prosperous people dragged through the mud, or to point out the privileged background some of our stars have had, as if it were some social faux pas. The Labour Party have based the last five years of their rhetoric trying to create a culture of social envy, you only have to look at the cringeworthy Chris Bryant’s exchange with affable singer James Blunt (Hugo Rifkind writes a good analysis of this spat), but also statements made by Ed Miliband and co at the dispatch box. Impressive Conservative minister, Esther McVey, summarised it so very well in a Yorkshire Post article towards the end of last year that I don’t think I need to add to much more! 

Lastly comes the unpleasant arrogance the liberal left seem to have when it comes to political parties with contrarian messages. I’m no fan of UKIP but I am sure there are plenty of level-headed, socially aware people who vote for them and I don’t think it serves any good purpose to level insults at them. However it seems to be open season and the Labour Party have branded them as ‘neanderthals’, ‘sexists’ and ‘chauvinist pigs’, stuck in the mould of 1950s small ‘c’ conservatism. For them these people are unacceptable and must be censored, insulted and put in the stocks to have rotten cabbages thrown at them. Rather than try and beat them on policies, which would be tricky for them as their’s are almost as ludicrous and UKIP’s are non-existent, they turn to the politics of the playground and seek to insight anger and outrage through insults and questions of the party membership’s moral integrity. 

Perhaps its a sign of where we are going though, with more and more people ‘deeply upset’ and ‘mortally offended’ by the smallest remark, news story or criticism. It seems as the liberal left bandwagon marches on, that more and more freedom of expression disappears, avenues to success are bricked off and 

I don’t think that Cameron has all the answers, no-one ever does, but he’s a far more human character. Despite holding to some of the principles of a social democracy, he places far more value in a smaller, less intrusive state in which we are able to enjoy a higher-degree of personal and collective freedom than we ever could experience under a Labour government. 

It deeply worries me that come May 6th we might have a Labour government, and one which will seek to govern every aspect of our life, manage British business and make offending people (especially them) a political offence. Of course, this is a slight exaggeration, but I hope that this short article with make you take a careful look at this current opposition which seeks to govern us for the next five years. 

Notes from the Blue Corner: Thoughts on the reshuffle...

What a week it has been! The knives were out and many a distinguished cabinet and government minister felt the cold steel pressing against their back as they were flung, Lucifer-like, to the inferno of the back benches or shuffled sideways and downwards into lesser posts – nearer the salt cellars as opposed to the mustard pot, on Cameron’s dining table.

Of course, pundits were out in force offering their penny’s worth about this ‘monumental shift’ in the dream team, and, as a Conservative myself, I thought I’d throw my own coppers into the fountain and give my thoughts to anyone who will listen.

Following the announcements on Monday going into Tuesday, hyperbole flew thick and fast. Words like ‘shift’, ‘earthquake’, ‘sea change’, ‘tidal’ were bandied around, and it all got a bit dramatic. Some were in praise, others were in dismay, especially at The Daily Mail.  Carrot-topped hammer-thrower of the home counties, Simon Heffer claimed that the outcome was ‘simply terrifying’ especially when, apparently, a government advisor thought that a ‘clone’ of highly uninspiring Jeremy Hunt (Health) would be perfect in Education. Nicky Morgan is yet to prove herself, and the question will be whether she carries on Gove’s brave and necessary revolution of our education system.

I’ll come to this more in a second, but firstly, let me pin my colours to the mast and say that I am rather dismayed by the rashness of the reshuffle and they way that it was propositioned to the public yet I am not willing to pass judgment on its ability to govern as it is yet to be proven. It does worry me however, that cabinet ministers who had really mastered their brief over years have been cast aside for a younger, fresh-faced and more glamorous collective.

Of the newbies to cabinet, Esther McVey has been lavished with praise, she did a good job as a minister and has never been afraid to make a controversial statement – will her fire be translated into the new role? Time will tell, but it is usually the convention that a place at table requires a certain degrees of quiet loyalty and curbing of the more pugnacious elements of the spirit. This is something that a personal favourite, Michael Gove, found to his detriment when Cameron was drawing up his new look. I look forward to watching her over the next year in the run up to 2015 and, given her impressive presence on television and radio, used extensively as a party figurehead.

Gove has been the most brilliant Education Secretary in modern times, unraveling the mess made of our system since Harold Wilson decided to tinker so disastrously with the lives of Britain’s youth. This is not to say that his predecessors are any different: the lacklustre National Curriculum (1988) of Lord Baker, the disastrous interventions of the Blair/Brown years and the continual, passive treatment of the NUT have all played their part in seeing our education system sink into the doldrums. Gove’s vision, his combativeness and his desire to see a cultural shift has been one of the most impressive and exciting aspects of this Government.

You cannot force change without opposition and of course, the National Union of Teachers, the darlings of the wishy-washy, liberal left have tried to block reform at every turn. Their cynical campaigning and briefings have culminated in the removal of one of the most dynamic figures in British Politics, consigning him to the role of Chief Whip. It all feels like a desire from Downing Street to placate another professional minority to squeeze out a few more votes.

It’s a terrible waste. I am sure Gove will be brilliantly effective in his new role but his talent for policy will surely be missed.  Will Nicky Morgan, his successor and Osborne apparatchik continue with his reforms or will they be shelved in yet another move to placate an outdated and introspective trade union, it all smacks of ‘In Place of Strife’!

William Hague was another departure yet I’m not lamenting this, a highly intelligent man I always felt he was wasted in the Foreign Office in an age where the Prime Minister focuses more on global and less on domestic issues. Announcing his intention to stand down and probably pursue a far more rewarding career, could we see him doing a Portillo? Maybe touring around Yorkshire in a hot air balloon for ITV? Or perhaps in a cameo in Brangelina’s next blockbuster? My old favourite Quentin Letts assures us all that he is back in his element as Leader of the Commons where he will be able to enjoy himself in a more junior cabinet post, letting him indulge in deliciously-wicked despatch box banter.

Max Hastings summed up his replacement Philip ‘The Hamster’ Hammond well: an accountant who displays the warmth of an undertaker and less personality than most laptops. He is a shrewd operator though, and I will watch his tenure in the office with interest, especially on his stance towards the EU.

My political hero, Ken Clarke, has finally gone but what a career! His balance and advice will be missed but, in the words of Francis Urquhart, ‘Nothing lasts forever…’. I hope that he will still be a vocal voice from the back benches and continue to offer his refreshing approach to the European debate and the financial approach of this government.

Owen Paterson was much lamented, he’d done a good job and was on top of his brief. Alas, his right-wing stance seemed rather distasteful to our dear leader and his ruddy, man-from-the-shires look seemed woefully out of touch with focus group findings. He might be gone but I can see him making quite a stink from the back benches, especially as he will now be able to exercise free-rein over his anti-European views.

Of course I could go on and one, but I cannot cover all the changes in such great detail otherwise the blog would stretch to pages and pages of text, but I do think that the appointment of Michael Fallon was a master-stroke. One of the Government’s most media-savvy performers, his performances at the hands of the BBC attack dogs are always entertaining and his stonewalling is a lesson in departmental discretion. A staunch right-winger the Defence brief seems suited to him and I look forward to more passive aggressive performances on the goggle-box in the coming year.

Summing up, I don’t buy this silly ‘Pale and Male’ argument that is being bandied around in some quarters. Perhaps there was some element of positive discrimination but who cares? The Proof will be in how well they perform and, until I see all the new appointments in action, I cannot possibly pass judgment on their ability to do the job.

The most important thing now is to get behind the party to ensure that we edge over the line in 2015, if we in the party keep sniping internally we’ll get nowhere. One thing is for sure, we must at all costs stop the heir to Michael Foot, Ed Miliband with his brand of concrete and breeze block politics getting anywhere near Downing Street. It will be an exciting battle, but I believe we can do it, and, as much as it pains a large section of the party, we need to get behind this new cabinet and offer our support to ensure we get that majority next year.