Looking at the contemporary disposition of the main parties in the USA it may seem incredible to those who know little of the history of American politics that, at the time of the Civil War, the Republicans were the dominant section of the radical party led by Lincoln, while the Congress of the Confederate States was dominated by former Democratic politicians. However we may now be seeing a similar reversal in position in the UK, opening up an historic opportunity for the Conservative party.
The result of the Hartlepool by-election, indicates that we are moving in the direction of the Conservatives becoming the party which actually supports the interests of the working class, while Labour joins the other left wing parties in only speaking for the metropolitan liberal, pro EU elite. By doing so it is following a road which could result in its oblivion as a serious political force.
It is unsurprising that the massively Leave supporting working class electorate in Teesside, who have endured decades of neglect by London politicians, should reject a party that had the arrogance to choose a pro EU candidate, at a time when the Conservative government is also actively taking steps to bring jobs and economic prosperity to the area.
Coming from a working class home, and born under Attlee as Prime Minister, I was raised reading the Daily Mirror, and, as a youngster, knew that the majority of my community regarded the Conservatives as the party of the privileged, and prosperous, while Labour was speaking for the ordinary people.
However the party of Attlee was very different to that which claims to be its descendent, the latter having rejected the kind of policies which ordinary working class people supported, and still support. I believe that grammar schools, introduced by Attlee when he implemented the 1944 Education Act, provided a means for any bright child, regardless of background, to climb the educational ladder, while it was his government that first created the independent nuclear deterrent, something I believe necessary for our safety. After centuries of persecution, and in particular the Holocaust, I think it only right that the Jewish people should have their own state, itself established with Labour support under Attlee. It was also the latter, later followed by another great Labour figure Hugh Gaitskill, who rejected involvement with what later evolved into the European Union. These policies make clear that so much of what the current left would no doubt describe as Tory, was in fact enacted, or at least endorsed by the most successful Labour government in history.
The Conservative party of those days was still very much one which favoured the interests of the moneyed few, while lacking an understanding that the ordinary person was instinctively patriotic, and wanted to possess the respect due to those who made a living through work, not state handouts. However Boris, despite his background as an old Etonian, and graduate of Oxford, seems to understand, and encourage, the aspirations of the working class in a way that the alleged egalitarians of the metropolitan elitists who dominate Labour dismiss with contempt, while nevertheless claiming to represent the underprivileged.
The main risk to the Conservatives is that the education system, both in schools and universities, is dominated by the liberal left, with the result that youngsters are being brainwashed into supporting the policies of the latter, while the BBC can be relied upon to present a totally biased view, favouring such ideas. The current influence being exercised by the so called ‘woke’, including the extremist agenda of the environmentalists, also presents a danger to common-sense policies, although the fact that the Green candidate only gained just over one per cent of the vote in Hartlepool makes clear that ordinary people do not support the ridiculous demands made by these obsessives.
The latter is one area where Boris needs to rethink policy, as conceivably there is not actually a sustained change in climate, but merely a variation, such as have occurred in historic times, for instance the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, followed by the Little Ice Age. Maybe there is a more long term change, but it could have nothing to do with homo sapiens, but be the result of subtle variations in the Sun's output, while perhaps there is indeed an effect resulting from our activities. If the latter is true then we need to do what we as a species has always done, adapt, but not to react in a way with a cure which is worse than the disease.
This does not mean that it is not a good idea to take measures to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, as these are finite on a human timescale, whereas energy from the Sun, tides and wind are only vulnerable on a geological timeframe. However this can be done over a sensible period, taking advantage of technological advances, without throwing the baby out with bathwater, as we can make huge changes over the coming decades which will put our industrial civilisation on a more permanent basis.
It is regrettable that governments, including our own, have shown themselves willing to take the alarmist statements of the green lobby at face value, when the latter would only be satisfied if we were all back in the caves, rubbing sticks together for warmth, as they falsely regard humanity of being guilty of a disregard for the environment for purely selfish reasons. Many, although not all, are in fact beholden to the usual self hating ideologies of the Left.
Boris has chosen excellent people to implement policy, with Priti Patel speaking for those who, in imitation of the Mikado, wish punishments to fit the crime, while Rishi Sunak is a popular and effective Chancellor, and Dominic Raab a good Foreign Secretary. It is also clear that the ethnic makeup of the Cabinet makes it impossible for the left to credibly claim that this Conservative government is in anyway racially biased. Those who arrogantly describe themselves as ‘one nation’ Conservatives, are in fact just the sort of complacent, hubristic elitists certain to lose the support of those Boris has now gained for the party.
If the party holds its nerve, and does not revert to its old position of merely representing the well off, it can secure its place as the governing party for many years to come. It is an historic opportunity, which may never come again.