Mainly Macro author Simon Wren-Lewis poses a topical question this week: will the Tories merge with Reform UK to regain power?
The simple answer is no – but it is the reason that is interesting: they are already moving to the far-right of the political spectrum.
And there is no reason to seek to neutralise Reform because Reform (and its forerunner parties) only ever took votes from the Conservative Party when it was in government and its normal supporters had reason to be disappointed in it.
So Reform took Tory votes this year and in 2015 because of the Tories’ failure to reduce immigration, and in the 2019 Euro elections because of Theresa May’s failure to enact Brexit. In the 2017 and 2019 general elections, the Tories took votes back from Reform because they promised to implement Brexit.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
In opposition, Tories can’t change UK policies and therefore cannot be blamed for them. They will go back to giving lip-service to socially-conservative policies, backed by the mainstream media, so Reform will have nowhere to go.
The fact that Nigel Farage and four other Reform representatives are now MPs will make no difference – and may in fact work against them, because it gives the public a chance to see them for what they are.
Did you see Farage’s speech about former Commons Speaker John Bercow? He was nearly booed out of the House. And he’s likely to continue getting that reaction – from MPs and the public – for the next four or five years.
And the simple fact is that the Tories don’t need to merge with Reform because they are already well on the way to the political far-right.
As Professor Wren-Lewis writes,
In economic terms, both right wingers and moderates embrace policies well to the right. Tax cuts are prioritised over public spending even when many areas of public spending are in crisis. Private water companies are free to exploit their natural monopoly even if that means polluting rivers and beaches. Energy companies enjoying record profits because of the invasion of Ukraine are made to pay additional tax with great reluctance, and with loopholes designed to increase global warning.
On social policies, pretty well all Conservative MPs now support Brexit, and all MPs supported the cruel and ludicrous Rwanda policy.
He goes on to say that the only likely block on this move to the far-right is the difficulty the party will have in getting support from voters.
He suggests that in fact it will not be very hard, firstly because it is governments, rather than oppositions, that tend to win or lose elections – and in any case, after a while, voters simply want change (and in our First Past The Post system, that can only mean a change back to the Tories).
Secondly, the Tories will be able to disguise how far-right their policies have become, with the help of a compliant right-wing media that will focus on personalities, rather than policies.
This Writer does not agree.
I think the Tories are now too far divorced from the general public – who are mostly socialist in their political views (look at the majority of support for re-nationalisation of public utilities and services, for example).
Tories can’t hide their priority, which is to support the interests of the top 0.1 per cent of people who have all the wealth – and that, again, is a turn-off for voters who have been forced to make do with less and less due to Tory policies.
But I do think that voters have short memories – and may forget how bad the Tories are, once the realities of Keir Starmer’s watered-down right-wing policies start to bite home.
It is therefore up to those of us with any influence at all to remind the public of what Tories really are and what they do when they are in power.
We are hindered in that by right-wing concerns like the social media platforms, that program their systems to push links to our articles down your newsfeeds so you don’t see them.
Vox Political publishes up to six articles every day and yet This Writer regularly receives comments from people who haven’t seen anything from me in many months!
That’s why I have lobbied the government to end this stranglehold on free speech (and, by the way, on the UK’s commercial prosperity; these businesses are deliberately interfering with the economy). For the details and information on how to help, see this article.
Source: mainly macro: Two myths about the future of the Conservative party
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The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
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Will the Tories merge with Reform UK to regain power?
Mainly Macro author Simon Wren-Lewis poses a topical question this week: will the Tories merge with Reform UK to regain power?
The simple answer is no – but it is the reason that is interesting: they are already moving to the far-right of the political spectrum.
And there is no reason to seek to neutralise Reform because Reform (and its forerunner parties) only ever took votes from the Conservative Party when it was in government and its normal supporters had reason to be disappointed in it.
So Reform took Tory votes this year and in 2015 because of the Tories’ failure to reduce immigration, and in the 2019 Euro elections because of Theresa May’s failure to enact Brexit. In the 2017 and 2019 general elections, the Tories took votes back from Reform because they promised to implement Brexit.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
In opposition, Tories can’t change UK policies and therefore cannot be blamed for them. They will go back to giving lip-service to socially-conservative policies, backed by the mainstream media, so Reform will have nowhere to go.
The fact that Nigel Farage and four other Reform representatives are now MPs will make no difference – and may in fact work against them, because it gives the public a chance to see them for what they are.
Did you see Farage’s speech about former Commons Speaker John Bercow? He was nearly booed out of the House. And he’s likely to continue getting that reaction – from MPs and the public – for the next four or five years.
And the simple fact is that the Tories don’t need to merge with Reform because they are already well on the way to the political far-right.
As Professor Wren-Lewis writes,
He goes on to say that the only likely block on this move to the far-right is the difficulty the party will have in getting support from voters.
He suggests that in fact it will not be very hard, firstly because it is governments, rather than oppositions, that tend to win or lose elections – and in any case, after a while, voters simply want change (and in our First Past The Post system, that can only mean a change back to the Tories).
Secondly, the Tories will be able to disguise how far-right their policies have become, with the help of a compliant right-wing media that will focus on personalities, rather than policies.
This Writer does not agree.
I think the Tories are now too far divorced from the general public – who are mostly socialist in their political views (look at the majority of support for re-nationalisation of public utilities and services, for example).
Tories can’t hide their priority, which is to support the interests of the top 0.1 per cent of people who have all the wealth – and that, again, is a turn-off for voters who have been forced to make do with less and less due to Tory policies.
But I do think that voters have short memories – and may forget how bad the Tories are, once the realities of Keir Starmer’s watered-down right-wing policies start to bite home.
It is therefore up to those of us with any influence at all to remind the public of what Tories really are and what they do when they are in power.
We are hindered in that by right-wing concerns like the social media platforms, that program their systems to push links to our articles down your newsfeeds so you don’t see them.
Vox Political publishes up to six articles every day and yet This Writer regularly receives comments from people who haven’t seen anything from me in many months!
That’s why I have lobbied the government to end this stranglehold on free speech (and, by the way, on the UK’s commercial prosperity; these businesses are deliberately interfering with the economy). For the details and information on how to help, see this article.
Source: mainly macro: Two myths about the future of the Conservative party
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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