Falling Down: The Conservative Party and the Decline of Tory Britain by Phil Burton-Cartledge

Author:Phil Burton-Cartledge [Burton-Cartledge, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, Europe, Great Britain, 21st Century, political science, Commentary & Opinion, World, European
ISBN: 9781839760365
Google: LuY9EAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Verso Books
Published: 2021-11-15T23:26:18.050109+00:00

Burnishing the progressive credentials further, Cameron attacked Labour from the left by highlighting pensioner poverty and the ‘broken society’ of benefit caps, youth unemployment and galloping inequality. This was married to more traditional Tory messaging on crime, schools (more discipline, more parental choice), patriotism and meritocracy. In effect, it was little different in substance from either of the speeches made by Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg.

Cameron did have another reason to be cheerful. As the self-styled talisman of successful political leaders, the Sun declared it was switching its support back to the Tories in a move timed to discombobulate Labour as it met for its conference.49 Cameron also had the advantage of Labour in-fighting to fall back on. With dismal polling figures continuing through to Christmas, in the New Year former ministers Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon, both of whom were being forced to stand down following expenses revelations, circulated a letter among MPs calling for a secret ballot of the PLP to replace Brown with a yet-to-be-determined figure.50 Their new prince did not step up, and so the attacks on the prime minister continued. In February, Brown was dogged by allegations that he bullied Downing Street staff in claims made by the National Bullying Helpline.51 And so the scene was set for an election that appeared nothing less than a foregone conclusion.

Yet it did not turn out that way. Two polls published on 6 April, the day the general election was finally called, put the Tories on 40 per cent (YouGov/Sun) versus Labour’s 32 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats’ 17 per cent. The other (Harris/Metro) recorded the parties on 37 per cent, 28 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. The Tory manifesto, Invitation to Join the Government of Britain, repackaged liberal conservatism, ‘progressive’ austerity and a softer framing of Tory staples around crime, immigration and the EU in a lavish hardback cover and graphic design redolent of 1950s politics posters.52 Yet politics did not dominate the campaign as such, considering the real differences on economic management and public spending. It was more focused on personality.

In April, British television channels collaborated to host three leaders’ debates between Cameron, Brown and Clegg. With seemingly nothing to lose, Labour hoped that what the prime minister lacked in public relations he could make up with intellectual heft and substance. Cameron would get the chance to display show-manship skills honed through years of speechifying and Commons appearances, and as Westminster’s third party the Liberal Democrats could only benefit from introducing their largely unknown and unnoticed leader to wider audiences.

Having prepared the ground with a considered strategy, the television debates threw the Conservatives off course. While they were ostensibly about policy, the media treated them as point-scoring contests, concentrating on Clegg’s eye contact, Cameron’s smoothness and Brown’s clunky delivery. Under these circumstances, Clegg stole the shows. As the outsider, he pitched himself as the real change candidate. So-called Cleggmania saw the party surge in the polls, often eclipsing Labour and on four occasions leading voter intentions.

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