Who is the real opposition?
The realignment of British politics has created a strange new divide.
The political landscape is shifting in the UK. While once economic discussions were front and center, political news has now shifted towards discussions around culture. Dubbed the “culture war” by some, this shift towards debates around identity and culture has had profound effects, which we are only now starting to see both in Parliament and across the country.
Starting in Parliament, it is clear that the main divide now is not between parties but within them. The Conservative Party is a good example of this. Long divided between the One Nation “Wets” and the Thatcherite “Drys”, the Tories have always been a broad-church party. Yet while 10 or 20 years ago they were divided mostly over economics, today they are bitterly divided over culture. While the Tory Right takes more culturally conservative stances on immigration, crime, and civil liberties, the One Nation Tories believe more in culturally left-wing causes and in restricting personal freedoms.
But while the Tory Right is dominant among the party membership, they are a minority within the parliamentary party, which has often led to them acting as an informal opposition within the Conservative Party. Essentially, the main cultural divide in Parliament is between the Tory Right and the rest of MPs. Cheered on by Keir Starmer, the government has been emboldened by this progressive majority to take away more of our liberties than any prior administrations.
This was demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic when Tory Right MPs voted against Boris Johnson’s draconian lockdown restrictions and stood up in defence of civil liberties. Back then, Starmer offered to lend Johnson the votes to implement another lockdown. This, however, was unnecessary because most Tory MPs supported the lockdown anyway.
This divide in Parliament between the Tory Right and the rest of Parliament was also exposed during the vote on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which proposed a complete ban on smoking for anyone born after 1st January 2009. The idea to ban smoking was originally a Labour Party policy, snatched by Rishi Sunak who announced his support for it during the Conservative Party Conference last year.
Labelled “uber libertarians” by One Nation cabinet minister Simon Hoare, the Tory Right alone fought to maintain the right of all adults to smoke against the rest of Parliament. While Conservative MPs had a free vote, Labour MPs were whipped into supporting the government. Despite considerable opposition from some Tory MPs, including business secretary Kemi Badenoch, the Bill passed its second reading by 383 votes to 67.
That the government has abandoned conservative principles has not gone unnoticed. Wes Streeting, the baby-faced shadow health secretary, said out loud what many people already know:
“Of all the policies the Conservatives have adopted from the Labour party in the past few years, nothing shows our dominance in the battle of ideas more than this latest capitulation.”
He went on, “A stopped clock is right twice a day, and I find myself agreeing with the former prime minister. This is absolutely an un-Conservative bill, it is a Labour bill, and we are delighted to see the government bring it forward.”
Essentially, Wes Streeting let slip what has been happening for years, the Conservatives have compromised on their values and are now advancing a Labour agenda.
Not a single Labour, Liberal Democrat, or SNP MP voted against the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. This is despite some of them supporting the legalisation of cannabis, a drug that is also proven to be addictive and harmful. In 2019, now shadow foreign secretary David Lammy argued in favour of legalising cannabis, stating:
"I want the market legalised, regulated and taken away from crime gangs,"
"For young people not to be criminalised by use and properly educated.
"I want to see the strength of the stuff reduced, labelled and properly organised in this country."
The mental gymnastics it must take for MPs like Lammy to support legalising cannabis and criminalising tobacco is truly mind-blowing. Yet it is a position I’ve heard myself, mostly among middle-class postgrads who enjoy smoking weed and think there are 100 genders. Undoubtedly, there is a class prejudice involved in the thinking of so-called progressives who believe in freedom for me but not for thee. This is a narcissistic, authoritarian agenda that must be confronted.
Such wacky positioning, whereby the One Nation Conservatives have joined forces with Labour, has led to some weird outcomes. For one, leftists like myself and others, who genuinely believe in freedom, have ended up on the same side as Tory libertarians such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lizz Truss.
The entrance of Reform UK into British politics has also complicated things. With the Tories and Labour agreeing on many cultural issues, from immigration to civil liberties, Reform has presented itself as the real opposition to the government and the political establishment as a whole. Reading the Reform UK policies, it seems almost like a wishlist for the Tory Right: 6 million people lifted out of paying tax, massive reduction in immigration, increased defence spending, and an end to Net Zero and the nanny state.
Rather than staying with the Conservatives, it seems to me that it would make more sense for the Tory Right to defect to Reform UK rather than continue their abusive relationship with the One Nation Tories that dominate the party. By staying with the Conservative Party, the Tory Right has become the equivalent of a group of angry blokes at the back of the bus shouting directions at the driver only to be ignored. If I were them then I’d get off the bus and find another vehicle.
Their strategy to take over the Conservative Party hasn’t worked. They tried it with Lizz Truss and she blew it for them. They tried to gain influence through Braverman and Jenrick, who were then ignored inside the cabinet and eventually pushed out. Now they are facing an electoral wipeout in a few months and have no other cards left to play except for defection.
A populist insurgency on the Right would undoubtedly be the best option for those of us who want to see real opposition to the political establishment. Yes, it might lead to a Labour Party landslide, but what difference would that make when the Conservatives are already pushing a Labour agenda?