Tory Nation: The Dark Legacy of the World's Most Successful Political Party

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The conference willmirrorthe flagship Conservative party conference withkeynote speeches and panel discussions, and will giveOne NationMPs the chance to discuss what should bein thenext Torymanifesto – which they are keen toinfluence. “It's clear that One Nationpolicies are bothpolitically popular and in the national interest. Making that case loud and clear is in the interest of the Conservative party as a whole," said Boston and Skegness MPMatt Warman, who is a member of the group.

Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and Adam Atashzai are tasked with sharpening Sunak’s political narrative. Njoku-Goodwin, a former housemate of Booth-Smith, is leaving his role as chief executive of UK Music to become director of strategy. Astashzai is a senior adviser working on strategic comms and is a veteran of Cameron’s Downing Street and the 2015 election campaign. The comms boss Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, pictured in 2019 at the Surrey Para Games in Godalming, is among the MPs in the ‘blue wall’ home counties seats that will be under threat at next year’s general election. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA But Gauke is determined to take a stand against a WTO exit from the European Union, an outcome he argues would have “very considerable” consequences for the UK and its people. “I’m determined to ensure that we don’t inflict very significant economic pain on our fellow citizens.” What can have happened to them? We’ve had something called a Tory Party in England for 350 years, and while it’s difficult to discern a direct line of descent from the Church-and-King Cavaliers and anti-Exclusionists of the reign of King Charles II to the motley crew of the reign of King Charles III, the most remarkable thing about the Tories has been their endless adaptability to the times. In the 1840s the party of the squirearchal “gentlemen of England” brought down Sir Robert Peel, its leader, because of his repeal of the Corn Laws, which favored landowners’ income, but before the century was out the Tories had reshaped themselves to attract not only middle-class but working-class voters. At the start of the Tory leadership race, the One Nation Group held hustings to encourage the candidates to sign up to their values. The caucus has commitments around the union, global leadership, the life chances agenda, social responsibility, investment in public services, localism, environmental stewardship, belief in free enterprise, law and human rights and democratic renewal.In a first-past-the-post political system, a successful party has to be a coalition,” Green said. “And the moderate voice has got to be very loud inside the Conservative choir or it becomes narrow and sectarian.

In earlySeptember, moderate ToryMPs will assemblefor a one-day, One Nationconference in London, theirfirst gathering of this kindsince 2019. While the Covid pandemic also contributed to the four-year hiatus, the forthcoming event is seen as a statement of intent by the Torycentre-ground as conversations about the future of the Conservative party get louder. Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Follows, second right, talks with residents in Godalming. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

Tory Nation

Evans, Stephen. (2009). "The not so odd couple: Margaret Thatcher and one nation Conservatism". Contemporary British History. 23 (1): 101–121. doi: 10.1080/13619460801990120. S2CID 143943408. All of which threatened to render the Tory party as extinct as the dinosaurs. But Disraeli’s genius saw there was a germ of hope. He identified a natural sympathy between “the Conservative party and the Radical masses” and, confident that “the working classes of England are proud of belonging to a great country”, he gave them the vote in the Reform Act of 1867–68. Retired insurer John Payne, pictured with his wife, Christine, says he will vote tactically to remove ‘the worst government in my lifetime’. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer Not just Sunak but everyone else has expressed a wish that 2023 should be an improvement on 2022. Maybe it will be, but I’m haunted by the memory of the speech that the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha made to his unfortunate people one January long ago: “This year will be harder than last year. On the other hand, it will be easier than next year.” Another policy he said was “non-negotiable” for Conservatives like him was continuing the commitment to 0.7% of GDP on aid spending.