The electibility of social conservatism: a viable force in British politics | Luke Doherty
In the aftermath of the December 2019 General Election, with its historic landslide for the Conservative Party, there are legitimate questions as to what it means to be a Conservative. Often, conservatism is defined as exclusively meaning a free market economy and propagating the rights of the individual. Indeed, in British politics, economic liberalism reigns supreme; and sound conservatism is measured in its relation to Thatcherism. What is unfortunate is that this economic program is usually coupled with– or fosters– social liberalism. An alternative to these arrangements has seldom been proposed and put to the electorate. Instead, Britain has been bombarded with socially liberal policy over the last ten years. It is now saturated by it.
The response of ordinary Britons to the excess of political correctness, and the increasingly explicit nature of the culture wars, both serve as an accurate indicator for the seismic cultural and political shift that is waiting to happen in Britain. Yet, this awakening is still to be realized by our Conservative government. They fail to recognize that, at their core, the British people are a conservative people, but who still require the case for conservatism to be made to them. The reality is social conservatism can be explained and demonstrated in a way that is largely appealing and entirely electable. The only question then, that remains, is of whom is ready and willing to do so.
For some people, it is extraordinary that across the North of England, the Midlands, and in Wales, the Conservative Party gained so many first time Conservative voters. These voters were individuals who had become disillusioned with the metropolitan liberal elite that now constitutes the British Left. It is this trend that contributed to Boris Johnson’s eighty seat majority in the House of Commons, in an election that was won on an ambiguous mandate to ‘Get Brexit Done’– something erroneously framed as a right wing issue.
Yet apart from pledging to deal with this elephant in the room, what else did the Prime Minister promise to inspire confidence in this Conservative government?
Unbelievably, Boris Johnson went to the country with a blank cheque. There were certainly few socially conservative policies during his manifesto once the promises to tackle immigration and fund more police officers are discounted– which only served to appease those affected by migrant workers and violent crime. It is examples of this distinct lack of ideas and conservative conviction that fuels the view the Conservative Party does not have a Divine Right to Rule. Ultimately, the pendulum will inevitably swing against us.
With the election result, we are now living in a time when we can seriously consider how electable comprehensive socially conservative policies might be. Detractors will suggest such an activity is futile because there is not an appetite for social conservatism in Britain. Yet such a view is often shared by those on the liberal left who have demonstrated a complete disconnect with ordinary British people. This is exemplified by Observer columnist Kenan Malik, who has argued that the idea the British working classes are socially conservative is a nonsense because there has been a widespread acceptance of social liberalism. However, I refute this claim in an article for this organization, and instead argue that a conservative political identity could be more readily applied to a large number of ordinary British citizens. This is since they are imbued with an innate conservative desire not to destroy those valuable things which they have had passed down to them, and to which they have become attached. Thus, we can deduce that social conservatism can be more easily presented to this demographic as a viable electoral option that is compatible with the instincts of ordinary people, that can be woven into the fabric of the nation.
Commentators have suggested that the Tories’ electoral success in December is partly due to the Labour Party’s abandonment of their traditional voter base in favour of the liberal-left contingent and their metropolitan agenda. This shocking betrayal, and the refusal to properly acknowledge what is happening societally, was clearly demonstrated in the the disastrous decision to back a People’s Vote. The disdain shown towards the working classes by socially democratic parties has helped to effectively explain their subsequent embrace of populism and the rejection of liberal values that define the Left. What becomes clear is that these are the ordinary people who while not explicitly calling themselves Conservative, despite voting for them in December, are the demographic who illustrate a sense of ‘cultural’ conservatism; and to whom the merits of social conservatism can be made.
In an article for UnHerd, Peter Franklin makes the distinction between cultural and social conservatives. He explains that ‘social’ conservatism concerns matters of personal responsibility, while ‘cultural’ conservatism concerns maters of collective identity. The former is about behaviour and the latter about belonging. Franklin points out that social conservatism can be harshly judgmental and knock people down, where it instead ought to uphold standards that encourage right behaviour. Such a perceptive view is an interesting point which truthfully must be at the heart of any endeavor to to make social conservatism a viable force in British politics.
Franklin also rightly comments that cultural conservatism– which accounts for a great number of ordinary British individuals in their sensible rejection of liberal-leftism on issues such as free speech, identity politics, and woke culture as eloquently articulated by commentators such as Rod Liddle and Melanie Philips– can be exclusive and xenophobic or inclusive and patriotic. These are not issues that can be easily explained away or ignored.
Similar sentiments are also expressed by Dr Stephen Wigmore in an article for The Critic. He suggests that social conservatism can be defined negatively as disagreement with at least some of the doctrines of social woke-ness. He goes on to explain that modern social conservatism does not mean an attempt to drag Britain back to some idealized date in the past and endorse stereotypical ideals. This point is significant and must underpin any attempt to make the serious case for social conservatism in the modern political arena. As Dr Wigmore suggests, there is no reason why social conservatism should mean stigmatizing minority groups or unnecessarily banning things we do not like.
We will not win an election by otherwise throwing out the positive elements of social liberalism. We have to be clear on this as it is essential to us garnering wider public support for our often misunderstood and misrepresented cause. This is all the more necessary because Britain is not a country of extremes, and we can only enable effective change if we do so at a human pace.
It is crucial to remember that social conservatism will only be made electable if it is tempered by a positive view of society– one that brings together and unites; rather than separates and divides. Our politics cannot be defined as merely being about heavy condemnation and rigid prejudices, and instead must be viewed as a coherent alternative to the postmodern obsession with identity and culture. Socially conservative policy must be interested in promoting the rebuilding of communities, and the subsequent reorientation of society around them; and it must recognize the strength and importance of the family as a social institution. There is more to our convictions than just advocating for tougher prison reform; or harsher foreign policy; or louder domestic patriotism. This narrow cluster of views will do little to repair the structural voicelessness of the working classes and their shattered place in society.
The Conservative Party will have been in power for fourteen years if they make it to the next General Election uninterrupted in 2024. What will they have seriously achieved in that time? What will the legacy be of such a long Conservative administration? The present regime doesn’t offer much hope– and the current state of affairs amid Brexit negotiations, a global pandemic, and impending recession do not inspire total confidence in winning back the red wall culturally conservative voter. This is an enormous shame. The political climate in Britain is ready and waiting for a sound conservatism that will challenge and repeal liberal-leftism, rather secretly tolerate and accommodate it. Now is the time to make the case for social conservatism. it has to be offered as a sensible choice for ordinary people.
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