04.10.2006
Cameron repositions
Jim Moody analyses the 20th century's most successful election machine - the Conservative Party
Only 10 months in the job and David Cameron's charm offensive to win the hearts and minds of the Conservative Party is still an uphill battle. But, of course, those Tories who managed to get into the Bournemouth conference earlier this week were not his main audience. The real audience were the potential and actual Tory voters in next year's local elections and, after them, the general election, whenever the new New Labour prime minister calls it.
In fact the Conservative Party conference is nothing but a stage-managed rally. A chance to generate media interest and send out subliminal messages. Not surprisingly 'delegates' cannot be trusted to run such a subtle marketing exercise. They are there for one reason and one reason alone: to provide an audience and to clap on cue. That is what the ruling class understands by democracy. In that respect the Tory conference is no different from the pre-election conventions staged by Republicans and Democrats in the US.
Cameron's speeches on Sunday and Wednesday turned repeatedly on three main themes. First, that the Tories are a "responsible" party; second, the Tories are a "green" party; third, the Tories are a party that is "changing". For his final speech he wore a red tie!
Policy was deliberately left soft-focus. Hard decisions will be made in the shadow cabinet and by Cameron himself. Not that Bournemouth saw no dissent. The biggest grumble in the fringe meetings and bars concerned tax-cutting - a Thatcherite mantra. Norman Tebbitt vehemently demanded that tax cuts become a central policy and rejected his leadership's strategy as 'puerile'. He and his kind see it as unthinkable that tax cuts (and concomitant cuts in social provision) are not upfront: it is their winning strategy.
But Cameron wants to ditch the 'hard and mean' image and come over as caring. Almost unbelievably his mantra is the NHS. There will be no more "unnecessary" reorganisations. As for taxation, "Those people who say they want tax cuts and they want them now - they can't have them." This did not go down well; about which, more later.
What might appear as a Damascene conversion by the Tories, at least as represented by their new leader, has been forced on them in part by New Labour's adoption of its economic policies. New Labour has thus been able to outflank the Tories when it comes to social issues. Cameron wants to stop that happening because the Tories have but one business and that is the business of winning elections - so that they can exercise their god-given right to govern the country. In the epoch of universal suffrage that means fooling people.
The Conservative Party has plenty of experience of governing. It is, after all, the oldest political party in the world, starting in the 17th century. It is also a well oiled machine for winning elections. Though always a party of the wealthy and well connected, the Tories quickly learnt how to appeal to broad layers of the masses: not only the middle classes, but sections of workers too.
Indeed the Conservative Party was the most successful election machine in the 20th century. And that is what Cameron is trying to rebuild for the 21st century. After Labour's 1997 landslide victory and the decisive victories in 2001 and 2005 Cameron realises that more is needed than repeating the themes of Thatcherism.
In his own way he is trying to learn from history. Before 1997 the Tories suffered two huge defeats in the 20th century: 1906 and 1945. They succeeded in staging a quick recovery after 1945 by adopting the social democratic polices of Attlee as their own: Keynesian intervention to manage the commanding heights of the economy and welfarism. By 1951 they were back in government. In contrast after 1906 the Tories suffered a protracted period in opposition. They were deeply divided over empire protectionism and Ireland, and were completely wrong-footed by the Liberals and their version of the social policies Bismarck had introduced in Germany. Only in 1922 did the Tories manage to get back into office.
Cameron wants the Tories to downgrade anti-European Union rhetoric, promote the welfare state and make themselves appear eco-friendly. He singled out Al Gore's film An inconvenient truth for praise.
Evoking Winston Churchill's and Harold Macmillan's one-nation Toryism, which was abandoned dramatically and, one might have thought, conclusively by Margaret Thatcher, Cameron's "vision of the Britain we want to see" includes the message that "we are all in it together" and that "social responsibility" would bring about "the Britain we want to build". Indeed, he continually harped on about social and other kinds of responsibility - which he counterposed to what he labelled the "state responsibility" of Labour.
Cameron pointedly contradicted one of Thatcher's most famous inanities by acknowledging the obvious, "There is such a thing as society; [it is] just not the same thing as the state." This led him on naturally to a key Tory bugbear - regulation (ie, when exploiters cannot do exactly as they want). Instead, banging on about responsibility again: "We want companies to create their own solutions "¦ corporate responsibility "¦"
Community spirit, he stated, was being stifled under New Labour, so we need to "trust local leaders [by] handing power to local councils and local people". This was all about "civic responsibility". In addition, the Tories "will enhance parental responsibility. We need a bit more of Supernanny and a bit less of the nanny state." So, responsibility, responsibility, responsibility. The last part of this seemed to go down well with the Tory audience, or at least with those who knew that Supernanny was the name of a television 'reality' show.
One target that got a big cheer was ID cards: Cameron is agin them. Of course, for Conservatives, this is more big government and they say they don't want that. A clear attempt to outflank New Labour when it comes to civil liberties. And do not imagine that it could not work.
So this is the all-new, shining Conservative Party, with revamped logo and environmentalist aura floating around it for all the image-makers are worth. Speaking less with confidence than hope perhaps, Cameron insisted that the "centre ground" was "where we're going to stay".
Inevitably some do not like where he is taking the Tories. Hague and David Davies pulled together for the sake of the party image this last week in Bournemouth, making speeches in support of Cameron, but plenty of others on the Tory right have not been so cooperative.
Edward Leigh of the Cornerstone Group of Tory MPs lambasted any attempt to return to the pre-Thatcher consensus. Clearly for him and other 'socially conservative' Tories there is not 'one nation' and the sooner their party accepts that the better. Thatcher's image flashed up on the screen at conference and got the loudest cheer of them all; Heath's image was, meanwhile, loudly hissed.
Not to be outdone in the rightist stakes, John Redwood launched his strongly Thatcherite No Turning Back group's pamphlet - its main thrust is to cut taxes and reduce public services spending. A familiar and persistent refrain that will become stronger as the new Tory regime settles into its stride and its 'abandonment' of Thatcherite ideas is perceived more and more to be the case.
However, what concerns most Tory grandees is beating New Labour and getting back into office. Notoriously fickle as pollsters find those they question (often with loaded questions), polls do present a snapshot of some kind. The latest on declared voting intentions was published just at the start of their conference, but Tory Party stalwarts tried not to appear crestfallen at the neck and neck 36% for both their party and Labour. The Conservatives may have been making ground, but it seems they are not quite being welcomed with open arms by the electorate yet.
The next election will once again see the old refrain coming from Labour managers: not to vote Labour will let the Tories in. For the first time in many years that may be right. This will have important implications for projects such as Repect, the Scottish Socialist Party, Solidarity and the Campaign for a New Workers' Party.
Whether or not Cameron's version of Toryism lasts will depend on whether it starts winning elections. If he fails he will be out on his ear like his predecessors: the ruling class and its representatives are nothing if not ruthless. However, if Cameron succeeds and becomes prime minister, he may not need to contain the right wing - or, indeed, be able to - and, using the argument of changed circumstances, he will be free to ditch any pretence, just as his humanitarian conservatism will be free to continue pursuing the assault on democratic rights and working class living standards.