The New York Times has published a damning expose of Britain’s ruling class – explaining how, even if the Conservatives lose the next election, they are not going anywhere.
Author Samuel Earle said the local elections and recent polling show that, after years of misrule, the opinion of the British public is united in wanting the Tories out.
After 13 years of government that has been characterised by devastating welfare policies, economic stagnation and cronyism, life for many under the party has become “poorer, nastier, more brutish and shorter”, Earle notes.
It has left some to question whether the next general election might be the last for the Tories given the detrimental impact on its brand image.
But such talk is premature.
The Conservative’s historical dominance – which stretches back beyond their baptism in the 1830s – has made them both the oldest and the most successful political party in the world.
During that time, Earle notes, “the Conservatives have created a nation in their image, ensuring a degree of Tory rule even when out of government”.
Look at many of the foundations of ruling-class power – the monarchy, the unelected House of Lords, public schools and Oxbridge – and you’ll find the party at their roots.
But it extends well beyond archaic institutions.
In film and literature, most of the country’s favorite characters and storylines contain at least a seed of the Tory nation, such as the Old Etonian James Bond, who breaks the rules with a gentleman’s charm, and the humble wizardry of Harry Potter, who risks it all to save his enchantingly regimented boarding school from evil outside forces.
The right-wing press is another indispensable accomplice in maintaining the Conservative vision of Britain, Earle says. With most media moguls natural allies of the Tories, the newspapers’ daily drip feed of jingoism allows the Conservative Party to convincingly claim to reflect — rather than shape — the national mood.
Indeed, so ingrained are the Tories within these institutions that it could be that the party’s remarkable ability to win elections “has no corollary in nationwide popularity”.
As such, “no matter how much damage they cause, no matter how unpopular they seem, the Conservatives can never be ruled out”.
Samuel Earle is the author of Tory Nation: How One Party Conquered Britain
