Why the Conservative Party Must Modernise to Survive

Social conservatism is dead. Gone. Kaput. Trying to carry that dead weight around will get the Tories nowhere. The 2018 abortion referendum in Ireland was the final nail in their coffin, proving once and for all that any appetite for social conservatism is satiated and gone. The party needs to modernise, or unfortunately, it will be next on the menu.

The fact is that the ‘Great Recession’ was 13 year ago meaning that the younger generations have either forgotten or weren’t old enough to experience it and that the older generation can’t remember it. Economic debate is all but gone from politics, as the populace understands little about the broad terms of ‘economic shrinkage’ due to the coronavirus pandemic and questions arise left and right from voter bases about what exactly the ‘economy’ is.

Despite a major loss of jobs and the looming prospect of another recession following the pandemic, social policy still takes centre stage. The impact of brexit, immigration, abortion, Black Lives Matter and free speech – it is all back on the table, and it’s one of the Conservative parties’ weakest areas.

Their voting record on abortion, racial equality and gay rights is poor, and this is despite Cameron’s efforts to modernise the party under his leadership with the Liberal Democrats. Johnson and his cabinet are moving the party back in a dark and historic direction, and quotes such as that from Raab stating that he would only take the knee for ‘two people; the Queen and the missus when I asked her to marry me’ being almost universally condemned by young people in Britain not helping.

Perhaps what will drive even more votes away from the party is the Prime Minister himself and his overwhelmingly nationalistic and oftentimes xenophobic views. Not only has Johnson previously suggested that warmer weather in December was not attributed to global warming, something that is on the political agenda of most young voters, he also famously compared women who wear the Burka to ‘letter boxes’. Furthermore, the claims that children of single mothers are ‘ill-raised, ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate’ are simply hypocritical, for one has to look no further than his Wikipedia page to see that his past doesn’t mat up. The leader of the conservative party taking these stances and having previously said these things is abhorrent and even worse, the fact that he blows in the wind left, right and centre to adapt to whatever his wants will simply alienate those who want a stable socially liberal agenda.

We must recognise without socially liberal policies the party is going to fail to win votes in any future election. The younger generation is not moved by economic arguments, they are moved by social policy. No one leads rallies or makes historic speeches over 1% rises in inflation or the number of shares being traded on the stock market. No one ever said, ‘I have a dream that one day my sons and daughters will pay 10% less VAT than me’.

And while the party is strong on economics and building up the economy back after the impacts of the pandemic and in the short term, Brexit, its social platforms are currently unfit for purpose. The youth are the future of England and they are not going to experience the typical voter flip to Tory at the age of 37.  This is because opinions on social policies do not change over time. Once pro-immigration, always pro-immigration, once pro-choice, always pro-choice.

As such, subsequent generations will likely be raised in anti tory circles, and the cycle will simply continue until the party finally collapses, with its ultimate demise most likely being started by Boris Johnson. The Conservative party cannot stay high and mighty in its past position and must recognize that its goal, if a better and brighter future is to be successfully built in the country, is to win votes and to win elections.

But by no means should this reform mean capitulating to the left’s social agenda. The party should define itself not in opposition to the Labour party exclusively, or in opposition to any party really, but in its opposition to the state. It should re-adopt the policies of classical liberalism it has its origins in, after it broke off from the Whigs, and push for a more radical and more libertarian agenda – one of autonomy and political freedom.

The conservative party have always been economically liberal; so why can it not become socially liberal too? We need to accept the new reality of the social climate in Britain, not oppose it. The party must stand up for the individual, for the rights of the person in every aspect of life and oppose the intrusions of the state whilst welcoming the masses of people who at present will not a vote for a party with such a poor set of social policies.

But Johnson cannot and will not be able to facilitate this change, coming both out of his failures and unpopularity of his pandemic response and his previous remarks. The party needs new leadership on all fronts in order to bring about a new younger energy and popularity to it.

And here comes my personal opinions about who some of the best people are to lead the party on its social and political agenda going forward. Ruth Davidson is one such name that I can suggest, though I believe she plans on soon stepping down from her role following her appointment to the House of Lords. Supporting LGBT rights and favouring the extension of gay marriage into Northern Ireland as well as having an extremely positive view on immigration, she would shine light into corners of the party which haven’t seen it in years.

Perhaps when all is said and done the Conservatives can propel themselves into further election success, not simply on the basis of just ‘Getting Brexit Done’, but on a platform of individualism, libertarianism and freedom for all.

Chloe Chan (Committee Member) is a first-year reading Chemistry at Keble College.