The May 6 general election in the United Kingdom may be a glimpse into a possible American future.
Times have been hard for U.K. conservatives. The Conservative Party, popularly known as the Tories, lost power in 1997, slightly later than the American G.O.P. did during the Clinton era, and didn’t enjoy the same boomlet that Republicans enjoyed in the early years of the last decade.
Instead, faced with political irrelevance and cultural and demographic headwinds, the Tories retreated and took a hard look at what it would take to earn back the public trust.
Unwilling to place their hope in a Labor Party collapse, the Tories, under the leadership of David Cameron, made renewal their goal.
To regain the trust of voters, the Tories did several things.
First, they found a charismatic leader. This is far easier wished for than done, but American conservatives should note that nothing improves a party’s public standing like finding a face the public doesn’t hate.
Cameron is an articulate, calming presence, with a persona that invites, rather than repels. This presence stands in contrast to the staid prime minister Gordon Brown, and is especially soothing when compared to the endless conga line of entertainers, rabid partisans and white-haired drones that passes for conservative leadership in the United States.
Second, the party revamped the way it talked about issues, and to an extent, its positions. Cameron’s emphasis has been on the party’s image, often claiming he wants to help people “feel good” to be Tories. While he has received some criticism — justified, in many cases — for appealing too much to emotions and abandoning his party’s values, the overall effect of his leadership has been to change the public perception of his party.
It now seems likely that the Conservatives will gain seats in Parliament, and that Cameron will become the next prime minister. By any measure, this is a result the American G.O.P. would be glad to have by, say, 2012.
Now, this comparison is not perfect. Britain’s conservatives are dealing with a country that is fundamentally different than the United States. The British people perhaps long for nothing more than a charismatic liberalism. Clearly, any prescriptions for American conservatives must account for this difference.
Further, it’s possible that even a measured, attractive conservatism that desires nothing more than for people to “feel good” to be conservative may not present a true enough vision to win a lasting victory in the United Kingdom, or in the United States.
In a trenchant critique of the British political system, Phillip Blond argues that neither side of the debate has it right, and that the answers to Britain’s problems aren’t in some mushy moderation, but in a new, revitalized “Red Toryism” that reveres Burke’s “little platoons” of family and local community, rejects unfettered markets and seeks to build “vibrant local economies.” Cameron’s party has begun to show interest in Blond’s message, and many Members of Parliament seem open to pursuing some of his more uncontroversial suggestions.
Perhaps there is no constituency for such a conservatism in the United States, but if the Tories win and begin to govern in a new and interesting way, we would do well to pay attention to how they do it.
Reach Will at wmunsil@asu.edu