The crisis of conservatism

The crisis of conservatism

What is the purpose of the Conservative Party? If the answer is simply to retain ­power, then the past 13 years have been a success. Not only has the party continually held ­office, it has also increased its vote share at every ­general election since 2010. Yet over this period, the Tories’ ideological contradictions have been exposed. The party has cycled through Cameroon austerity, Mayite statism, Johnsonite ­pro-Brexit populism and Trussite l…