The Coffee House debate

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Matthew d'Ancona and Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home debate what the Tories can--and should--learn from Blair.

Dear Tim,
Here is my starter for ten.
Tony Blair is already transforming Tory politics. Here are few of the lessons that are being learned (or should be):
1. Economics is no longer enough. The 1997 election result showed that growth no longer guarantees electoral victory – indeed, now that the Bank of England is independent, voters have every reason to think that they are prosperous in spite of rather than because of politicians. Cameron and Osborne are right to emphasise “economic stability”: code for “We won’t ruin it.”
2. Quality of life:  making ends meet is still a struggle for millions of people. But you can no longer build an electoral coalition upon the issue of standard of living alone. The voters expect safe streets, good schools, world-class healthcare, and a decent environment (in their neighbourhood and globally). This was the promise of “New Britain” in 1997: not delivered, but still worth pursuing.
3. What counts is what works: Labour has had to abandon its ideological suspicion of the market. The Tories must accept that rolling back the frontiers of the state is a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. In many fields – education, health, defence, law and order, environmental protection – the public has rising expectations of Government which the Conservative Party ignores at its peril. There is no future in anarcho-syndicalism.
4. Interdependence: Blair was right that a globalised economy means an interconnected world. A stable Middle East is not only a good in itself but essential to energy security in the West. Environmental policy respects no borders. Blair was wrong to invest so much hope in the EU. But the next wave of Conservatism cannot afford to be isolationist.
5. Rise above party: Blair behaved like a presidential candidate rather than a product of party. His allegiance was to the country and his times. This is how elections are now won the world over: parties, however important, are delivery systems for big ideas and big personalities.
6. Make people feel good about voting for you: the old Maurice Saatchi formula for the Tories – “cruel but competent” – no longer applies. A Government-in-waiting must inspire hope: the electorate’s anxieties about the incumbent will not be enough.
 
All good wishes
Matt