Blue collars are all the rage in the Tory party these days, which makes Stephen Crabb a very fashionable cabinet minister. It’s no surprise that he has just been named the successor to Iain Duncan Smith: his backstory is perfect, and is driven by the same social justice agenda. He was brought up in a Welsh council house by his mother, a single parent. His political views were shaped by seeing the way in which Thatcher’s reforms transformed his neighbourhood. He still believes Conservative values give the best hope for working-class and Welsh voters. As the Tories led an ever-deeper raid on Labour territory, it was inevitable that we would see and hear a lot more from people like Stephen Crabb.
For the last two years this confident 43-year-old was Secretary of State for his native Wales, and his approach has been to champion full-blooded (rather than semi-apologetic) conservatism. When I interviewed him last year, he was already talking with passion and enthusiasm about Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms.
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