Whisper it softly but one day, eventually, politics will come back. And while it might not be the thing we’re all missing most, when it does a lot will hinge on what form it takes. As James Forsyth noted in his column this week, talk in government is that politics will be changed ‘for a generation’ by the Conservative party’s move to become a more ‘communitarian party’.
Yet prior to the shock of the pandemic all the talk was of a new divide in British politics. Social values – not the traditional left-right cleavage – was the dominant dividing line that won Boris Johnson his majority. Now the talk is of a country, post Brexit and post Covid-19, more united. But there are good reasons to believe that the divide that we have grown so used to, hinging on social identity rather than economic circumstances, will persist. While many things may change, our politics is likely to feel familiar.
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