By: Reem Ibrahim, communications officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs
“This is what we believe!” declared then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as she slammed her copy of F. A. Hayek’s ‘Constitution of Liberty’ onto the table at a Conservative Party policy meeting.
This level of fortitude and conviction feels almost entirely alien on the modern right. ‘The right’ today suffers from a lack of clarity, certainty and direction. There are new sets of ideas, or perhaps old ones becoming prominent. The tone of the debate has become vicious. There are even now many who claim my classical liberal views do not have a place in it at all.
This has all been the case for some time, but the spectacle of the general election has been anything but edifying. We woke up on Friday 5th July to the Conservative Party’s bruising defeat, losing a total of 244 seats in Parliament. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour was handed a huge majority with 411 seats. The Tories lost further votes across the spectrum, to both the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK who made unprecedented gains.
It is safe to say that ‘the right’ of British politics is more fractured than ever, and it is pertinent that we all now take some time for reflection. We must ask, in 2024 and beyond, what does ‘the right’ believe?
This is the very question I posed to my panel at the Institute of Economic Affairs event on ‘The Future of the Right’ this week. This was originally meant to be a small event at the IEA’s office, but interest in the subject was overwhelming and we were forced to shift to a venue that could fit hundreds of people at the Emmanuel Centre.
To kick off the battle of ideas at this important time, I was joined by my colleague Dr Steve Davies, newly elected Jack Rankin MP, author Paul Reynolds, Bright Blue’s Bartek Staniszewski, and former Minister for Northern Ireland the Rt Hon. Steve Baker FRSA.
A multitude of definitions and perspectives were espoused that evening, but one word was mentioned more than any other: liberty.
As my colleague Dr Steve Davies has been arguing for years, notions of ‘left’ and ‘right’ have continuously changed since the French Revolution and Western democracies are once again undergoing a period of realignment. Broad coalitions on the left and right have a central or ‘aligning’ issue, even if they have disagreements on minor issues. For much of the 20th century and start of the 21st, the aligning issue was capitalism versus socialism. But Davies argues that we are beginning to see the emergence of a new division, between national collectivists and radical leftists over cultural issues. In Poland, the basic split between national collectivist Law and Justice and cosmopolitan liberal Social Forum is an example of this new ideological division.
In the UK context, the ‘right’ is increasingly focused on a cultural and identity issues rather than on free market economics. There is certainly a divide emerging. Liberal conservatism is a politics that values individualism, free trade, and cultural liberalism. On the other hand, a politics which emphasises traditional identity, national sovereignty, and an active government is gaining a foothold. These divisions are incompatible, and politically, impossible to contain within one ‘broad base’ or political party. The impending question is which of the two factions win the battle? Which brand of Conservatism will prevail?
Despite the brilliantly argued defence of liberty espoused by many of the panelists at the event (definitely worth watching the recording if you weren’t there), I can’t help but feel that a lot more work needs to be done to ensure that the principles of free markets are not overshadowed by debates about culture.
In the words of James Carville, “it’s the economy stupid”. Ultimately, the best way to achieve meaningful change is by unleashing the market. Competition and choice are key tenets of a market economy, and it is the surest way to solve many of this country’s current problems.
Take housing, for example. By removing the NIMBY political chokehold and government imposed red tape, we can fix Britain’s chronic housing shortage. Economic freedom must be core to any future the right wishes to pursue.
Jack Rankin, newly elected MP for Windsor, said during the discussion that the right needs to “draw together a broad coalition”, and if the Conservative Party is ever going to get back into Government, “we are going to have to get comfortable with one another again”. I for one admire optimism wherever I see it, but bringing together these factions as they stand will certainly be a grueling task for all those involved.
The battle lines have been drawn. The ideological debate to define what the Right, and consequently, the Conservative Party, stands for is well underway. The new alignment around questions of national identity and political sovereignty will define the debate in the months to come, perhaps even more so than debates over economic policy. But either way, organisations like the IEA and of course the TaxPayers’ Alliance will be vital as sources of ideas and opposition to the new government.
So, what is the future of the right? We have certainly not reached a denouement of any kind, but an open-ended conclusion. The future of the right hinges on its ability to address the fracture in its base consistent with global realignment, and crucially, its ability to articulate a coherent vision that resonates with the British public.