Should small 'c' conservatives vote big 'C' Conservative?

This new memo on conservativehome.com discusses the conservative case for voting for Michael Howard on 5th May.

For fiscal conservatives the memo emphasises how the James Review's savings will avoid the need for Labour's third term tax rises.

Compassionate conservatives are directed to Tory policies on school choice, neighbourhood policing and international development spending.

Social conservatives - who shouldn't need reminding of the libertine policies of Labour and the Liberal Democrats - can take comfort from Michael Howard's recent positions on abortion and euthanasia.

National security conservatives are warned about the dangers to independent British action in the war on terror if Tony Blair gets the chance to sign us up to the EU Constitution.

The fifth group of conservatives - Euro-sceptic conservatives - are reminded of robust Tory positions on the euro and fishing.

Comments

[Stephen Newton]

How should liberatrian conservatives vote?

[Editor]

Liberatrian or libertarian, Stephen? Sorry!

I hope as many people as possible vote Tory. I hope that libertarians will agree with at least four of the five cases for voting Tory made in the above-mentioned memo. On tax, school choice, national defence and Europe there is real 'fusion' between libs and cons. Libertarians probably won't agree with the social conservatism strand of the memo but, as the memo said, the Tories aren't that solid on defending the family etc anyway. On causes important to social conservatives it's more of a case of the imperfect Tories being much better than the alternatives.

[Dr Adrian Rogers]

Yes for the first time since 97. This is not an election to punish the party for its failings on the family or europe. The big issue is now the stifling level of taxation and bureaucracy. If the Party has learnt anything from being out of power it has to be to be committed to less tax and much less bureaucracy. For once it is right about the NHS, crime and it is hugely better on Europe than anyone else. Go for it- lets lose Labour for a very long time.

[Stephen Newton]

It's interesting to see that even after Howard Flight, some believe the Tories to be committed to less tax and less bureaucracy (i.e. a smaller state) out of (libertarian) principle. The Conservative Party remains a pragmatic party of common sense, as the Flight debacle proved. It believes we could be taxed less, but reaches that conclusion after a commission to look at waste, not after reaching a principled view on the role of the state.

[eddie reader]

Laugh, I almost cried. Quick call a doctor, but not Dr Roger, please.
Less tax - I think not. The much talked about £35 billion is not to be returned to tax payers but spent elsewhere. No plans to change dividend payments to pension funds, married man's tax allowance or mortgage interest payments. In fact no plans to change tax at all.
NHS - what's that then? A modest plan to introduce European-style subsidy for those who choose private providers. The Tory plan is to cover 60% of the cost of private provison whereas the French cover 80%. Could it be matrons to supevise cleaners? When the true problem is lack of beds and the rubbish masquerading as managers in the NHS - I think not. Hope this Dr is not one of medicine!
Crime - allo, allo! You would need to treble the number of police officers - bit of tax there eh!
Europe - aah! Europe. What are the options? Stick with the US where the UK has no influence or the EU where they have significant influence - if the dumb Brits played their cards right they would have even more still. If the French do ratify the European Constitution and the Brits don't that's going to set back the UK economy a bunch.
Why? The UK is a services based economy now. The French oppose the EU services directive. Guess who will have the most influence if the Constitution flounders on the British vote?
Of course, you do have those who claim the UK can have a relationship with the EU ala Norway. Indeed they can, but Norway has to accept EU single market regulations, including working time directives, without any influence over those regulations.
Big cheer for common sense. In Einstein's words, common sense is simple 'prejudices that have remained with us since the age of eighteen'. You don't get more common-sensical than the Tories.
They think it's all over - it soon will be.

[beachhutman]

So, in all Eddie, your preference is to stick with a man who has now been proven to have lied to Parlaiment, who spectacularly broke key election pledges, who wants to hand over UK legislation on immigration, foreign policy and ultimately taxation to Brussels (see the widely reported comments of the EU president on the significance of the EU constitution) in order to secure a future personal careere "in Europe", who introduces laws to enrich his wife and her professional colleagues, and has allowed his chancellor to both block reforms of the NHS and rob the country's pension funds. Oh, and who cannot be trusted ever again to make the biggest decision that a prime minister could ever face, to go into a war.
I agree, it's a toughie. Vote Labour.

[Albion Blogger]

There is no social conservatism in the Conservatives' social policies.

It's not difficult is it? Cut welfare generally and only provide it to deserving cases (just been made redundant? got a family? Please fill in this form. 15 years old? Up the duff? Go see your parent(s). And so on.)

Remove sexuality from day-time television and radio and end the freebie contraception to under-age children; build more prisons and fill them up - prison works! skew tax breaks in favour of marrieds; remove all barriers to equality and social cohesion by scrapping the Commision for Racial Equality and the Human Rights Act... Get the government out of our communities and out of our families, promote responsibilities over rights and remove ourselves entirely from the United States of Europe.

Small 'c' conservatives can win the election with just over 40% of the vote. Small 'c' conservatism is populist because it's sensible and natural. If Mr Howard decided twelve months ago to go small 'c' instead of big 'C' we wouldn't need to be reading 'Should conservatives vote Tory?' because it would be self-evident that we should.

But, alas...

Anyway, interesting site. Will plug it at the earliest convenience on mine.

AB

[eddie reader]

Of course Tony Blair lied to parliament. Two issues
- what else could he do?
- MPs couln't tell a lie when they heard it.
The UK having long ago tied itself to US apron strings, any UK government would have backed the US in the post-9/11 frenzy. At least Blair could see a bigger picture of the US being positively involved in global affairs rather than its usual negative stance. I think that will prove over optimistic but at least it's a vision. Howard, or that plonker IDS, would have done it simply out of shock and awe.
Having decided on the course of action, any case for involvement with the US rests upon complex calculations and probability. These are not the forte of the average voter. So you lie.
That isn't the big issue though. The '45 minute' claim was obviously a lie. After nearly a decade of sanctions and the odd bombing campaign there was no way that Iraq could have possibly had the neceessary industrial infrastructure and logistical resources to support that claim.
I didn't expect the Tories to question that because they are even more tied to US apron strings than a Labour government would be. Furthermore, any party that elects two bald-headed men in succession and one with a surname like Duncan-Smith cannot possibly be considered smart.
But even those MPs from the Lib Dems and Labour who were against it couldn't check out the requirements such a claim would require.
This claim was like the diagram that was printed in the Times of Bin Laden's hideout in the Tora Bora mountains.
It was straight out of a James Bond fantasy - but what would you expect from a Murdoch rag.
The bottom line is that to trust your future to a UK Parliament is not a good idea. The sad irony is that the EU offers great opportunities to individual Britons (largely because of the global nature of English), but not to the donkeys who seek to rule us. On every measure of personal well-being the average EU country (at least the core ones pre-enlargement) offers its citizens a far better deal than does the UK.
It is also an irony that withdrawl from the EU would break up the UK since Scotland would almost certainly go for independance and membership of the EU. The Scots have a long tradition of attaching themselves to the biggest purse going.
The Orwellian double-speak of the Tories is intriguing. Governments of any colour have no interest in individuals - they get in the way. At least Labour makes no pretence otherwise - they are always talking about communities.
However, Tories claim to be in favour of individuals but don't want laws to protect individuals. Mmmh, could it be they are simply in favour of powerful individuals?

[Edward]

Whilst most people in this country are undoubtedly small c conservatives that does not mean the party can garner 40% of the vote.

Because economics is still the most important election factor. Poor northerners vote Labour, rich ones vote Liberal. Poor southerners vote Liberal, rich ones vote Conservative.

Also a lot of these attitudes are dying out, opposition to abortion will never win you votes, and Europe may be the enemy for those in middle age and retirement, but for the younger generation Europe provides us with many of our friends, colleges, fellow students on Erasmus programmes and holiday destinations. The cultural influence of a more open Europe means that the anti-Brussels sentiment espoused by our grandparents is met with little more than embarrased smirks.

If the Tory party is to have a future past about 2020 then they have to get serious about issues like International Development and third world debt. They have to look at developing sustainable and controlled immigration, not just stopping it. Work out ways to help those under the average age of 34 to buy a home.

Its great to see a good thought provoking conservative site but this bird needs two wings if its going to fly.

[JEROGatch]

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