Donal Blaney: Work as if it all depends on you – pray as if it all depends on God

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, has explained one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. This is the last in that series, click here for the full archive.

It is said that every team is only as strong as its weakest member. This certainly worked to the advantage of the Conservative government during the 1980s as the Labour front bench was (until the arrival of Blair, Brown and their cohorts) a seriously unimpressive collection of people.

No matter what role you have in an organization, campaign or team, it is essential that you work as if the entire organization, campaign or team depends on you. There can be no thought of leaving it to someone else, assuming something will be done or not giving it your all.

One of the tragedies of the Conservative Party’s recent past is the way in which a generation of activists and politicians began to believe that the Party had a divine right to rule.

Donal Blaney: You cannot beat somebody with nobody

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

This week’s Law of the Public Policy Process focuses on a key fact that even the most skilled campaigner must recognize – you cannot beat somebody with nobody.

Gordon Brown is undoubtedly “somebody”. For all his faults, and this week’s Pre-Budget Report shows that he has many, he is undoubtedly a past master at arrogating power to himself and destroying anyone who dares to come into his path.

He has ruthlessly dispatched pretenders to his crown, chief amongst whom are numbered Alan Milburn, Stephen Byers, David Blunkett, Charles Clarke and (ultimately after a decade of internecine warfare) Tony Blair himself. Machiavelli would be proud. It remains to be seen whether John Reid will fall by the wayside as well.

On the Conservative side of the Commons, Brown has also effortlessly dispatched people as diverse as Ken Clarke, Peter Lilley, Michael Portillo, Francis Maude and, to some degree, even George Osborne.

The same concept of a seemingly unbeatable “somebody” is Ken Livingstone. A series of candidates have thus far tried to defeat him (both for the Labour nomination and for the mayoralty itself) but nobody was sufficiently “somebody” to be able to defeat him thus far – worthy though many of those putative opponents may have been.

There is undoubtedly something that cannot readily be identified that marks out a “somebody” in politics or any other walk of life. All too often it is defined as charisma or that ubiquitous “X-Factor”. It doesn’t simply come from being in power. Many people who have “it” (and are consequently a hard-to-beat “somebody”) are not in power at the outset of their journey up the greasy pole.

Some initially have power by association (such as Hillary Clinton or Winston Churchill) whereas others marked themselves out for greatness early on despite not previously having been close to power (Margaret Thatcher prime among them).

Donal Blaney: Promptly report your action to the one who requested it

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Given that politics is very much about the art of communicating ideas, it has often astonished me how bad politicians are at communicating with each other. Misunderstandings frequently arise and all too frequently result in mountains being made out of molehills.

While some disputes are based on matters of principle (such as over Europe during the Thatcher Years) or naked personal ambition (such as between Blair and Brown since 1994), all too often a minor issue will develop into a festering sore, thereby destroying relationships between erstwhile friends when this could all have been avoided if the lines of communication had run smoothly. Email has, of course, a lot to answer for in this regard given that emails meant as humourous by the sender can often come across as terse or inappropriate to the reader.

Donal Blaney: The test of moral ideas is moral results

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

“There is much to be said for trying to improve some disadvantaged people's lot. There is nothing to be said for trying to create heaven on earth. When all the objectives of government include the achievement of equality - other than equality before the law - that government poses a threat to liberty.”
- Statecraft, Margaret Thatcher

Maybe I drank too much rum when I was living abroad for the past two years?

Maybe in time I will wake up from this horrible dream, this nightmare, in which the political party that gave us Churchill and Thatcher – the political creed that gave us Reagan and is still adhered to by John Howard and Stephen Harper – have been discarded by David Cameron in what increasingly seems to me to be nothing more than a naked push for power at any price, without any regard for political principle or the true needs of the vast majority of voters.

Donal Blaney: Never miss a political meeting if you think there's the slightest chance you'll wish you'd been there

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

It’s often said that life is a series of regrets. For those who are truly interested in politics, one of the most frequent regrets is missing a meeting that others wax lyrical about for weeks (or even years) on end.

I was privileged to hear Enoch Powell speak on two occasions, neither of which was televised or recorded for posterity. Regardless of one’s views of Powell, it cannot be disputed that he was one of the most influential and important political figures of the past fifty years.

I also had the privilege of hearing then Labour leader, John Smith, when I was at university a few weeks before his death. Many of us discussed earnestly whether or not we should attend what was essentially a Labour Students event. We feared being a focal point of abuse and invective and also thought that by boycotting this speaker meeting, we would be making some kind of (still unclear even to this day) statement. Thankfully common sense prevailed, we attended, we entered into banter with John Smith during his remarks and I have a memory that will last a lifetime of attending a speech given by a principled, if misguided, statesman.

By contrast I was unable to attend the 2005 Conservative Party Conference as I was working in the Caribbean. I therefore missed out on seeing in person the leadership hustings that were pivotal in propelling David Cameron into the pole position. Despite seeing Cameron and Davis’ speeches on tape since then, I missed out not only on hearing the speeches given live at the time but also perhaps more importantly I missed out on seeing first hand the fascinating manoeuvring of the rival candidates’ lieutenants and supporters. 

Donal Blaney: Actions and consequences

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

This week’s results from the US mid-term elections brings home the importance of recognizing that actions have consequences. 

Jim Talent’s opposition to stem-cell research, Rick Santorum’s unbending conservatism and unfortunate remarks about homosexuals, George Allen’s unguarded use of language, Conrad Burns’ association with a disgraced lobbyist, Lincoln Chafee’s perpetual flip-flopping, Mike DeWine’s failure to campaign with enough gusto – all of this had the consequence of the loss respectively of Senate seats in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Montana, Rhode Island and Ohio. 

These consequences could have been avoided in some, if not all, of these states if different actions had been pursued by these incumbent Senators. This is particularly the case when one thinks of how George Allen, previously considered a likely presidential candidate in 2008, managed to lose Virginia. A series of own-goals seem to have put pay to a political career that had seen Allen secure a number of fine achievements from his time as Governor of Virginia (and which gubernatorial achievements, in turn, had seen him successfully elected to the Senate). 

Donal Blaney: Effort is admirable. Achievement is valuable.

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

This week’s Law of the Public Policy Process seems, at first glance, to be blindingly obvious. There is no point working to hard doing something (or even appearing to be doing something) if, at the end of it all, nothing is achieved. 

Effort is indeed admirable – and assuming that people in the political sphere will put in the requisite effort is a dangerous assumption to make. All too many association officers, candidates, parliamentarians and even ministers seem to confuse doing or saying a lot with the more important concept of achieving a lot. Achievement cannot, of course, be attained without effort but effort does not always result in adequate levels of achievement. 

Take as examples a host of organizations whose founders launch them in a blaze of publicity and whose leaders put in an undoubtedly high level of effort. Conservative Insight was launched in the late 1990s as a vehicle to energise conservative-inclined graduates but died within a year or two. Contrast this with the successes, decried though its aims may be, of Women to Win. 

Donal Blaney: Make the steal more expensive than it's worth

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Cross-dressing is very much in fashion. I am not referring to transvestites as such, although there do seem to be more and more budding Eddie Izzards out and about even in spa towns today. I am, in fact, referring to the preponderance of political cross-dressing.

Who would have thought, even a few months ago, that it would be Labour politicians – not Powellite Conservatives – who would be calling for Muslim women to be lectured not to wear the veil.

Likewise who would have anticipated that it would be the Liberal Democrats, not the Tories, who would campaign for lower taxes for ordinary working and middle class families.

Similarly who would have countenanced that it would be the Tories – and not Labour – who would be advocating levying green taxes, opposing the expansion of grammar schools and calling for more distance in Britain’s relationship with the United States.

We truly live in interesting times when political alliances are being redefined with reference to national security, environmental issues, Europe and the economy. Many conservatives have more in common with Tony Blair on the War on Terror than they do with the approach adopted by the current Conservative Party leadership. Eurosceptic Tories have more in common with Bennite socialists in their attitude to the EU than with One Nation Tories (or, so it seems, many of their own MEPs judging from this week’s vote by the EPP in favour of all nation states adopting the Euro).

Donal Blaney: All gains are incremental; not all increments are gains

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

It will come as no surprise to learn that I remain a proud supporter of Thatcherism. I am convinced that the underlying values espoused by Margaret Thatcher, Norman Tebbit, Nick Ridley and Cecil Parkinson – lower taxes, self reliance, national pride, freedom of choice – are the values of a far larger number of people than the militant modernising tendency of our Party would like to believe. 

The death this week of Lord Harris, the great stalwart of the Institute of Economic Affairs and builder of Britain’s fledgling free-market movement, is yet another reminder that the great figures of the past are leaving us with increasing regularity for the next world. 

With few figures from the last period when the Conservative Party underwent a radical policy review during the period from 1974-79 now still alive, it is important not to forget the lessons to be learned from that period and to apply them to today’s debates.

Donal Blaney: Governing is campaigning by different means

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Something happens to politicians when they stand for office. It’s not so much that they forget who put them where they are, although that seems to be an increasingly common factor. It’s not that they forget their principles, although certainly many seem to do this as well (assuming they had any to start with). It’s that their IQs fall a dozen or so points. They forget everything they ever learned from the days when they were mere mortals, or “activists” as they are more usually known. 

When politicians are seeking the approval of voters during an election campaign, they focus on campaigning so as to secure victory. Every leaflet, every public statement, every speech focuses on ensuring the success of the campaign. 

Yet all too often the tactics that were so successfully deployed in opposition or during an election campaign are ignored once victory has been secured. The Machiavellian arts of persuasion, message repetition and pre-emptive rebuttal fall by the wayside and are replaced by managerial and technocratic centred administration. 

Donal Blaney: Choose your enemies as carefully as you choose your friends

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Having attended public school at the tail-end of the era of fagging and when physical punishments were still permitted (and even encouraged) it was quickly impressed upon me that the key to my survival at Tonbridge was to choose my enemies as carefully as I chose my friends. Tempting though it might be to land a punch in a scrum on a larger opponent, common sense dictated that it was more sensible to keep such older colleagues onside rather than to alienate them.

It is an equally important lesson in politics not to make unnecessary enemies – and one that some in high office seem to have forgotten, not least those advising David Cameron. 

Tim Montgomerie, the esteemed editor of Conservative Home, is the leading proponent of “the And Theory” of conservatism. Tim espouses the virtue of combining tradtionalist messages on, say, firm immigration and asylum control with a modernizing message calling for a compassionate response to those truly in need and a commercial attitude towards skilled migrants. 

Having started out as a purist I must confess to having been won over by this argument during the past 12 months or so. I remain convinced that a campaign that focuses heavily on lowering taxes and encouraging personal responsibility would be particularly popular today when tax rates continue to rise inexorably. For such a campaign to be successful it would necessitate a sustained and vigorous extolling of the moral virtues and imperatives of a low tax economy. 

This week’s Conservative Party conference suggests that such an approach has again been neglected and that we will run the risk, for a fourth election running, of attempting to fatten the tax-cutting calf on market day (to use Lynton Crosby’s analogy) – assuming that we even advocate lower taxes at all.

The current strategy of the Cameroons has admittedly been clever insofar as it is has focused on the various groups that have been ignored in the past and that the Party has sought to befriend – environmentalists, civil libertarians, homosexuals, the liberal intelligentsia. The Cameron approach has been to make it no longer a social taboo to be a Conservative and to seek to placate those groups that had hitherto adopted a knee-jerk anti-Tory stance.

It is also clearly part of that strategy not only to distance the current leadership from the failures of the past (and, for some reason, the successes too) but also to deliberately pick fights with those whose views do not accord with the current fashion. As well as assailing those bete-noires of the BBC, Norman Tebbit and Simon Heffer, the Cameroons have sought to show that they are no longer bosom buddies with the likes of The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and even The Sun – all three of which newspapers have coincidentally adopted an increasingly hostile tone towards both Cameron and the Conservative Party in recent weeks. 

Showing that the Party has changed by slaying policy dragons and cultural taboos may be one thing. Provoking discontent and disunity among traditional supporters, volunteer activists, lifetime voters and newspaper columnists on whose support the Party depends is another matter altogether and it is surely not wise. 

At a time when the Party’s poll ratings are not exactly reaching the stratospheric levels of New Labour a year after Tony Blair assumed his party’s leadership, it would seem to be a very risky strategy indeed to assume that the current leadership’s position is as unassailable as some cheerleaders would have us believe. 

The traditional weapon of the Conservative Party has been loyalty – a double-edged sword that has been wielded aggressively against leaders who have overplayed their hands in the past (Heath deservedly, or who have been perceived to be electoral liabilities - IDS unfairly). Conservatives, often derided in the past as “the stupid Party,” historically exhibited an all-encompassing desire for power, often at the expense of all else, including principle. 

While the desire for power may be stronger after 9 years in the wilderness than a desire for governance on a philosophically sound basis, it must surely not be pursued at the expense of causing levels of division or discontent that see the traditional Tory base disintegrating. The “And Theory” of conservatism is the pragmatic and politically astute way forward and yet instead enemies are being made with gay abandon – and enemies in politics have long memories.

Previous entry in this series: The Conservative Party needs a conservative movement

Donal Blaney: The Conservative Party needs a conservative movement

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Despite repeated electoral successes throughout the 1980s, the Right failed to win the cultural battle that the Left began waging in the 1960s. A steady infiltration of schools and universities was followed by a concerted assault on the prison system, the judiciary and, recently, the police.

The Left has managed to sustain itself through the efforts of the ever-growing class of politically motivated employees of the state (self-styled public servants), trades unionists and other taxpayer-funded interest groups who can all rely on the instinctive support of their fellow travellers in the mainstream print and broadcast media and their spokesmen in Parliament.

In contrast, those who have traditionally been seen as being on the Right – campaigners for standards in education, Eurosceptics, Atlanticists, those favouring choice and less state control in health and education and so on – have failed to work together to secure their desired ends.

In their seminal book, The Right Nation, Adrian Wooldridge and John Micklethwait graphically illustrate the concerted building of a conservative movement from the 1970s onwards. If you read no other political book this year, please read this book.

It is the development of this true conservative movement – a coalition of groups which share some, but not by any means all, of their goals – that saw the victories of Reagan in 1980 and 1984, Bush 41 in 1988 and Bush 43 in 2000 and 2004, as well as the seizure of Congress in 1994. Groups such as the National Rifle Association, Americans for Tax Reform and the Christian Coalition worked alongside other libertarians, social conservatives, economic liberals, foreign policy hawks and everyday citizens to create a movement that will still prove difficult to defeat in November, despite the challenges of Iraq and Afghanistan.

So in Britain, a true conservative movement needs to be developed. Countryside campaigners, Eurosceptics, fiscal conservatives, royalists, environmentalists, family values activists, voluntary sector workers and so on all need to work together to achieve their goals.

This week in Bournemouth, maximum effort should be expended on the fringes of the main conference hall to continue building a true conservative movement in Britain. There will be many occasions when the goals of libertarians and social conservatives – on issues such as gay rights, abortion and so on – do not coincide. But the fact is that libertarians and social conservatives would both surely prefer a Conservative government – even one led by David Cameron – than yet another four years of fiscal irresponsibility, EU integration and political correctness.  The shields logo of ConservativeHome represents this movement in graphical form.

For such a movement to flourish, it must be recognized by the Party that its component parts may well on occasions disagree with the official Party line. Rather than seeing such disagreements as evidence of wanton disloyalty that needs to be stamped on (as some of the more hysteric posters on this site seem to argue should be the case), the Party should recognize that there are many things that the wider conservative movement can and should be saying that the Party cannot and should not.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance is leading the fight against ever more wasteful government expenditure and the seemingly unending growth of the state. The Centre for Social Justice works tirelessly with voluntary groups in tackling the tragedy of social decay that has only been exacerbated by the state.

For the conservative movement to grow as quickly as we might all wish, its leaders need to work yet more closely together for the common good. Members of the conservative movement need to help each other in times of difficulty. Victory can be ours at the next election and the leftward cultural shift that would have made Chairman Mao proud can be reversed. But this can only happen if we build a truly diverse conservative movement, led by visionaries who work together and who learn the lessons from the successes of the conservative movement in the United States, Canada and Australia.

The Conservative Party alone cannot win the next election, nor particularly can CCHQ (even if it is based in Millbank Tower). But a conservative movement working to further conservative values and a conservative agenda can help deliver victory.

***
Previous entry in this series: Sound doctrine is sound politics

Donal Blaney: Sound Doctrine is Sound Politics

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

As will have become pretty obvious to all but the most political illiterate, my views are broadly "Thatcherite" in outlook. I instinctively believe in an independent nation, free markets, a smaller state, lower taxes, traditional values and I stand alongside those who oppose political correctness, multiculturalism and a headlong rush into a European superstate, In the parlance of conservative activists of a certain generation, I am "sound" and "One of Us".

And yet this week's Law of the Public Policy Process does not apply only to Thatcherites. Indeed in today's political discourse, who is NOT a Thatcherite? Last weekend's Sunday Times carried a fascinating article arguing that Gordon Brown - far from being the socialist bogeyman many of us believe him to be - is actually more of a Thatcherite than Tony Blair.

This week's Law - that sound doctrine is sound politics - stresses the centrality in politics of principle. It does not ignore the fact that politics is the art of the possible - that would be naive. But it does stress that a coherent philosophy is essential as the starting point from which any subsequent derogations or deviations may then flow.

Donal Blaney: Expand the leadership

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

This week has seen yet another opinion poll showing that voters no longer trust politicians (although their views of their local MPs were more favourable). Much of this is, I am sure, down to the manipulation of the media pioneered by the New Labour machine. In an era of uncertainty, voters look to their leaders to lead rather than to follow the results of focus groups. Empty vessels who parrot inane platitudes and soundbites are rightly less trusted than those handful of politicians who say what they mean and mean what they say. And yet the perception is that the former are in the ascendancy.

Politics is ultimately about power. The Prime Minister this week reminded the TUC that doctrinal purity is no substitute for controlling the levers of powers and being able to enact at least some of the agenda that matters to the TUC and its members.

Politics is also about hubris. Too often throughout history, political leaders have remained in office way past their sell by dates after convincing themselves (and allowing their coterie of advisors to convince them) that they are indispensable. It happens to third rate leaders such as Blair and Prescott as well as to great statesmen such as Churchill and Thatcher. In a nation without formal term limits,
persuading political leaders to leave centre stage is very difficult indeed.

Donal Blaney: Winners aren't perfect: they just make fewer mistakes than their rivals

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

I expect that most conservatives have enjoyed this week more than any week in politics since April 1992. The sight of the Labour Party indulging in what Peter Mandelson has called "a moment of madness" has certainly cheered conservatives' spirits in the run-up to the annual conference season.

How long ago seem the difficult days of the 1990s - a period when "New Labour" was given the benefit of the doubt and journalists and voters alike nodded sagely when Tony Blair described himself as "a pretty straight kinda guy".

Everything that Blair touched seemed to turn to gold. The Grid was adhered to. Iron parliamentary discipline was the order of the day. Ministers pursued initiatives with vigour. And it seemed that nothing that the Conservative Party did or said made the slightest bit of difference.

That is not to say - as some Cameroon revisionists would like us to believe - that the period from May 1997 to December 2005 was wasted. William Hague kept the Party together when a split was a real possibility. His good-natured, confident demeanour kept us believing that maybe one day our time might come again. Iain Duncan Smith lanced the boil of the European debate and pioneered the "compassionate conservative" agenda that the current leadership are passing off as their own. Michael Howard instilled discipline among MPs and persuaded voters that the Party was a valid electoral force again.