Do Something About It

The Conservative Question

We've had a number of questions about the partisan affiliation of DoSomethingAboutIt.org.uk, with several people asking why we do not also include the Conservatives among the progressive parties listed on the About Us page. It's true that several prominent Conservatives have laid claim to the "progressive" tag, and progressive objectives do feature among the stated aims of the present leadership. But should progressives consider supporting them? That depends on three things.

First, is Conservative support for progressive objectives sincere? While it's certainly possible that Conservative posturing on progressive issues is a cynical ploy to attract voters, and/or exacerbate discontent in Labour ranks with the policies of the present government, DoSomethingAboutIt.org.uk is genuinely agnostic on this question. We don't pretend to know whether or not Cameron means what he says, and we think there's scope for reasonable disagreement here.

Second, is the Conservative leadership willing to will the means to these ends? Right now, this seems doubtful. Although some of Cameron's stated goals seem laudable, at a policy level he appears to be stuck in the pre-crisis paradigm of 'nudge' politics. The transition to a greener economy requires massive public investment now, and it is unclear how committed Cameron is to this level of state intervention. A fairer economy, in which opportunities for enterprise and initiative are not the prerogative of a privileged few, would require massive redistribution of assets from the richest to the rest (Phillip Blond's recent work is interesting in this regard; for an excellent commentary on the Conservative leadership's ambivalent relationship to the red Tory agenda, see here). To rejuvenate civil society, the Conservatives would first have to recognise the corrosive effect Thatcherite economic policies have had on civil society, and the role of government in safeguarding the space and time civil society requires. Most people in Britain today are under a great deal of economic pressure: it is impossible to nudge those who have no space to move. To paraphrase Barack Obama, there's no point telling people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps when they don't have any boots.

Third, even if Cameron is genuinely committed to progressive goals, and even if he is genuinely committed to the policies needed to achieve them, will he be able to implement such an agenda? Would other Conservatives, inside Parliament and in the party as a whole, be willing to support radical policies clearly opposed to the neoliberal consensus of the last three decades? If not, then a Cameron government would require cross-party support to push progressive policies, and it would seem prudent for progressive voters to support candidates with a proven record on progressive issues, rather than Conservatives who are merely keeping rank- for the time being.

DoSomethingAboutIt.org.uk campaigns for a progressive agenda, and there are many candidates (including some within the Labour Party itself) who offer more convincing alternatives to the New Labour project than the average Conservative MP. Our objective is to coordinate the progressive vote to make these alternatives electorally viable. Inside two and a half days, DoSomethingAboutIt.org.uk has already acquired a larger Facebook presence than the Conservative Party- both the group with the touchy feely 2006 logo, and the group that charmingly describes itself as: "The Party of Gentlemen. The Party of Ladies. Pikies not welcome."

NOD, 5 February 2009

Leave a Comment

What do you think? Do you agree? Are there progressive Conservative candidates and MPs that DoSomethingAboutIt.org.uk is in danger of overlooking?

-Nick

The thing with the Conservatives is that you have to wonder why someone who is interested in pursuing a progressive agenda would join the Conservatives in the first place. The Conservatives' claims to being environmentally-friendly are just as transparent as the swathes of big businesses who now fall over themselves to promote their "green" credentials. It really wasn't difficult to see a few years ago that the environment was going to be an increasingly important issue, so all Cameron really did was get his party to be the one to put it into the mainstream. The fact is, if you're motivated by green issues, you join the Green Party. The reason you join the Conservatives is because you're interested in things like lower taxes and privatising public services. Those aren't particularly progressive agendas, so it's difficult to see where the progressive Tory candidates are going to appear from.

-Douglas Daniel

As someone who came to political awareness during the 1980s, i could never see the conservatives as a party of progressiveness. This is maybe naive and myopic, yet the fact remains the seeds of the current financial catastrophe were sown during the thatcher regime. Admittedly the greed culture that was engineered by thatcher and her minions was continued by blair and brown (and call me old fashioned, but when i used to go to sunday school greed was one of the seven deadly sins). At least new labour had a patina of social responsibility. Hard to imagine a tory government introducing the minimum wage, sure start, family tax credits, etc. That said, it is going to be a though decision come the next election, so low is my faith in the whole sorry shower, but hey thats why I'm here, eh?

-david hopwood

It's hard to believe that members of the shadow cabinet who were cheerleaders for Thatcherism, such as William Hague and Liam Fox, have changed their spots. David Cameron may be sincere, although there's little hard policy to back up the words, but is it likely that those around him will allow the type of radical break with the past that would be needed to implement genuinely progressive policies? The background noise from the right wing press is equally discouraging. It seems to me that the crucial difference between the Labour and Conservative parties is that Labour, despite its failings in office, still has sufficient people among the membership who genuinely believe in progressive politics whereas the Conservative party does not

-Bill Redmond

It is very difficult to see the Conservative Party as "progressive" in any meaningful interpretation of the word. At the last General Election their Election Manifesto was frankly so right wing that it made a very centrist and "establishment" Blair clique look positively progressive! It is worth remembering that the author of that manifesto was none other than David Cameron. Now we are being invited to consider that those were not his views after all and that he is really a progressive politician. I think that is highly unlikely and what is really happening is that Conservatives have realised that a more caring face with a great deal of political "spin" might do the trick for them next time around.

-Derek Morse

The intro page says that DSAI is a non-partisan organisation but you imply that you would not support a member of the Conservative Party who had a progressive agenda. The reason for this seems to be that you do not believe that there are any progressives in the Conservative Party, if this is the case then it seems rather petty to say that you wouldn't support them even if there were any. Your three issues with the Conservative Party (sincerity, leadership and willingness of the party members to change) could apply to any political party. If other parties are all so sincere and willing to change, what is the purpose of a grassroots organisation like DSAI? Promoting a progressive agenda in politics is not going to be easy and it is going to take a long time. Any support, wherever it comes from, should be welcomed. Old quarrels should be left in the past because we are more concerned with the future. If DSAI is going to succeed, it needs to be open-minded and non-partisan, this should start by removing the thinly veiled attack on the Conservative Party from the intro page.

-Peter

I agree with Peter. Organizations such as this should be non-partisan and principles-based. It should welcome individuals from a broad political spectrum, who are prepared to engage in a progressive agenda. How about establishing some core principles to avoid party politics ruining a laudable cause? Surely party politics is what DSAI is trying to avoid.

-Nick M

I also think DSAI should be a non-party group. It's good to see that we can now comment and discuss the issues

-Duncan C

I agree with Peter and Nick. I think this is petty and I think you risk starting off on the wrong footing. As Nick says organisations such as DSAI are non partisan and principles based - it should offer itself to a membership from the whole spectrum who are frustrated with the stupidity and self serving nature of current political thinking and actions. I might add that my position on this is entirely principles based!

-angus

I agree with Peter, Nick and Angus. There are progressive ideas everywhere but alas none of the parties are progressive on the social divisiveness faith schools issue and others. That's why I joined DSAI

-Alan Hume

I agree with DSAI's stance on the Tories. As someone said: 'no-one ever joined the Conservatives because they cared about poverty'. While a few Tories are no doubt genuine in their progressive approach, most regard it as a PR stunt to steal votes from the centre left. Oh, & David Cameron IS an ex PR man.

-Henry

I believe that the present government is the most right wing one in living memory apart from having war criminals at the top. The idea of excluding the Conservatives is ludicrous.I think this organisation needs to think wider than parties.

-Ian


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