One of the major disagreements I had with my father over the years was about politics. He was a staunch Conservative. I was a staunch Labour supporter. He would get very heated when we discussed such matters, feeling that I should accept that he knew more about the world and agree with him. To complicate matters even further my mum was a socialist. As my father found it difficult to debate the matter with me for more than two minutes without losing his rag, I found it hard to fully understand his viewpoint.
After he died, I asked my mother what his political philosophy was and why he was a Tory. She explained that as my father had been raised in the outback of Australia, he believed in self sufficiency. He believed that Conservatives were sensible, moderate people, who ran businesses, became officers in the armed forces, ran institutions. They were solid, sound and paternal. He felt that socialists wanted handouts and something for nothing. He believed that the world was fundamentally unfair and pretending otherwise benefitted no one.
I have been thinking about this a lot recently. In my fathers day, the local Conservative party was made up of butchers, bakers, bank managers, headmasters, retired colonels etc. Most were also members of local golf clubs, Rotary clubs and Masonic lodges. None were at all ideological. They joined such organisations as they felt it was good for business and also because the organisations would do good work for local charities. The local MP would be involved with much of this. My Dad was on good terms with John Gorst, who was the long standing MP for Hendon North. On a couple of occasions, I got to spend time with Gorst. He was a proper old school Tory. I once asked him how he got on with his Labour colleagues at Westminster. His answer somewhat surprised me. He said that he got on really well with most of the Northern Labour MP's and felt they were good, honest, hard working people who were doing their best for the people they represented. He then said that in London, there were a few who were 'loony lefties" who were only interested in ideological purity. He also told me that if he wanted something sensible doing in Parliament, he'd make sure he got the support of sensible Labour MP's and work across party lines. He also told me that there were plenty of back channels that sensible MP's and Lords used to ensure the UK stayed on the straight and narrow. Gorst lost his seat to Andrew Dismore in 1997 and I never saw him again, my father had died a decade earlier. Much of the advice he gave me, I used to try and use my blog to build cross party support against the loony right of Barnet Council, as they tried to re-invent the council under Mike Freer. Many of the staunchest supporters of our campaign to oppose the abolition of pay and display parking were staunch Tories and we got them on board for other campaigns as well. This helped Barnet kick out Brian Coleman, who was the author of the Pay and Display policy, during the GLA elections of 2012.
It became clear to me then that the sensible, old school Tories of my Dad's era were in full retreat. A new generation were on the rise. They were far more ideoloically motivated. Many have never done a days hard slog (what may be called by some a proper job). They are graduates, management consultants, lawyers, political assistants. The days when Butchers and Bakers were part of the club seems long gone. When you read their profiles, they "have interests in" rather than jobs on their profiles. If you look at the Hendon Conservatives website, the councillors don't list their jobs. I find this strange.
As for our MP's. When I watch #BBCQT and other shows, I am struck by how rare it is, these days, to see a solid, old school style Tory, who can string two coherent sentences together. The cabinet seems to be stacked full of people who seem to be both incompetent and overwhelmed. The current mess with Suella Braverman and the Rwanda policy is a prime example. It may well be that eventually a few people are sent to Rwanda. It won't stop the problem and will cost an absolute fortune. If I was launching a policy, I'd have the legal position sorted out before I submitted it to Parliament. The likes of Braverman rant about 'Lefty Lawyers', but if you've done your homework, then they would have no legal basis to challenge the legislation and if they have, there is no point enacting it.
Much as simplistic solutions may seem appealling, if they are unworkable all they do is cost money. I've long thought the only way to stop the boats is to pay the French and make payment contingent on actually stopping the boats. Once you hav effective policing in place, the problem will stop.
You can see the same incompetence in the governments dealings with rail unions, nurses and public workers. These disputes will eventually be settled, but we have a government that seems more interested in shouting than talking. When your own policies have caused rampant inflation, expecting workers to take a massive hit in the pocket is the height of stupidity.
It was not always like this. I remember when Tory education minister Kenneth Baker brought in inset days for training (originally called 'Baker days'), to try and improve teaching standards. Michael Heseltine responded to riots in Liverpool by sorting out aid and doing something to address the social issues in the city. He is probably the only Tory who is reasonably well thought of there.
Small businesses used to be the bedrock of the local Conservative party. They expected Conservative governments and councils to not do stupit things that mucked your business up. They expected taxes to be at a level that businesses could sustain. The Tories have raised VAT to 20%, the highest rate ever and one that is the bain of the life of most small businesses. I raised this with our Conservative MP. He said that as 'we could reclaim most of it back, it's broadly neutral'. As a services company, we claim little of our turnover back and we pass the costs directly to customers who are generally are not VAT registered businesses. Rates have soared, minimum wages have also shot up. I am all for paying people fairly, but when you've come through a pandemic and your levels of business have not recovered, being forced to raise wages puts a huge strain on a business. This is reflected inthe fact that my business has lost 30% of our workforce, in an attempt to manage costs. I find myself working twice as hard and having less in my wallet at the end of the week.
When I talk to other small businesses, they all say the same thing. We watch politicians like the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivering budgets, claiming to be business friendly, only to discover that we are even worse off than before. Most of the small business people I know do not think the Conservative government is looking after them. I am sure that many will think "why should any government look after businesses, if you go into business, you should be prepared to graft to earn a living". The answer is that small businesses provide innovation, jobs and keep the economy on track.If you have an economy where small businesses can thrive, you have a strong economy and you can afford the things such as social care. Unlike multi national corporations, small businesses can't offshore profits to avoid tax. All of the money we generate stays in the local economy. Anyone involved in the sector knows this, but we have a government that simply hasn't got a clue. It seems to me that there are plenty of senior Conservatives who have an opinion on everything but experience of nothing.
I do wonder what my father would have made of it all?
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