New polling has lifted the curtain on the Conservative party's membership. What does it mean for Britain?
A new YouGov poll has shone a light on the people who are set to determine the whose fate our country.
To describe it as dramatic would be a gross understatement. As the Independent reported:
“46 per cent of [Tory members] would be happy to see Nigel Farage at the helm of the Conservatives. Sixty-three per cent of members said they would be prepared to accept Scottish independence to get Brexit, while 59 per cent said the same about a united Ireland.
“’Significant damage’ to the UK economy was also no deterrent, with 61 per cent in favour and 29 per cent opposed. Some 54 per cent said the Tory party’s complete destruction would still be a price worth paying for Brexit.”
Think about this. Next month, these 160,000 members will decide who will lead our country. Since all candidates have ruled out a General Election, they will determine the fate of our country for some time to come – including the nature of if/how we leave the EU.
These members (in name only) of the Conservative and Unionist party would see the union destroyed to force through Brexit (Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson’s request for members to ‘take a long hard look at themselves will do little to shift opinion). They would see their party and our economy destroyed to force through Brexit. This isn’t a Tory party leadership election. It’s a kamikaze mission.
It is not a Conservative Party election, because the ‘members’ do not support their own party. Surveys on the European elections offer crucial insights. ConservativeHome‘s pre-election survey found that 61.7 per cent would vote for Farage’s Brexit Party, with another finding 60.5 per cent would do so.
YouGov’s post-election polling of Conservative Party members backed this up, finding that 59 per cent of Conservative members had voted for the Brexit Party.
Let’s be consistent here. Imagine an alternate universe where Tony Blair is once again PM. While leader, his party is usurped by Socialist Workers’ Party supporters. Now, 60% of ostensible Labour members voted for the SWP, and 54% of them would see Labour destroyed in order to secure nationalisation of the FTSE 100.
Blair then steps down and these members-in-name-only elect John McDonnell – without a General Election. He begins to implement his plans, against public opinion.
It would, quite simply, not be allowed to happen. Because it would be undemocratic and constitutionally dangerous.
But here we are. In the current leadership race, the asylum has been taken over, as the staff stand by and watch the ensuing destruction. Indeed, they are cheering them on, as MPs select a man who has refused to rule out shutting down Parliament to push through No Deal.
Then there is the separate but equally worrying point that the people picking our Prime Minister are – like the candidates – grossly unrepresentative of the UK.
According to analysis by the academic Tim Bale, 70% are male, while the majority actively want No Deal with the EU – compared to just 40% of the public. And it’s no surprise their policies fail to reflect public opinion: more than twice as many Tory members earn six figures salaries than those in the other parties.
When a majority of totally unaccountable, unrepresentative party members do not vote for a party, and a majority would rather destroy the party than lose Brexit…should they really pick the leader of that party and our Prime Minister?
Somehow all of this is dismissed as normal or a ‘quirk’ of Tory party dynamics – rather than the constitutional catastrophe it represents. Welcome to the wild world of British politics in 2019.
Josiah Mortimer is Editor of Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter.
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
12 Responses to “This isn’t a Tory party leadership election. It’s a kamikaze Brexit mission”
BillyBlakesGhost
Lets talk about Labour’s version of democracy when it comes to selecting Prime Ministers.
I give you one mobile throwing, allegedly misogynistic little old lady hating GORDON BROWN.
Foisted on the electorate by his own Parliamentary thugs (eg Labours current deputy leader) and Union backers who bullied the Parliamentary Labour Party to appoint him Leader and Prime Minister without any real democracy at all, he then bottled a general election for fear of being defeated and slunk off to Lisbon in the middle of the night (to avoid the cameras) to sign the shameful treaty whose lack of diligence has left us with the Brexit mess we now face and in doing so reneged upon a key 2005 Labour manifesto promise to hold a referendum on said treaty.
The left gave up any right to lecture anyone on Prime Ministerial succession and democracy when they betrayed the British electorate 3 times over Gordon Brown. This article is nothing but purile disagraceful hypocrisy!
BillyBlakesGhost
And for the record. Nobody is suggesting that Tory Party members actually want to expel regions from the Union but if those regions do not accept the collective democratic decision of the Union regarding Brexit then all that the Tories are doing is saying they will respect the choice of those regions (just as they expected the EU to do the same). I do suspect however they will do nothing to help those regions leave the union and indeed will do everything to dissuade them short of desecrating the collective will of the Union as set out in the Brexit Referendum result.
You’d have thought socialists would understand the concept of collectivism but it seems many of them are ignorant of their own raison d’etre these days…,.
Cole
It’s worth pointing out that ‘socialists’ that back Brexit are a tiny minority. Most people on the left know that Brexit is a right wing ploy to further enrich the already wealthy. They’re really looking forward to scrubbing those pesky consumer, worker and environmental regulations.
Cole
Oh, and let’s not forget that Labour Leave (so called) was largely funded by wealthy Tory donors. Quite why the people in it have not been expelled from the party is something of a mystery.
Patrick Newman
I am not fooled by Sacold and Bates. Their home is Guido Fawkes and a no deal Brexit. They belong to the new UKIP – Brexit Party. They are quite happy to see the UK detach from the EU and become a client state of the USA – home of the alt-Right! It is forgotten by leavers that only 35% max voted to leave so to talk of the people have decided is a crime against semantics!