British Tories Leadership Race Continues

The party of Churchill and Thatcher has fallen on hard times. Out of office since the disastrous result of the 1997 election, the British Tories haven’t really ever recovered from the Westminster matricide that ousted Mrs. T in 1990. The current leadership fight has come down to two men, David Cameron and David Davis, who seem to be as interchangeable as their first names. The race comes down to style because the Conservatives of Britain have no ideas that Tony Blair hasn’t stolen.

The problem of selecting a leader to replace Michael Howard (who’s quitting because he’s getting on and he lost the general election last spring) has been complicated by the rules under which the party has operated. Used only to select the unremarkable Iain Duncan Smith, who succeeded William Hague who succeeded ex-PM John Major, the rules called for nominations and balloting among members of parliament, and when they had whittled the field to two, the 300,000 Tory activists in the country would vote. The laughable part about this is the unsuccessful attempt to change these rules and let the MPs choose their own leader (which was the traditional method). Not only were the Conservatives voting to reduce grass-roots democracy in their own party, but also they approved the change with 61% voting to change but a 2/3 majority was necessary. Even among the grass roots, 58% wanted MPs to choose. So this race is taking place under rules only a minority of Tories like.

After dumping Kenneth Clarke on Tuesday (a man who actually served in cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary), the MPs yesterday decided that Dr. Fox wasn’t the man for the job. Of the 198 MPs voting, David Cameron got 90 votes, David Davis 57, and Dr. Fox garnered just 51. However, since Mr. Cameron finished second in Tuesday’s vote, pundits have decided he’s got the momentum (George Bush the Elder claimed he had the “Big Mo” right before Ronald Reagan beat the bejesus out of him for the 1980 nomination).

For the next six weeks, each will appear across the country trying to persuade the Tory committed of his qualifications. Mr. Davis, former member of the Territorial SAS and kid from a council house, has a committed right-wing crew. Mr. Cameron is trying hard to avoid being called the Tory Tony Blair – a young “modernizer”. What is missing from the discussion is what it means to be a Conservative, if not conservative, in 21st Century Britain.

Mr. Cameron said in his speech to the party conference this autumn, “"When I say change, I'm not talking about some slick re-branding exercise - what I'm talking about is fundamental change so that when we fight the next election street by street, house by house, flat by flat, we have a message that is relevant to people's lives today, that shows we are comfortable with modern Britain and that we believe our best days lie ahead.” The odds-makers have Mr. Cameron as the favorite to win, but the odds on finding out what the message about which he spoke are long indeed.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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