Disraeli was right in 1872 about improving people’s lives and James Carville was also right in 1992 when he told us ‘it’s the economy, stupid’. The problems Britons face are overwhelmingly economic.
The problem we have is the entire political class - Reform included - has been born, brought up, educated, knowing nothing other than cradle-to-the-grave welfarism and Statism. That is the ‘norm’. Any reformers, think in terms of ‘delivering the public services better’ = more Govt intervention and spending. The so-called market failures of capitalism require more Govt intervention. We must invest in more research - green stuff, new technologies, we need more affordable housing, we need more jobs. All this = more Government. As Ronald Reagan said, Government is not the solution it’s the problem. If you want a reformed Conservative Party, you need someone with clear vision of an economy without Govt, a society without Govt, in fact the sort of society we had at the beginning of, and which created the Industrial Revolution. When I hear a prospective leader of a political Party stating the policy will be shut down the NHS, shut down the welfare state, return public services to the private sector, repeal legislation such as hate crime, race relations, anti-discrimination, climate change, for example - I’ll believe change is coming. Of course much of that would not fly with most of the electorate. We won’t change until the electorate changes - an electorate used to having its nappy changed - others provide for them what they don’t provide for themselves, who believe other people’s money should be taken to serve their interests. We are stuck. As for proportional representation, just look at continental Countries with it, or Israel - change is impossible, as the same characters just shuffle round the table each election time. The whole Green crap is thanks to proportional representation in Germany, where the minority Green Party have had just enough support to be king-makers and therefore able to get their ruinous policies adopted by the ruling Party and foisted on the electorate there, and now the rest of us via the EU.
On your first point, not that I necessarily disagree with it, I think the characterisation of Reform as ‘left on the economy’ isn’t correct.
The problem we have is the entire political class - Reform included - has been born, brought up, educated, knowing nothing other than cradle-to-the-grave welfarism and Statism. That is the ‘norm’. Any reformers, think in terms of ‘delivering the public services better’ = more Govt intervention and spending. The so-called market failures of capitalism require more Govt intervention. We must invest in more research - green stuff, new technologies, we need more affordable housing, we need more jobs. All this = more Government. As Ronald Reagan said, Government is not the solution it’s the problem. If you want a reformed Conservative Party, you need someone with clear vision of an economy without Govt, a society without Govt, in fact the sort of society we had at the beginning of, and which created the Industrial Revolution. When I hear a prospective leader of a political Party stating the policy will be shut down the NHS, shut down the welfare state, return public services to the private sector, repeal legislation such as hate crime, race relations, anti-discrimination, climate change, for example - I’ll believe change is coming. Of course much of that would not fly with most of the electorate. We won’t change until the electorate changes - an electorate used to having its nappy changed - others provide for them what they don’t provide for themselves, who believe other people’s money should be taken to serve their interests. We are stuck. As for proportional representation, just look at continental Countries with it, or Israel - change is impossible, as the same characters just shuffle round the table each election time. The whole Green crap is thanks to proportional representation in Germany, where the minority Green Party have had just enough support to be king-makers and therefore able to get their ruinous policies adopted by the ruling Party and foisted on the electorate there, and now the rest of us via the EU.