Alasdair Dow is an academic based in the United States.
I grew up in llanelli in Wales for the first few years of my life. It is a Labour stronghold which does not vote Tory . Most people I know would rather jump off a cliff than put next to the Tory box on a ballot.
After all, in most people’s minds, the Conservatives are responsible for the economic difficulties of the town. Margaret Thatcher is blamed for closing down the state-owned mining industry and stripping the communities of South Wales of work and dignity.
It didn’t help that Winston Churchill is generally believed, in 1911, to have ordered the royal Worcestershire regiment to fire on unarmed striking train workers. I later moved elsewhere and maintained an anti-conservative bias. I even supported Jeremy Corbyn for a time, before resultantly recognizing his fault forced me to reevaluate my political outlook.
Then came Rishi Sunak. Unlike Boris Johnson, I didn’t see him as filled with bluster, anger, and lies. I couldn’t buy into Johnson. On many social issues I held a great indifference. What matters to me is the economy, since it determines if I can feed myself and those I loved.
The cost of living matters, and so does my tax rate. What defines a woman will never be very much on my radar. My family and wider community well-being wouldn’t be determined by these things. But cost of petrol and bread will.
Strangely, Keir Starmer has not appealed. Mainly because to me, he seemed hypocritical. One moment a standard bearer for the hard left of Jeremy Corbyn the next a Tony Blair disciple. Then again, that is no different from my own changing politics.
Maybe simply because Johnson was in power I felt the benefit of a conservative government. I cleaned dishes at the time and raising the minimum wage changed my life. I may have not agreed with Johnson on everything but offered me a better deal. When Sunak came into power it felt like getting a good deal without all the baggage.
It was a gradual process. I approved of a tax increase to better fund public service. I liked the departure from austerity. It seemed safe for people like me to vote Conservative for the first time.
I saw the Rwanda plan as the best option we had. It was clear since the Brexit vote that migration had to be reduced. Specifically, illegal migration needed to be tackled to prevent weaponization of the issue by the radical right, even though this is less important to me than my salary staying ahead of inflation.
The promises in the 2019 manifesto of increasing police numbers and reducing crime were very potent. Often since leaving Llanelli I return to marvel in horror at vandalism, drug use, and worse. It was clear that Conservatives value the rule of law and held the best way forward for my community. He also rightly called out Universities tempting students with Mickey Mouse degrees that go nowhere. Many of us have languished in dead-end jobs as a result.
I admit like many red wall Conservatives I do not hold dear the ideals of the free market. We vote Conservative for one thing: security. In some ways, Labour has seen this and hardened its stances to attract many blue-collar voters back to their traditional party alignances. Labour owes its recent success to simply copying One Nation Conservatism.
Reform UK cynically preys on blue-collar fears to enhance its support. They suggest that migration has increased the population demand on housing without having any solid policies to help buyers get into the housing market. They instead turned to uncosted pipe dreams like Jeremy Corbyn did. Like Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, it is a party of protest. It is about blaming others rather than fixing things.
In contrast, Rishi Sunak offered government assistance for the poorest with electricity bills, saved us from financial hardship, and let me save so I could marry the woman I love. I eventually moved to America, all because Rishi Sunak decided to use the state to protect those on lower wages. He delivered.
This didn’t make up for the Partygate, Tory sleaze, or the inability to deliver the flagship Rwanda flight which would have deterred illegal migration. The Conservatives may have stood a chance if they hadn’t abandoned the Blue Wall to the Lib Dems in pandering to Reform the UK to secure the Red Wall.
Red Wall voters are Labour voters who pragmatically in 2019 considered the Conservatives. One Nation Conservatism is all about pragmatism. The desire to sustain social order through noble obligation. To avoid possible social rebellion from the anger of the poor.
Maybe this is the problem. One Nation Conservatism is considered a gambit to gain votes, Rther than a sensible way to permanently govern a society. Let go beyond Benjamin Diserial’s pragmatic vision AND embrace one nation conservatism not as an electoral tactic but the morally right way to run a society. In which the wealthy must protect the poorest, while the poorest have a duty and loyalty to the social system.Regardless of the results I do thank Sunak for everything.
Alasdair Dow is an academic based in the United States.
I grew up in llanelli in Wales for the first few years of my life. It is a Labour stronghold which does not vote Tory . Most people I know would rather jump off a cliff than put next to the Tory box on a ballot.
After all, in most people’s minds, the Conservatives are responsible for the economic difficulties of the town. Margaret Thatcher is blamed for closing down the state-owned mining industry and stripping the communities of South Wales of work and dignity.
It didn’t help that Winston Churchill is generally believed, in 1911, to have ordered the royal Worcestershire regiment to fire on unarmed striking train workers. I later moved elsewhere and maintained an anti-conservative bias. I even supported Jeremy Corbyn for a time, before resultantly recognizing his fault forced me to reevaluate my political outlook.
Then came Rishi Sunak. Unlike Boris Johnson, I didn’t see him as filled with bluster, anger, and lies. I couldn’t buy into Johnson. On many social issues I held a great indifference. What matters to me is the economy, since it determines if I can feed myself and those I loved.
The cost of living matters, and so does my tax rate. What defines a woman will never be very much on my radar. My family and wider community well-being wouldn’t be determined by these things. But cost of petrol and bread will.
Strangely, Keir Starmer has not appealed. Mainly because to me, he seemed hypocritical. One moment a standard bearer for the hard left of Jeremy Corbyn the next a Tony Blair disciple. Then again, that is no different from my own changing politics.
Maybe simply because Johnson was in power I felt the benefit of a conservative government. I cleaned dishes at the time and raising the minimum wage changed my life. I may have not agreed with Johnson on everything but offered me a better deal. When Sunak came into power it felt like getting a good deal without all the baggage.
It was a gradual process. I approved of a tax increase to better fund public service. I liked the departure from austerity. It seemed safe for people like me to vote Conservative for the first time.
I saw the Rwanda plan as the best option we had. It was clear since the Brexit vote that migration had to be reduced. Specifically, illegal migration needed to be tackled to prevent weaponization of the issue by the radical right, even though this is less important to me than my salary staying ahead of inflation.
The promises in the 2019 manifesto of increasing police numbers and reducing crime were very potent. Often since leaving Llanelli I return to marvel in horror at vandalism, drug use, and worse. It was clear that Conservatives value the rule of law and held the best way forward for my community. He also rightly called out Universities tempting students with Mickey Mouse degrees that go nowhere. Many of us have languished in dead-end jobs as a result.
I admit like many red wall Conservatives I do not hold dear the ideals of the free market. We vote Conservative for one thing: security. In some ways, Labour has seen this and hardened its stances to attract many blue-collar voters back to their traditional party alignances. Labour owes its recent success to simply copying One Nation Conservatism.
Reform UK cynically preys on blue-collar fears to enhance its support. They suggest that migration has increased the population demand on housing without having any solid policies to help buyers get into the housing market. They instead turned to uncosted pipe dreams like Jeremy Corbyn did. Like Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, it is a party of protest. It is about blaming others rather than fixing things.
In contrast, Rishi Sunak offered government assistance for the poorest with electricity bills, saved us from financial hardship, and let me save so I could marry the woman I love. I eventually moved to America, all because Rishi Sunak decided to use the state to protect those on lower wages. He delivered.
This didn’t make up for the Partygate, Tory sleaze, or the inability to deliver the flagship Rwanda flight which would have deterred illegal migration. The Conservatives may have stood a chance if they hadn’t abandoned the Blue Wall to the Lib Dems in pandering to Reform the UK to secure the Red Wall.
Red Wall voters are Labour voters who pragmatically in 2019 considered the Conservatives. One Nation Conservatism is all about pragmatism. The desire to sustain social order through noble obligation. To avoid possible social rebellion from the anger of the poor.
Maybe this is the problem. One Nation Conservatism is considered a gambit to gain votes, Rther than a sensible way to permanently govern a society. Let go beyond Benjamin Diserial’s pragmatic vision AND embrace one nation conservatism not as an electoral tactic but the morally right way to run a society. In which the wealthy must protect the poorest, while the poorest have a duty and loyalty to the social system.Regardless of the results I do thank Sunak for everything.