Tories Are Lost Because Their Ideology Failed

What do you preach when your god has forsaken you? That is the fundamental question facing the Conservatives following their midsummer mauling at the general election. For while most commentary on the Tory leadership race has focused on the gaffes, denialism and hardline rhetoric of the two remaining candidates, the real problem is that the party’s entire view of the world has fallen to pieces.

The last 14 years have seen the total failure of virtually every element of Conservative ideology. That isn't idle polemic — the Tories lost because nothing works, and because nothing they did worked. “Small state” austerity left public services in a state of collapse. Proposed tax cuts threatened to blow up the economy under Liz Truss. Privatization crashed the probation service. Deregulation achieved few upsides and helped contribute to the Grenfell disaster. Culture wars alienated moderate voters. Targeting immigrants left public services understaffed and resulted in policy fiascos such as the Windrush scandal and the now-scrapped Rwanda deportation scheme. A hard line on law and order, without commensurate public spending, ended in overcrowded prisons and dysfunctional police. All this without even mentioning Brexit.