Britain's Centrist Dads Have a New Champion

Not so long ago “Centrist Dad” ruled the roost in Britain. Middle-class, middle-aged men who favor pragmatic social-democratic politics used to corner the market in public-service appointments and outward-facing corporate jobs. Post-Brexit, however, their “common-sense” views were no longer welcome. Their natural foes, right-wing populists and leftist social-justice warriors, came to the fore, disturbing the placid order of things.

Perhaps that was the UK’s loss. But a reckoning was overdue. Centrist Dad is often outwardly charming but is only open to compromise on small details of a belief system lodged securely in mainstream Labour and Liberal Democrat voting patterns — with a benign tolerance for a certain kind of moderate, anti-Brexit Tory. There was always an edge to this, not least an aggressive condescension to those who don’t share their views, and the assumption that political differences must stem from poor education or character.