Tories Give Compassionate Conservatism a Second Chance
Ten years ago, compassionate conservatism emerged as the right’s answer to the infuriatingly slippery triangulation of the Clinton/Blair era. William Hague, then-leader of the beaten and beleaguered British Conservatives, traveled to Crawford to seek advice from a certain Texas governor who had pledged to renew the GOP for the 21st century. Ultimately, both men failed in their modernizing mission. Hague swung back to the right and led his party to another meltdown, while George W. Bush abandoned his already incoherent domestic agenda in the aftermath of 9/11.
After these false starts, it seemed that this week would mark the beginning of a new compassionate conservative era, at least in the UK. The Conservatives gather for their final pre-election conference enjoying huge poll leads over the ruling Labour Party. Like Bush, David Cameron has dragged his reluctant party towards the center. He has focused on education, welfare, and the role that charities and voluntary groups can play in the provision of public services. He has assiduously courted minority voters. And, just as Bush exposed the lack of moral purpose to Clinton’s impressive economic record, Cameron took the prosperity of the Blair years as a given – arguing for less talk of GDP and more consideration of “GWB” (General Well-Being).
Which is precisely why compassion might not be so evident at the Tory conference after all. The financial crisis has forced Cameron, often caricatured as a chameleon by his opponents, to adapt and shift emphasis once more. If it was difficult for Bush to govern with compassion while waging war on terrorists, it’s equally problematic for the Tory leader to continue to recite vacuous slogans about sunshine in the present economic climate.
Although nobody has ever changed the Conservative Party as quickly and radically as Cameron, the terrible irony is that he will be leading it into the next election on a sober platform of austerity, extreme fiscal discipline, and public sector cuts. To add insult to modernizing injury, Ireland’s ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will put the EU firmly back on the political agenda. Having struggled for years to unhook his party from damaging perceptions of the Thatcher years, Cameron will have no choice but to adopt positions on the economy and the EU with which the Lady would be satisfied.
However, it is important to recognize that, contrary to some traditionalist critiques, this sudden inversion of priorities does not discredit the compassionate approach, nor expose it as a fad to be abandoned at the first sign of a crisis. Without the long and painful process of reinvention, nobody would turn to the Conservatives, even if the party offered constructive policies. Recall that Iain Duncan Smith’s robust response to the 9/11 attacks reflected popular opinion without remotely increasing the party’s approval ratings. Cameron has successfully demonstrated that he shares people’s concerns and is therefore suitable to rebuild the economy.
In any event, it’s far from clear that the financial crash has substantially altered Cameron’s core themes. If anything, recent events have increased their salience. Previously, he lamented Britain’s broken society (by which he means rising crime and inequality, family breakdown, and child poverty) and Britain’s broken politics (by which he means the undemocratic nature of the country’s political institutions and the recent scandal over MPs’ expenses). He is now able to add “broken economy” to the list, advocating policies (such as more oversight and regulation of the financial system and banking pay structures) that reflect his wider messages of responsibility, stability, and fairness.
Cameron now talks openly about an “age of austerity.” But he insists that this will not derail his pursuit of the “good society” with improved education, health care, and environment: “Does the age of austerity force us to abandon our ambitions? No. We are not here just to balance the books…I think people know by now that I want us to stand up for the poorest in Britain and to show that fiscal responsibility can go hand in hand with a social conscience.”
He argues that the crisis will be resolved not just through traditional methods of strict public spending controls and a culture of thrift in government, but by addressing what might be described as modernizing concerns, including Britain’s social problems and the use of technology to improve the delivery of public services. Of particular relevance to the GOP’s opposition to Obama’s healthcare plans, the Tories are therefore vigorously criticizing the government, but in the context of a coherent and optimistic platform aimed at serious long-term solutions.
It may have taken a decade, but the Tories have learned from the GOP. They’ve painstakingly and thoughtfully implemented compassionate conservative ideas. It is to be hoped that they win big and write a new chapter in conservative politics. It is also to be hoped that Republicans see in this chapter what might have been and what could still be.