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| Theresa May draws line under Cameron era with return to small-c conservatism Theresa May draws line under Cameron era with return to small-c conservatism | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Conservative MPs howled with delight, banging tables and cheering after David Cameron returned to parliament following his unexpected general election victory in May last year. | Conservative MPs howled with delight, banging tables and cheering after David Cameron returned to parliament following his unexpected general election victory in May last year. |
| Asked how he felt about Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrats had been battered in the same vote, the then Tory leader simply replied that politics was a brutal game. Isn’t it just. | Asked how he felt about Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrats had been battered in the same vote, the then Tory leader simply replied that politics was a brutal game. Isn’t it just. |
| It felt as though Cameron had been virtually airbrushed out of the Conservative party conference this week as Theresa May marched in with a new message and a new way of talking. | It felt as though Cameron had been virtually airbrushed out of the Conservative party conference this week as Theresa May marched in with a new message and a new way of talking. |
| Yes, members clapped politely at the mention of their previous leader’s name, but in conversations across Birmingham’s ICC and in the neighbouring Hyatt hotel, many cheered the back of what they saw as a chumocracy leadership. The mood among some was that Cameron and his cronies had been a little too posh, a little too cliquey and, frankly, a little too socially liberal for their sensibilities. | Yes, members clapped politely at the mention of their previous leader’s name, but in conversations across Birmingham’s ICC and in the neighbouring Hyatt hotel, many cheered the back of what they saw as a chumocracy leadership. The mood among some was that Cameron and his cronies had been a little too posh, a little too cliquey and, frankly, a little too socially liberal for their sensibilities. |
| As they rose to their feet to bellow their appreciation for May, it was with a new belief in their eyes. Here was a woman who looked and sounded more Conservative than her predecessor, and who was all too ready to draw a line under his Notting Hill set. | As they rose to their feet to bellow their appreciation for May, it was with a new belief in their eyes. Here was a woman who looked and sounded more Conservative than her predecessor, and who was all too ready to draw a line under his Notting Hill set. |
| As one minister told us: “The members believe they have got their party back.” | As one minister told us: “The members believe they have got their party back.” |
| They were applauding a politician who chose to bring back grammar schools as one of her first major policy announcements, who delivered a hardline speech on Brexit and who sounded like an unashamed champion of small-c conservative middle England. | They were applauding a politician who chose to bring back grammar schools as one of her first major policy announcements, who delivered a hardline speech on Brexit and who sounded like an unashamed champion of small-c conservative middle England. |
| Many were cheering a tougher stance on migration, and lapping up an attack of the sneering metropolitanism of politicians. | Many were cheering a tougher stance on migration, and lapping up an attack of the sneering metropolitanism of politicians. |
| But there was another, more challenging message from the prime minister to the Tory faithful and she planted her flag firmly in what she believes is the populist centre-ground. May used her main speech to the party faithful on Wednesday to reject both the small-state libertarianism of her own party’s rightwing and the socialist left. | But there was another, more challenging message from the prime minister to the Tory faithful and she planted her flag firmly in what she believes is the populist centre-ground. May used her main speech to the party faithful on Wednesday to reject both the small-state libertarianism of her own party’s rightwing and the socialist left. |
| Instead, she laid down the rhetoric for a more interventionist approach, in which the Conservative government was ready to pull the levers of government in an attempt to improve people’s lives. The move, which could be seen as another break from the more laissez faire messaging of the former chancellor George Osborne, does have echoes of a different set of very un-Conservative politicians. | Instead, she laid down the rhetoric for a more interventionist approach, in which the Conservative government was ready to pull the levers of government in an attempt to improve people’s lives. The move, which could be seen as another break from the more laissez faire messaging of the former chancellor George Osborne, does have echoes of a different set of very un-Conservative politicians. |
| May’s promises to reform companies and examine ways of regulating labour markets to help employees in the gig economy could have easily have been made by Ed Miliband; and Philip Hammond’s decisions to ditch Osborne’s surplus target and pave the way for targeted investment spending could easily have been made by Ed Balls. May might have dismissed Labour as the “nasty party” but she borrowed its language to make her case. | May’s promises to reform companies and examine ways of regulating labour markets to help employees in the gig economy could have easily have been made by Ed Miliband; and Philip Hammond’s decisions to ditch Osborne’s surplus target and pave the way for targeted investment spending could easily have been made by Ed Balls. May might have dismissed Labour as the “nasty party” but she borrowed its language to make her case. |
| The prime minister came to Birmingham with a new style, too. Her team planned to run a tight ship, with both No 10 and Hammond’s departments running the slide-rule over every other minister’s conference speech, to root out headline-grabbing stunts or unfunded spending pledges. | The prime minister came to Birmingham with a new style, too. Her team planned to run a tight ship, with both No 10 and Hammond’s departments running the slide-rule over every other minister’s conference speech, to root out headline-grabbing stunts or unfunded spending pledges. |
| One minister asked to meet away from the conference site to avoid being spotted by wandering Downing Street eyes. Others said they had been told not to appear at too many fringe meetings and, if they must, to avoid making waves. | One minister asked to meet away from the conference site to avoid being spotted by wandering Downing Street eyes. Others said they had been told not to appear at too many fringe meetings and, if they must, to avoid making waves. |
| May’s quip that Boris Johnson had “just about” stayed on message for four days was a joke – sort of. If in doubt, the answer from May’s ministers to any tricky question appeared to be “we’re studying the evidence”. | May’s quip that Boris Johnson had “just about” stayed on message for four days was a joke – sort of. If in doubt, the answer from May’s ministers to any tricky question appeared to be “we’re studying the evidence”. |
| And while Cameron was surrounded by friends in government, May’s closest cabinet allies described a professional working relationship, with one admitting “buddies” was not the right way to describe the link. May would like her government to be seen as workmanlike, cautious, technocratic, in another break from the past. | And while Cameron was surrounded by friends in government, May’s closest cabinet allies described a professional working relationship, with one admitting “buddies” was not the right way to describe the link. May would like her government to be seen as workmanlike, cautious, technocratic, in another break from the past. |
| In Birmingham, the efforts to control from the centre were unquestionably effective, with almost every news story emerging from the ICC planned and on message. There were none of the usual conference missteps that had journalists tailing politicians around with questions about Autocues or the rights of cats. | In Birmingham, the efforts to control from the centre were unquestionably effective, with almost every news story emerging from the ICC planned and on message. There were none of the usual conference missteps that had journalists tailing politicians around with questions about Autocues or the rights of cats. |
| With May’s Tory honeymoon still well under way in Birmingham, her “less is more” approach with the media worked well. | With May’s Tory honeymoon still well under way in Birmingham, her “less is more” approach with the media worked well. |
| But there was also a cautious welcome from the minority of members who said they were committed Cameroons. One young woman said she had joined the party for gay marriage and would be ready to leave if May chose a more illiberal direction. | But there was also a cautious welcome from the minority of members who said they were committed Cameroons. One young woman said she had joined the party for gay marriage and would be ready to leave if May chose a more illiberal direction. |
| The moderniser MPs are watching closely too, and at times in alarm. One said they were appalled by the headlines generated from the conference. Those liberal Tories represent another break from the past, which May might not welcome so readily. | The moderniser MPs are watching closely too, and at times in alarm. One said they were appalled by the headlines generated from the conference. Those liberal Tories represent another break from the past, which May might not welcome so readily. |
| While Cameron had to deal with the complaints of rightwing, Eurosceptic MPs on his backbenches who are now cheered by Brexit, May has to deal with a new group organising behind her. This breed of modernising Conservatives have not left, and will be watching every move as she navigates Britain’s thorny path out of the European Union. | While Cameron had to deal with the complaints of rightwing, Eurosceptic MPs on his backbenches who are now cheered by Brexit, May has to deal with a new group organising behind her. This breed of modernising Conservatives have not left, and will be watching every move as she navigates Britain’s thorny path out of the European Union. |