Analysis: “Refresh Conservatism” rings out before Conservative conference

Publius reports for The Guardian at Conservative Party Conference.

Spectators at Tory Conference

The Guardian today witnessed the opening speech of the Tory Conference. In the speech, one could see the usual government bashing one would expect from an opposition party, but two words rang out in them: “Refresh Conservatism” which outlined that the Conservatives would be moving away from their rather socially conservative roots and adopting a more openly socially liberal platform for their dealings with policies.

Readers may be wondering how the Conservatives intend to do this, the speech says “we will embrace the social liberalism and social justice of the future and pull it, kicking, towards us.” This is a rather stark but not unexpected change of heart from the Conservatives, mimicking the Government on multiple occasions. However, this pull towards social liberalism is most likely going to mark the death of the old guard’s ideals in the Conservatives, with the original roots of social conservatism be phased out in official policy, in favour of more outright social liberalism.

This shift in policy is nothing new, since Leafy_Emerald became Leader the Conservatives have seen a dramatic shift towards the more liberal side of things, which one could correlate with the increasing rise of Liberalism in the United Kingdom over the last few months. One qualm I may have with this speech is the statement that “Conservatism cannot remain static.” Conservatism, as I view it, is supposed to be a grounded force, not yielding to the ever-changing tides of social outlook on life, but when it is necessary, then conservatism can truly move and root itself back in and not let up for the next time social attitudes change.

The speech continued on in a usual fashion, concluding with that Individualism is better than the collective and that the economy is best left to the market, standard for the Tories. The last lines of the speech are the real kickers here:“It’s time to refresh conservatism. It’s time to embrace the New Britain.” These lines resonate with the reader as they finish this off, the statement about the New Britain contradicts with the Conservative motif, considering that the electorate decided to take the Conservatives out of power because the New Britain called for a more liberal approach to government and granted, the government has botched things, but the New Britain could be now considered a Liberal Britain.

It’s time to refresh conservatism. It’s time to embrace the New Britain.

These lines resonate with the reader as they finish this off, the statement about the New Britain contradicts with the Conservative motif, considering that the electorate decided to take the Conservatives out of power because the New Britain called for a more liberal approach to government and granted, the government has botched things, but the New Britain could be now considered a Liberal Britain.

In short, this was a well written and well thought out speech that deserves praise because of its message of conservative progressivism, and it might be what Britain needs in the next election.

-Publius