The election result last month was fantastic news. A decisive majority for a party that promises to uphold the referendum of 2016, with a withdrawal agreement that allows us to leave the European Union on amicable terms. There is little danger of the democratic disaster that could have occurred had Brexit not been allowed to take place. Indeed, we have elected a Prime Minister who is positively enthusiastic about fulfilling it, and hopefully in an outward looking, global way.



As good as the win is in itself, we have avoided the alternative – socialism and the misery that mass state intervention and nationalisation that it brings. While Johnson’s government is certainly not promising a small state approach, the level of intervention he is promising seems negligible in comparison to what Corbyn’s Labour would have been.



Despite the victory, however, this was not a mass rejection of socialist ideas from the electorate. Those in favour of freedom and capitalism still have a lot of arguing to do. The Conservatives may have won big majority in terms of seats, but there are plenty of signs that socialism has not been vanquished, as some have claimed following the result.



Despite all the issues that Labour were juggling with during the campaign, they still achieved almost a third of the overall vote. If one in three people were prepared to vote for them that does not mean that they cannot mount a comeback, even within the near future. At 32%, They achieved the same share of the vote as the Conservatives did in 2005, prior to becoming the biggest party at the 2010 election. Labour may have lost key seats, and a chunk of the vote since 2017, but it is far from the end of the party.



The fact they achieved this vote share while carrying all the baggage of their strange Brexit positition and the allegations of anti-semitism only adds to the evidence that there is strong support for their economic policies. This is further evidenced by the party’s strong 2017 result, when without such controversy and a less ‘woke’ image they won over 40% of the vote. This was a higher share than Cameron won a majority with in 2015 (37%), and was even higher than Blair’s final victory in 2005 (35%). It is not unreasonable to think that Labour’s current strong socialist stance could win a majority of seats under slightly different circumstances or with a different leader.



Another reason why the election does not mean socialist ideas have been defeated long term is the extremely high youth vote. Ipsos Mori estimate 62% of 18 to 24 year olds voted for Labour, with the party also winning the 25 to 34 (51%) and 35 to 44 (39%) age groups. Of course, most people tend to get more conservative as they get older, but, it is striking how overwhelmingly Labour won over the youngest age group. By contrast, Tony Blair’s biggest win in the youngest age group was 49%, in 1997. Is it going to be possible for the Conservatives to shift such a big chunk of the population in those younger age groups over to the ideas of limited government and market economics? The bar is much higher now than it has been in recent times.



There is a danger the massive win could lead to complacency. Socialism was not defeated this election and young people in particular are extremely enthusiastic about it. Conservatives and free marketeers therefore need to carry on making the case for freedom and individual liberty, and capitalism is the best means of reaching that end.



As well as supporters of these policies putting forward these arguments in riveting blogs such as this one, the best way for the argument to be made would be for this Conservative government to use its power to show in practice the benefits capitalism brings. Rather than playing ‘Labour Lite’, it should start creating the structures that allow people to aspire to prosperity. Make it easy for people to start businesses through lower regulation and give them an incentive to make a profit and employ more people with low (especially corporation) taxes.



Whether this actually happens, we will have to see, but Johnson’s huge spending promises made in the campaign, his shelving of the corporation tax cut in November and the recent announcement that the minimum wage is to rise (causing more unnecessary unemployment), means it is unlikely to happen any time soon. In some areas, especially those with poor infrastructure, one-off, limited spending may be helpful. But the reality is that government spending is rarely ever one-off or very limited. If the massive government spending continues they will be hurting the economic potential of the country and giving Labour a better opportunity at the next election. No amount of expenditure will satisfy the opposition, who will be able to argue they will go the whole hog on the government’s half-assed attempt, while the Conservatives won’t have Brexit to fall back on.



It is therefore in the Conservatives’ interests to help change people’s attitudes towards the country’s reliance on government spending. They have won the election fought primarily on Brexit, but there is a massive portion of the population that does not favour capitalism, the party’s supposed economic system of choice. If they don’t try and put the case forward for their own system the situation will only get worse as people turn to parties that are whole heartedly arguing for their own economic policies. The Conservative government needs to have the confidence to put into practice their beliefs while they have such a good opportunity to do so.

