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In recent days I’ve been asked a lot if I would stand for Leader of the Conservative Party. It’s already a crowded field, and my reply has been that the views of my constituents, party members and colleagues should shape that decision, and I will carefully consult among them. 1/
As a campaigner, over the past fifteen years and more, through books and articles, in interviews and speeches, as candidate, MP, Select Committee Chairman and Minister, I have tried to make the case from first principles for a proper, classic conservatism of public service. 2/
That conservatism ties thought and action together, and I have argued for it since 2006: in Compassionate Conservatism, Compassionate Economics, The Big Society and in my books on the ideas and impact of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith. 3/
Why Burke and Smith? Because they wrote the Operating System for representative government and open markets, for politics and political economy. Their ideas underlie my conservatism. And they have taught me a vast amount about Ireland, Scotland and the Union. 4/
The same core belief in public service has always inspired me: in 1989, when I gave up a job on Wall Street to run a charitable project giving away medical textbooks to doctors behind the Iron Curtain, helping build free institutions in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia; 5/
It inspired me in 1997, when I left Barclays to do an MPhil and PhD in philosophy and teach at University College London; and over 20 years in working with astonishing organisations such as @RoundhouseLDN which my father created, @HayFestival, and many others in Herefordshire. 6/
This conservatism has inspired my actions as an MP and Minister: in running a cross-party campaign after 2010 against the Private Finance Initiative, which saved the taxpayer £2BN+, and my own hospital £5M; and in framing my original critique of Crony Capitalism in 2011. 7/
It has inspired me not merely on fiscal matters, but constitutionally as well: when I led a successful campaign in 2012 against the then Government’s Bill to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected upper house; 8/
… In 2013, when I did not support the Government’s motion to bomb Syria, and was fired from the No 10 Policy Board; and in 2014 when I led colleagues across the House in stopping the Speaker from selecting his personal candidate, Carol Mills, as the Clerk of the Commons. 9/
And it shaped my decision not to reveal my EU Referendum vote. It was obvious Brexit would affect people in hugely different ways, and that it would be incredibly divisive, as I said eg tinyurl.com/h92goo7. I felt I could best serve people by acting for them as a whole. 10/
The same is true today. As an MP, I have voted consistently for Brexit, and without delay. My constituency voted to leave, like the country at large, over three years ago. It is simply not good enough that we have still not moved on since then. 11/
But for myself, I have never campaigned negatively, and I refuse to be drawn into the anger and hostility of the wider Brexit debate. Politics today is dying for lack of friendliness, warmth and decency. Everyone deserves to be heard, calmly, respectfully and with moderation. 12/
Some might say that these campaigns and views were ill advised, though I believe each has been vindicated. But the point is that they reflected a willingness to lead, and a desire to do what was right not what was expedient, regardless of the consequences to me personally. 13/
The same has been true in my constituency; I campaigned for nearly 4 years to take a LibDem seat; I won 50%+ of the vote in 2015/17; and I have led local efforts for ten years to establish NMITE, a pioneering and nationally transformative tech and engineering university. 14/
Throughout all this, my credo has always been: a belief in trusting others; a sense of universal goodwill, reaching across factions and parties; an unwillingness to rush to judgement; a desire to make the argument; a sense of energy; and great optimism about the future. 15/
As a country, we face very serious challenges today: of climate change, productivity, mass migration, terrorism, cybersecurity, great power conflict, AI, education, housing, health, identity, social division and injustice, inequality and much else. 16/
Our open market capitalist system is not working very well, and it needs a vigorous reboot. Our democracy and public institutions are under serious threat, and require vigorous and positive defence. These issues will be with us long after the Brexit debate has ended. 17/
The UK has a profound opportunity, and a duty, to address these challenges: through our history, culture, music, arts and science; through our Union, our language, location and law; and through our inclusive, forward-looking and entrepreneurial spirit. 18/
But in addressing these issues, good policy is not enough. We must choose a leader not for three months, but for three years or more. The world is complex, and cannot be reduced to slogans. To be effective, policy must be linked to principle, and to personal energy. 19/
