The Conservative Party is winning elections but losing the culture war.
I say "culture war" because -increasingly- Britain is importing US-style "culture war" politics.
Our dispute over Brexit was one symptom; statues and monuments another
We are following our American cousins into a polarisation that is rooted far more in our values & identities
Our dispute over Brexit was one symptom; statues and monuments another
We are following our American cousins into a polarisation that is rooted far more in our values & identities
Underpinning all of this are competing interpretations of who we are as a people and nation
One one side views our history as a source of shame and through a very narrow lens of oppression and racism
These accounts often begin and end with Empire
One one side views our history as a source of shame and through a very narrow lens of oppression and racism
These accounts often begin and end with Empire
Another side adopts a much longer perspective, tracing the roots of our identity back much further in time
They focus on English traditions of liberty, individualism, fighting oppression & our "civic culture" -which they feel is under threat from an authoritarian group-based mob
They focus on English traditions of liberty, individualism, fighting oppression & our "civic culture" -which they feel is under threat from an authoritarian group-based mob
I suspect that many in the latter camp feel that this culture, heritage and conception of national identity is under threat from what is a very narrow reading of our history and which appears to be encouraged by some institutions that have little democratic oversight
And I suspect that many in this camp are now asking themselves the same question:
where is the Conservative Party?
where is the Conservative Party?
