The Liberal Conservatives Are Coming...

Nov 14, 2010 20:47

Watching David Cameron over these past few years, in a way, has helped clarify my own political position. One cannot watch someone political career progress, and not wonder about their own ideology, particularly when one finds themselves agreeing occasionally with the enemy.

It only recently hit me as to why.

David Cameron describes himself as a 'Liberal Conservative', and compared to some he is. I've said before, that I believe him to be the most left-winged leader we Tories have ever had, and it's not neccessarily a bad thing.

The electorate has shown that it doesn't want left-wing or right-wing partisanship anymore. Elections are now won or lost on the centre ground, and unless we respond to that, we won't survive. At worst we would probably fade into the background, the old regressive voice of past politics, until we're forced to disband like the Liberals in 1988.

But what is it that truly stops Tories from occupying the centre ground beyond doubt? Not our inborn sense of Euroscepticism (for most anyway), not our dislike of too much immigration, nor even our attitude towards defence. No, it is on social policy that Tories will always struggle to hold the moral high ground on.

At least this generation of Tories.

Cameron, Osborne and the others may well be the forefathers of Liberal Conservatism, but in truth do they really walk the walk? I think not, if David Cameron's reticence and awkwardness on the subject is anything to go by.

No, it will be my generation, the ones who have grown up in a society where to be gay, or bisexual or transsexual is no longer a taboo, or seen as some kind of mental illness; who will be the true Liberal Conservatives. Why, because we hold no prejudices, no matter how old or seemingly gotten over, but also because we will be the trul pragmatic ones when it comes to gay rights and civil liberties. I can truly, honestly say, as a Tory, that I support gay marriage and gay adoption. They're still human beings, no matter who they fall in love with, and it makes little difference whether a child has a heterosexual set of parents, or a homosexual set of parents. As long as the love is there, the stability and the care of a parent, it doesn't matter.

We alone will be able to take the truly pragmatic decisions to keep the Conservative Party in the running for power, and the party had better learn now rather than later that unless it adopts the same approach, they'll be consigned to the annals of history, a right-wing footnote in the ongoing march of progressive politics.

Watch out, the Liberal Conservatives are coming, and we're going to change the political landscape forever.

politics

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