Don't give up on the Conservative Party just yet
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Saturday was the first official Conservative hustings between the two leadership contenders, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson. It took place in Birmingham and we have, at least, 15 more to go — the final one will be in London on July 17. Sometimes there will be two a day. Many of the votes will already have been cast before the hustings finish. The 160,000 members of the Conservative Party will receive their postal ballots between July 6 and July 8, with the final deadline falling the week ending Sunday July 21. But for those members undecided there will be plenty of comment for them to consider.
Nor is this a secretive, cliquey process that excludes the public. The Conservatives broadcast the proceedings from Birmingham live on the Internet. Sky News and the BBC news channel also broadcast the whole thing. From the point of view of the Conservatives it went pretty well. Iain Dale, the LBC broadcaster, was chosen to preside. An excellent choice as he has known Conservative sympathies. This did not mean he was a softie. On the contrary, he was challenging in the questions he raised, as any professional interviewer would have been. But it meant that in doing so he could not credibly be denounced for left-wing bias.
There were good questions from the audience. What about legalising drugs? What about sex education in schools? What about HS2? The third runway at Heathrow? How will we get more young people to vote for us? How will we win over the ethnic minorities? On and on the tricky questions came. Dale would often follow up to press for clear answers. There was enough time. Each candidate had an hour.
The mood was good humoured and positive – especially given the Conservatives are languishing at historically low poll ratings.
All the newspaper front pages were filled with the news that the police had been to visit the home of Boris Johnson and his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, after they had had a row. The police found no evidence of any wrong doing. We do know the dispute involved Boris spilling red wine on a sofa. How do we know? Because the neighbours recorded the conversation and played the tape to the Guardian.
How would the Conservatives in Birmingham respond? If anything, they cheered Boris all the more loudly. This is because of a sense that he had been unfairly attacked. Comradeship and solidarity are concepts often associated with those on the Left. But the Conservatives in Birmingham showed themselves capable of such instincts.
The issue was raised. I thought Dale was right to ask the question. But Johnson was also perfectly within his rights refusing to comment. Some have suggested that if he’s got “nothing to hide” then we have a “right to know” about it. If the police had charged him over something then that would have been of public interest. But we certainly do not have a “right to know” about his private conversations with his girlfriend — whether such discussions were congenial or otherwise.
Even before the revelations emerged about the left wing allegiances of the Johnson/Symonds neighbours there were pretty strong suspicions of political motivation rather than genuine personal “concern”.
Nor is it terribly realistic to suggest that if Johnson answered one question on the saga then that would resolve the matter. Any decent journalist would then ask another question and another. Did Boris apologise for spilling the red wine? Why didn’t Boris want Carrie using the laptop? How often did they have rows like this? On it would go.
Most of us finding ourselves at the centre of such a media firestorm would surely regard it as the most excruciating ordeal — however blameless we might be. What was impressive about Johnson was that he not merely went through the hustings but retained his confidence, good humour and flair.
All this context makes complaints about Johnson being a “coward” for not agreeing to all demands for future TV debates unconvincing. After all, there is general agreement that the BBC TV interview last week was a shambles — more heat than light was generated.
None of this is to say that the contest will be a walkover for Johnson. The Conservative membership will not wish to be taken for granted. Jeremy Hunt also performed strongly. The leadership campaign has built up his confidence. His jokes are never going to get as many laughs as Boris’s, but as a public speaker Hunt has growing authority. He also is happy to refer to his personal experience to illustrate an argument about policy. That is effective.
Inevitably, we still have a focus on Brexit and the analysis of exactly how strong the competing pledges to leave by October 31 are from the rival candidates. But on broader themes the two have a lot in common. They both put forward an optimism about the fate of the country. There is a defence of the free enterprise system — the argument that tax cuts would provide incentives. That wealth creation and rewarding success would benefit the poor as well as the rich and allow more to be spent on public services. During the Thatcher era this stuff would be familiar as the standard Conservative pitch. It has been heard less often in recent years.
The darkest hour is just before dawn. The Conservatives in Birmingham showed an ability to maintain rigour and civility in their deliberations. They may be at a low ebb but they are poised to start fighting again.
