The battle of Tory tribes for 'one nation conservatism' and Workington Man

The idea of ‘one nation conservatism’ has become a slippery concept. For Tories, it’s a sought after label, claimed by both anti-Brexit MPs and their nemesis; the prime minister, Boris Johnson.

The term has become a vague shorthand used to claim liberalism or moderation. Few politicians think of themselves as extremists, so they use One Nation whether their moderate inclinations cover social outlook, economic views or both.

In its original guise, one nation Toryism was Benjamin Disraeli’s way of appealing to working-class voters. It combined traditional conservative reverence for institutions of British democracy and British society with a willingness to use the state to offer security to workers and support their communities.

This was conservatism rooted in family, neighbourhood and nationhood. So it’s a little strange to see that inheritance claimed by people who are contemptuous of arguments about restoring national sovereignty. Many of the staunchest Tory remainers epitomise the ‘anywhere’ cosmopolitanism that writers like David Goodhart and Roger Scruton believe the EU referendum result was a reaction against.

At the forthcoming election, Conservatives think they can attract working-class voters in previously safe Labour seats. This strategy has unmistakeable One Nation overtones and the think-tank, Onward, has christened the key target voter in the forthcoming election ‘Workington Man’.

This notional northern rugby league fan is patriotic and he wants Brexit over and done with as quickly as possible. He previously voted Labour, but he doesn’t like Jeremy Corbyn, with his history of sympathy for the IRA and Hamas. He has no time for the ‘woke’ politics adopted by the party at the insistence of Momentum and its younger cohort.

The think-tank believes Johnson can persuade Workington Man to vote Tory by promising to finally leave the EU while emphasising policies like a higher minimum wage and better quality technical education. These goals would be stressed ahead of more familiar Conservative themes, for the modern party at least, like cutting taxes and helping private enterprise.

It seems that the prime minister is inclined to adopt these tactics, at least partially. The budget that the government was forced to abandon supposedly contained generous public spending announcements, including extra money for the NHS and funding for tough new measures against crime.

But while enthusiasts for the remain-supporting establishment make unconvincing One Nation Tories, the same can be said of Boris Johnson and advocates of a free-wheeling, free-trading Britain.

For much of his career, Johnson has appeared a comfortable, if rather irreverent, metropolitan liberal.  He’s almost evangelically politically incorrect, but he consistently favours social reforms that worry more traditional Tories. That he is a right-wing populist is a recent idea.

Many of his ERG colleagues have previously recoiled from the notion that increased public spending could bring about worthwhile social benefits. They subscribe to a free-market ideology that insists a larger, more expensive state crowds out private enterprise and stunts personal responsibility.

Then there’s the contentious question, to which nation does ‘one nation conservatism’ refer? The Conservative and Unionist Party is proud of its unionism and, even now, its rival wings compete to emphasise their commitment to keeping the UK together. But the recent Brexit deal brought into focus an enduring tendency in Toryism to treat the interests of the UK as if they were indistinguishable from the interests of England.

It’s this single-minded streak that allows the party to trumpet its unionism while promoting an agreement that will cut Northern Ireland off from the nation’s economic, social and political life and encourage Scottish separatists to push for the same.

You can call it English nationalism, or perhaps it merely suggests that some Conservatives’ commitment to the Union is more sentimental than practical. Either way, it undermines the idea of building a more united nation, whether by nourishing a sense of togetherness across classes or encouraging shared allegiances across regions.

In English seats, the appeal to ‘get Brexit done’ will be more powerful than any feeling the Tories have betrayed unionists in Northern Ireland, but the effect could be different in Scotland, where Conservatives style themselves the party of the Union.

The truth about ‘one nation conservatism’ isn’t particularly simple or punchy. It’s a tradition that shapes the modern Tory party, but no particular wing can claim to be its heirs. Conservative politics now necessarily entail balancing the values of community and family with free-market economics that let the private sector thrive.

At the moment, the Tories who most hate Brexit have a poor claim to the title because they’ve struggled to contain their disdain for communities that place identity and neighbourhood ahead of cosmopolitanism and liberalism. Brexiteers who have been promoting a small state and a low regulation economy are also unlikely advocates of cross-class solidarity.

As for Boris – his pitch to the working class will be successful only if he commands their trust and, at the moment, he’ll find that commodity hard to come by.