"Spell in opposition" - I have already asserted that we suffered a humiliating defeat and the electorate in the main rejected us. They sent out a message that they wanted us to have a spell/period (Call it as you desire) in opposition.
"Renewal and regeneration" - I keep stating that we are in the midst of a 'Policy Renewal Programme' and more detailed policies will emerge in due course.There are still gaps of detailed policy, and with Conservatives in the polling zone that has scary warning klaxons around, we must come forward soon with new ideas and a clear sense of mission.It will shape our party's future.
"People turned against us" - We have consistently acknowledged our failings and have accepted why we were rejected by the electorate.
I look forward to my conversation tonight with a Shadow Minister. 👍 👍
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Finances and tax is one area I do know a bit about, so what I’m going to do here is compare what’s gone before with what’s happening now.
Take, for example, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi. He’s no longer in post, but his case is a perfect illustration of what the Conservative Party is probably trying to distance itself from. A Chancellor who somehow “forgot” that his parents held controlling shares in an offshore trust. A casual “oversight.” The sort of thing that makes ordinary taxpayers gag, because if any of us tried that, HMRC would be all over it. Let’s not forget Zahawi even tried to shut down scrutiny of his own affairs – going so far as to seek a restraining order against tax expert Dan Neidle, who exposed the truth.
Now, here’s the thing. When you introduce a policy, you stand there and you decide whether it stands up to scrutiny. That’s the job. It’s one thing when people try to play the game with HMRC – Zahawi did it, Angela Rayner did it. That’s about individuals bending the rules to their advantage. It’s another thing entirely when you do it to taxpayers through government policy.
And that’s where Mel Stride comes in – now Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. As Financial Secretary to the Treasury, he forced through the Loan Charge, one of the most punishing and unjust tax policies in decades. Thousands blindsided with retrospective bills they could never have planned for. Financial devastation dressed up as fairness.
The House of Lords tore into Stride in its
Treating Taxpayers Fairly report, accusing him of failing in his “first duty to Parliament,” of blocking scrutiny, and of showing “contemptuous disregard” for legitimate concerns.
And the reward for all that? A seat on the Treasury Select Committee, where he got to scrutinise his own handiwork. Judge, jury, and defendant rolled into one.
This is what the Conservative Party is placing at the top of their ticket to “renew” the party. Well, forgive me if I don’t get all gooey-eyed and excited over the regeneration policy.
The grassroots are taking the blame for this, but the problem is that the grassroots are just parroting what’s coming from above. I like to think of myself as a fairly sane and rational person, but when I’m told “there, there, don’t worry, there’ll be a renewal package,” I don’t buy it. Because in politics, it doesn’t just matter what the message is – it matters who’s delivering it.
And that’s the lesson of 2024. The Conservatives didn’t just lose to Labour – they were flattened. And it wasn’t because people thought they “deserved time in opposition.” That’s the lazy excuse. They stopped listening. People shouted about the cost of living, housing, health, fair tax treatment. Instead, the Conservatives pushed the same old failures, the same old faces, and called it “renewal.”
If you don’t listen to what’s really going on out there, you don’t just risk a bad election now. You risk becoming a minority party. That’s exactly where the Conservatives are heading: not a governing force, not even a broad church – just a version of the People’s Front of Judea.
And here’s the perfect example. They’re asking for responses online. An online survey to tell them what matters the most. And guess what comes back? Nothing. I’ve filled them in for the local Conservative Party – not a peep, not a call, not even a token acknowledgment. They’re not interested. It’s not engagement, it’s theatre. And people can smell it a mile off.
The Conservative Party can meet up in rooms full of like-minded people all they want. They can clap each other’s speeches, nod along to the same old lines, and pretend that’s renewal. But here’s the truth: if your Shadow Minister wants to be taken seriously, he needs to get out there and actually talk to the general public. Understand what the problems are, not what the party line says they are. He could come down to my business for a morning and he might get an idea about what real people face day in and day out.
Your previous election policy was built on
don’t get Labour in. That’s not a strategy. That’s not a vision. That’s just finger-pointing. Meanwhile, you’re asking for “renewal” to come from online surveys.
Might I suggest something radical? At a local level, try actual interaction. Go out and talk to people. Ask them what matters. Not in some staged hustings where you all gather in a hall and pat yourselves on the back – but on their ground, where they live, where they work, where the real problems are.
Because if all you’ve got is “don’t get Labour in”, "Reform is just a fad" and an inbox full of online surveys, you’re not renewing anything. You’re just rearranging the furniture in an empty house.
P.S. If you are having a conversation tonight with the Shadow Minister and it is Mel Stride, tell him he’s a c*** from me
England
