This week’s eruption of the new Independent Group in parliament has been caused in part by the toxic culture that has taken hold within each of the established parties. Bullying, intimidation and racism – covert and overt – have already persuaded 11 MPs to jump ship, probably to be followed by more in due course. But if they are to gain a permanent foothold in British politics, they will need to morph into a more normal party, and establish policies that distinguish them from Labour and the Conservatives. What policies might appeal to both social democrats and liberal conservatives alike?
Start with this: the stale brand of politics practised on both frontbenches is inherently conservative. It looks back to a mythic past that never was and never could have been. Tories increasingly look askance at the liberal, open and cosmopolitan Britain that is emerging: many of them want to shut off the world, raise our borders, reduce immigration, insist on social modes and mores that went out of fashion decades ago. Labour now seems like something of a 1970s tribute band, champing at the bit to nationalise the public utilities, re-establish a ministry of labour, bring back sectoral wage bargaining and repeal most of the Trade Union Acts. Each of these pasts is a deeply nostalgic vision of a Britain that is not coming back, however much governments huff and puff.
