Kate Andrews, Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute, took part in a panel discussion for Conservative Home on how the Conservative Party should respond to Corbyn and his new direction for the Labour Party.
Jeremy Corbyn’s political philosophy is almost completely cancelled out by the history books. Talking about inequality grabs attention, but his policy solutions – re-nationalising utilities and ‘maximum wages’ – are the stuff of 1970’s nightmares.The real threat to the centre right is not Corbyn’s regressive philosophy but rather the strength and resolve of its own leaders. The moderately left-leaning ramblings of Miliband quickly twisted the arm of the Conservative Party during the election, pushing them into irresponsible pledges that ring-fenced heavy-spending sectors, doubled free hours of childcare, and threw unaccounted billions at the NHS. That weak-will even trickled into the Budget; the National Living Wage transformed the “party of working people” into the party willing to threaten at least 60,000 jobs to beat the left at its own game.
The centre right has nothing to fear if its leaders stand strong for a pro-growth, pro-business agenda. But if Miliband had them dodging left and running for the hills, it’s worrying to think how much further they’ll sprint in the face of Corbyn.