Are the Tories finished as a political force and are they doomed in 2015?
Are the Tories finished as a political force and are they doomed in 2015?
In British politics, there has been much speculation over the past decade or so that the Conservative and Unionist Party is finished as a party of government and some now think the party is doomed to never win a General Election again, having not won one since the early 1990's. In the latest polling results combined, such a uniform swing in polls (aka if a General Election were held today) would give the Labour Party something around a thumping 110-seat majority in parliament.
On those thinking the Tory Party are finished as a political force, they (a point Daniel Hannan Tory MEP has made) point to the surge in the UKIP vote and state that the same could be happening in Britain as happened in Canadian politics in the 1990s - where a new party, called the Reform Party managed to undercut the ruling Conservative Party and eventually caused it's collapse, resulting in a realignment of conservatism in Canada. Today, the successor to the Reform Party is the ruling government. Those supporting this line of argument also point out that the Conservatives haven't won an election since the early 1990s, and failed to win even against a deeply unpopular Gordon Brown who headed a government that had been in office for 13 years. Another indicator are Tory membership figures, which have fallen from around 320,000 in 2006 and are now only just above the 100,000 mark.
Those who think the Tory Party does have a future point to the popularity of the likes of David Cameron and George Osborne in poll ratings when compared with Ed Miliband and Ed Balls. Another common dismissal is that the current poll ratings are simply mid-term blues, and that all parties of government have to expect this sort of battering at local elections which take place inbetween General Elections. In most cases, those who think the party does have a future often argue that the party needs to 'modernise' more and embrace non-socially conservative issues such as gay marriage - of which many of its members are against.
I will throw this quote out as a bait;
Quote:
"The Tories cannot possibly win the next Election, just as they never had a hope of winning the last one.
But in 2015 it will be even worse for them. In 2010 they fanned a wild, unhinged hatred of Gordon Brown to get their failing vote out, despite having no policies to offer. Their attempts to engineer a similar scorn for Edward Miliband have failed. Voters are now so weary of the Coalition that they don’t really care if the Opposition is led by a goofy Marxoid teenager." - Peter Hitchens
A reminder of what can result from taking part in the debate can be seen below.
Quote:
There are plenty of nifty prizes to be won within this forum. Positive contributions towards official debates will sometimes be rewarded with a month's VIP subscription in a colour of your choice as part of the Top Contributor award. As well as this, reputation will be awarded throughout the debate to those who make valid and constructive posts. Those who make the best contributions within a month win the Debater of the Month award and wins themselves a month's worth of forum VIP and 10 reputation points. Finally, those who create debate topics that generate a lot of buzz and engaging discussion will receive 20 reputation points.
It's open to you.
