Nick Timothy, a former member of Theresa May’s brain trust, is now an elected member of Parliament. He has put out a blistering, provocative essay along with Gavin Rice in the Telegraph, outlining his vision for a new conservatism.
It is not unlike what we are hearing from figures such as J. D. Vance here in the United States, in that it connects the policy of government helping to encourage private investment at home with family values, and strong families with strong economies:
Our existing model — which has survived our whole lifetimes — has simply run out of road. Supported by all parties, it has prized wafer-thin efficiency over solid resilience, market ideology over state capacity, financial services over a balanced economy, imported goods over domestic production, foreign ownership over strategic capabilities and globalisation over the national interest. Put simply, we do not make, do or sell enough of what the world needs and wants, leaving Britain lagging behind competitors and with crippling inequalities at home. Its failures are growing more obvious.
This is not just a question of national strength but of domestic fairness. Without economic growth, our ability to invest in our people, the places we call home and our very future is weaker. But it is through investing in our people, our communities and the infrastructure and skills we will need in future that we will achieve that growth. We need more public and private investment in our economy — and a sustained effort to make sure that everyone can share in the prosperity that follows. And this is another insight in our mission to restore national community. We cannot pursue economic reform without social and cultural change, and we cannot hope for a stronger shared identity without a new economic model.
Why? Because our economy rests on public goods based on non-commercial values: the care and love of families, and the reciprocity and trust made possible by our established norms, culture and way of life. But equally, our society depends on enterprise: to create the wealth we need to solve common problems and invest in our common life without resorting to the politics of envy and other forms of division.
Do read the whole thing.