September 5, 2019 - 9:52am

What constitutes a “real” Conservative? This is a question that people have been asking this week, since the expulsion of 21 Tory MPs from the parliamentary party.

For anyone minded to take a moment out from the hourly procedural dramas, here’s an interview I did with Tom Tugendhat over the weekend about the future of Conservatism. He’s an interesting character in all this – thought of as on the ‘wet’ side on Brexit, but not as dramatically so as Rory Stewart (he didn’t join the rebels this week). He’s one of countless ambitious Tory MPs who are desperate to get past Brexit so they can start talking about other things.

I asked him whether the new type of ‘national Conservatism’ that has been getting a lot of attention in the US – see Giles Fraser or Olly Wiseman’s pieces for a flavour of what I mean – will be coming to the UK. It represents a break with the idea that Conservatives should be on the side of business, in any straightforward way.

Have a watch:


is the Editor-in-Chief & CEO of UnHerd. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of YouGov, and founder of PoliticsHome.

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