The common style of the journalistic takeover of historical writing can be best described as the replacement of real, investigative scholarship with midwit fact-checking.
The Conservative Party has become far more dependent on older, blue-collar, non-London, non-graduate, pro-Brexit, anti-immigration, and culturally conservative voters to both hold and retain political power – and this remains true today.
To make progress over the coming year, the Party needs to reach out to more voters and the danger is that fighting culture wars just puts people off.
Years of talking loudly whilst carrying a small stick have left voters unwilling to give the Government the benefit of the doubt.
But with a nuanced approach, the Tories can address areas of concern without alienating a vital, more liberal-minded part of their electoral coalition.
There was, and remains, a durable coalition behind a Tory Party that stands unabashedly as the champion of working people of every class.
As the leadership contest enters the final straight, both candidates pitch for the remaining votes of undecided party members.
Voters will punish us for picking arcane fights about ‘online harms’ whilst neglecting the things they really care about.
A court defeat for Stonewall’s employer programme, and the shuttering of the NHS’s controversial Tavistock clinic.
War is a collective endeavour, but let’s not pretend that banning Swan Lake is anything other than performative tribalism.
Just as during the Cold War, those who try to undermine confidence in our institutions and values serve Moscow’s purposes.
The response of Prince William and others to Putin’s invasion has been subject to disingenuous purity tests.
Putin has pulled the rug out from under the feet of a complacent establishment which has been picking the wrong fights.
Ministers indulge in alienating rhetoric whilst refusing to use our 80-seat majority to deliver the reforms Britain needs.
In all scenarios, there’s no way forward for the Tories electorally without accepting a certain number of lost causes.