The Silent Tories

There is an excellent article on Eursoc today which points out the lack of triumphalism amongst Tories since the new government came to power. After all after 13 years in opposition, they have finally ousted one of the most unpopular governments in recent history. But the article quotes some members of the Lib Dem negotiating team telling of how eager Cameron was to throw out traditional Tory policies and realign his party to the Centre-Left.

Just days into a new Tory government there are already mutterings of unrest in the Conservative Party from those backbenchers who are unwilling to change their political alignment. In particular there are those hundred or so new MPs, commonly called Thatcher’s children, who will be unwilling to abandon the pledges they made to their voters when elected, particularly after being elected on a promise for change. MPs abandoning principles to grab on to power is clearly more of the same old politics. It will be interesting to see when the inevitable rift starts to appear within the Conservative Party, and whether Cameron can control it or whether it will lead to defections from the party and possibly the collapse of the coalition.