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Author: BAGEHOT
The first thing you notice in Birmingham is that the Conservatives are hopelessly divided over Brexit. The government is (for now) united on Chequers. Most party faithful hate it. On September 30, hundreds of people queued for more than an hour—the line snaked down the stairs; people chatted animatedly—to hear eight leading Brexiteers speak at a “conference rally” hosted by the pro-Brexit website Brexit Central. To boost their reputation as a “party within a party,” Brexit Central provided attendees with a purple ribbon to hang from their all-important conference passes, in place of the regular blue ribbons issued by the Conservatives.
The Conservative Party has always been a coalition of so-called city and country parties. The city party is made up of big business and big finance. It believes (largely) in global markets and liberal economic policies. The country party is made up of the gentry and the local bourgeoisie. It believes that all that is best about Britain, from country estates to market towns, should be preserved. This is the “villa conservatism” of Benjamin Disraeli and the “property-owning democracy” of Stanley Baldwin. Brexit has dealt a huge blow to this coalition. The more numerous country party is determined to make its voice heard in Birmingham.
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