'The Tories are getting working-class conservatives wrong'

Rishi Sunak steps out of Number 10 Downing Street

The government 'fails to understand' what working-class conservatives care about, says Philip Collins in The Times

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Philip Collins in The Times
Kishaya Delaney in The Guardian Australia
Jenny McCartney at UnHerd
Ivan Cooper in The Journal

By The Week Staff

published 18 September 2023

'A working class Tory is something to be'

Philip Collins in The Times

The Tories are "getting working-class conservatives wrong", writes Philip Collins. Historically, these voters' support was "rooted in the aspiration for a better life"; in "hope more than fear". Neither the "Braverman bullies" nor the "communitarian wing" and its "stay-at-home conservatism" will win them over now. Working-class conservatism "wasn't about anger" or "staying put", but "about getting on" – something Rishi Sunak's government "fails to understand".

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