How the Conservative Party’s Governance has failed the UK.

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The Conservative party Conference, creator/ credit: flickr.com

The Conservative Party, often colloquially referred to as the Tories, have been in governance since the 2010 election in the United Kingdom (UK). The Conservative Party is “a political party whose guiding principles include the promotion of private property and enterprise, the maintenance of a strong military, and the preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions.” (Webb, 2019). Whilst in power for the last 14 years the Conservative Party has faced many issues, all of which have been resolved poorly or not at all. This blog will explore three areas regarding the failure of the Conservative’s governance: Brexit, COVID-19 and the recession that the UK is currently facing. 

Brexit

Initially, the flaws in the Conservative Party’s governance are clearly established through Brexit. After the Brexit referendum, in 2016, the UK has faced a number of different economic struggles, “A popular pub—the third in recent months—and a local grocer have announced they are closing after 25 years and 18 years, respectively.” (Cookman, 2023). The current economic climate can be viewed as a reflection of the poor governance of the Conservative Party as the cost of upkeep for small businesses has become too large. One of the reasons for the expensive upkeep is that without the support of the European Union (EU) the cost of trading increases. Furthermore, Brexit has imposed financial issues upon the UK. Confirmed through the knowledge that, “The U.K.’s Office for Budget Responsibility expected long-term GDP to drop 4 percent because of Brexit—or 100 billion pounds ($124 billion) in lost output and 40 billion pounds ($49 billion) in lost public revenues every year.” (Cookman, 2023). Another important factor to consider when approaching how the poor governance of the Conservative Party lead to Brexit is through the cost of living. Since officially ‘divorcing’ the EU, the UK has seen an astronomical increase in food bills, as “Food bills rose by 210 pounds ($259) on average between 2019 and the end of 2021” (Cookman, 2023). Thus, Brexit clearly reflects the poor governance of the Conservative party. 

COVID-19 conference, creator/ credit: flickr.com

COVID-19

Whilst attributing the entire dilemma of COVID-19 to the governing Conservative Party oversimplifies a complex state of affairs, the Conservative’s handling of the situation does reflect their poor governance. Particularly the excessive partying they engaged in during the pandemic. The Christmas Party, held back in 2020, is not only disrespectful to the memories of loved ones who passed during the pandemic, whilst the population of the UK was under lockdown, but is further insight into the Conservative’s Party’s poor governance. It is fundamentally hypocritical to devise rules that supposedly act in the best interest of the population and then fail to adhere to those rules. It demonstrates a lack of stability and fickle decision making. Moreover, an article, written contemporary to the height of the pandemic, further explores the failures of the Conservative’s governance as, “137,763 deaths due to Covid – a 58% increase since January despite the vaccination rollout.” (Letters, 2021). Clearly the article exhibits the poor governance from the Conservative Party during a global pandemic. The Conservative Party was slow to act regarding COVID-19, being one of the last countries to initiate lockdown. The effects of a delayed lockdown are reflected through the statistics that the article conveys, “Christina Pagel and Martin McKee remind us that in England there are still more than 500 Covid deaths each week.” (Letters, 2021). Additionally, a major failure from the Conservative government was during the height of the pandemic as they sent vulnerable people back to care homes without COVID testing. This is a reflection of poor governance, as those are lives that could’ve been potentially saved if better executive action had been taken. 

Liz Truss, Official cabinet portrait, creator/ credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Recession 

Finally, the UK is in an economic crisis from the aftermath of former Prime Minister Liz Truss, a member of the Conservative Party. “The RF’s economists estimate that in her seven-week premiership £20bn was blown by Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on unfunded cuts to national insurance and stamp duty, with a further £10bn added by higher interest rates.” (Helm and Inman, 2022). Consequently, the UK is in a major recession with businesses going under and thousands of people losing their sources of income during inflation. 

Thus, Brexit, COVID-19 and the current economic recession all reflect the inadequate governance of the Conservative Party. 

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