Tory Right Rallies Around Faith...

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From the Sunday Times

Frankly, I applaud all the 40 small-c conservatives left in the UK. I despise the political correctness and such makes that sort of public expression of patriotism and tradition uncouth.

That said, those conservatives are quite mistaken if they think the Tory Party will in any way endorse their beliefs. Not because the Tories have all of a sudden become "liberal" (they were "liberal" since the days of Baldwin and Chamberlain), but because of the Tories' incapacity to wage electoral war. It's like they need Blair to hand them this week's talking points, if only so the Tories can argue the opposite. Pretty damned mindless, that is.

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It suddenly occurs to me that seeing as this is the Tory party we're talking about, they're talking about traditionalist Anglicans. Not that many of those are especially religious in a conventional sense... and if the Tories are worried about winning them back they're in deeper sh*t than I'd ever assumed...

It is noteworthy that, among the practicing Anglicans left, they are a great deal more conservative, in the American sense, than their vicars and bishops.

But, yes: Practicing Muslims outnumber Anglicans now.

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Well, the Church of England is no longer the Tory Party at Prayer

The Tories can try to rally the around "faith, flag and family" if they wish - but I don't think it would wash with the intellectually astute. I haven't forgetton Thatcherite economic policies (and the desired goal of high unemployment) and the impact they had on families and wider society

Many Christians, like myself, have a profound social conscience and I'm not yet sure whether the Conservative Party has regained theirs. In light of the past, they are in no position to take any moral high ground

Dave

But both France and Germany, countries which pride themselves on their "social conscience", have higher levels of unemployment even without undergoing Thatcherite economic reform.