Finally, the Tories are discovering the state can be a force for good | Martin Kettle

Finally, the Tories are discovering the state can be a force for good | Martin Kettle:

The party has been gripped by the ghost of Thatcher. But as this week’s budget shows, many MPs still believe in the role of government

According to WH Auden, all good dramas consist of two contrasting acts: “First, the making of a mistake; then, the discovery that it was a mistake.” A similar corrective arc often also applies in politics. On the issue of the progressive role of the state, the late-20th-century Conservative party made a historic mistake. Now it is struggling with the dawning of discovery.

The single most obvious thing to say about the Tory party in autumn 2018 is that it is split over Brexit. But the significance of the Tory divide on Brexit, and its tendency to dominate all aspects of domestic political coverage, masks another internal argument – one that is more important in terms of the party’s history, and may hold the key to its future too.

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