The Tories Support Working People

Lots of working class people regularly vote Conservative.   They always have, ever since they got the vote.  It was in fact Disraeli, a Conservative, who first pushed the franchise down to give them the chance.  It is a rare election where somebody on the right doesn't find an individual who conforms to all the stereotypes of a Labour voter and yet is voting blue.  This is inevitably portrayed as evidence that Labour is now out of touch with its base.  Coming from a working class background myself I don't find it particularly surprising.  Most of my family are from the south east and working class Tories are fairly common around there.   But as it happens I also have relations in the welsh valleys.  One of them used to operate the Conservative Party committee rooms.  So non-Labour supporting people who live by their labour doesn't really phase me much.


And I think that the Conservative pitch to working class voters has always been a reasonable one.  They are in favour of a strong economy on the grounds that they represent the people who own it.  But that translates into their being plenty of jobs around.  Add the proposal to keep tax rates down, and it is quite appealing.  More demand for your services and less taken out of your pay packet?  I'd buy that.

The class angle comes in when you realise that there are lots of things that people on low incomes can't afford no matter how good they are at their jobs.  Healthcare and education are hugely expensive to provide and only the very rich and the state can afford them.  The middle class and indeed the very wealthy can see the advantages of collective provision too - so there have always been plenty of Labour supporters who have never done manual labour as well.

The 2019 manifesto is pretty much in line with traditional Tory approaches.  Their opposition to the minimum wage has been deftly switched to support for a figure of £10.50 an hour.   They are also planning to drop NI for under-21s to help them into the job market.

I don't think there is much wrong with this bit of the manifesto, though I was half expecting to see Ed Miliband's signature at the bottom.  But the last paragraph lapses into the fantasy style that fills much of this manifesto.

A majority Conservative Government will deliver a major package of measures designed to ensure that it always pays to work, while doing everything we can to protect and support those who cannot – and to address the cost of living pressures that we all face.

It is much like me announcing that I am going to have a really nice holiday this year where there are lots of attractions, really good weather and in a really cheap hotel next to a fantastic restaurant.  I just don't know where it is yet.