A New Calculus Is Being Tested in the Race for London’s Mayor

As the date of local elections looms in the United Kingdom, we may be witnessing a remarkable new political calculus that is testing the waters in the race for mayor for London. Might Conservative-minded Britons, repulsed by the Conservative Government, be willing to support other parties that support their values and value their support?One such is Reform UK, founded by the hero of Brexit, Nigel Farage, and now led by his lieutenant, Richard Tice. Reform is the latest iteration of the Brexit Party (itself an outgrowth of the UK Independence Party), now engaged in political reform at Westminster. Its objective is greater political accountability. Among its aims are an elected House of Lords and MP recall. Some of its aspirations, like a popular peerage, may need a rethink, but keeping politicians’ feet to the fire is a good thing.Another promising entry on the right is the Reclaim Party, led by actor-turned-activist Lawrence Fox. Americans will know him as “Detective Sergeant Hathaway” from the PBS-series, “Lewis.” Himself a target of “cancel culture” for his outspoken views on freedom of speech, Mr. Fox founded Reclaim on the issue of the right to speak one’s views, free from coercion and intimidation. He is running as a candidate in London’s mayoral election on May 6.As a sign of uniting for conservative action, Reclaim and Reform have come together to fight the London elections. Reform will support Fox’s mayoral bid against the Labor Party incumbent Sadiq Khan, targeting his lockdown policies and the rise of knife-crime in the City. Meanwhile, Mr. Fox and his Reclaim will support Reform candidates for the London Assembly.Mr. Farage is enthusiastic. (He just announced a “comeback tour” in America, to encourage Republican grassroot activists.) “It feels highly appropriate that on the eve of St. George’s Day,” Mr. Farage announced in a press release last week, “a new patriotic alliance between Reform UK and the Reclaim Party is being announced.”Could we be witnessing the rise of Edmund Burke’s “little platoons” in the cause of conservatism? Call it “back to the future.” Early nineteenth-century premiers, without party machines to enforce their will, had to accommodate sympathetic MPs in order to govern. As party structure strengthened, so did power — alluding to Lord Acton’s axiom about corruption — to the degree that leaders could disregard parliament and, ultimately, the people they served.Historians note the infrequency of the use of labels like “Tory” or “Whig.” Instead, leading politicians enjoyed personal followings. Supporters of William Pitt the Younger or Charles James Fox were known instead as “Pittities” or “Foxites.” Even cabinet ministers or principled politicians, like George Canning, could call upon their disciples in aid of government policy — or to ensure its defeat.Disraeli himself led the way. In the mid-1840s his followers, comprising Young England and the agricultural interest, brought down Sir Robert Peel’s Conservative administration on the issue of party integrity, as it related to the question of free trade.Disraeli’s famous retort — that “England does not love coalitions” — will be remembered. Arguably, the combined efforts of Reform and Reclaim do not constitute a coalition of disparate politicians, usually to “dish” their opponents. It may be, though, that complementary conservative parties that prefer to focus on particular issues can prosper.What works for London is even more appropriate for Westminster. The political right will cheer the promise of future “platoons in Parliament,” of Reform and Reclaim politicians, including Spartan Tories willing to defy the Conservative whip of conformity. Principled Tories will see a conservative coalition to uphold the beliefs of “maximal liberty and minimal government” as a heartening cause for celebration.BrexitDiarist@gmail.com

A New Calculus Is Being Tested in the Race for London’s Mayor

A New Calculus Is Being Tested in the Race for London’s Mayor

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