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Lead book review

What’s really behind the Tories’ present woes?

Geoffrey Wheatcroft identifies two root causes: the disastrous revision of the leadership election procedure, and David Cameron’s turn to the referendum as a device to govern

25 May 2024

9:00 AM

25 May 2024

9:00 AM

Bloody Panico!: or, Whatever Happened to the Tory Party? Geoffrey Wheatcroft

Verso, pp.176, 14.99

The problem is, we really need a Tory party. Whether we have one at the moment is another question. Political debate requires a significant and trustworthy proponent of personal freedom, of the limits of government, of personal responsibility, of strict limitations of government expenditure, of independent enterprise which may succeed through a lack of intrusive state control or may fail without hope of public rescue.

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