What?

Here is a question I heard in a podcast some ten days ago, and it has been taking over my mind ever since.

In the second decade of the 21st century, what is the Conservative and Union Party for?

All of its usual policy areas it has abandoned, set on fire, buried, dug up, buried again and jumped on its grave singing "Hallelujah".

The Union, the union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in peril like never before, with the views the electorate of the three devolved countries being ignored or not considered. Conventions which mandated agreement with the devolved Parliaments was ignored, and Brexit forced upon them. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted heavily to remain, yet no thought was given to their views.

In Law and Order, successive Governments since 2010 have slashed funding in the entire Justice system, from police officers, to Legal Aid, privatisation of the Parole system. And no Governments have willing broken national and international laws like those of May and Johnson. Breaking either either on purpose of by accident would be a matter for the Ministerial Code and would be sacked if they did not resign, now it seems to be a badge of honour. Johnson received a fixed penalty notice for Partygate, but Sunak received not just one for the same event and another for not wearing a seat belt in a video filmed in the back of his official car.

As for business: Johnson said it best: "Fuck Buisness". And since 2016, the Tories have been doing exactly that. A ruinous Brexit, with repeated threats to break what had been agreed, thus increasing uncertainty, and now there is the real threat of imposing more duplicate regulation.

Over and over, the successive Governments have slashed spending and benefits for the young, while keeping the pension under its triple lock, until last year.

They seem to hate the arts and science, using Brexit to impose restrictions on working overseas, either touring or part of European projects, and added red tape for those who want or need to travel, and despite the promise that nothing would change to those who lived in the EU, many had to sell their homes in France and Spain and beyond, because they couldn't meet the residential requirements.

And then there is the lying.

Over and over again.

Agreeing to something in meetings, then saying the opposite to the press.

So, if the Conservative and Union Party isn't about the Union, Law and Order, Business, policies for all of society, arts and science and the truth.

On top of all that, it is riven by division: Brexit, reality, Truss, Johnson: all competing for a fraction of attention. Who could lead such a party? Well, a party with a 70 seat majority cannot pass pretty much any legislation without Opposition support.

So all there is is lies and culture wars.