Photo: Kurtis Garbutt (Flickr)
A week of trials and tribulation for the Conservatives has meant that the divisions in the party are becoming ever clearer; a divided Cabinet on the issue of gay marriage, reports of an estimated one-hundred-and-twenty Conservative MP’s rebelling in today’s vote, and more than twenty Conservative Chairmen, past and present, having handed a letter of opposition on Sunday to Number 10.
After less than a fortnight since David Cameron offered out his hand to his core supporters in the form of a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, the walkout of many of his activists over gay marriage does not bode well for success at the 2015 General Election and for the future of the party.
But does equality prevail over electoral victory? Not for some.
The Surrey Heath Conservative Constituency Association Chairman, Geoffrey Vero, had recently summarised the view for many of the core Conservative supporters that remain unwavering on their views on gay marriage when he said, “It is my judgement that in order to get elected, certainly at General Elections, you need to get your vote out. And that is the risk that I think David Cameron is taking on this issue.” He had previously explained that many party activists have declined the opportunity to support the party at the next General Election – this being the key concern for Mr Vero. Can the loss of the Tory core cost them the 2015 election? After all, what is a party without man-power? But surely the price of equality, fairness and justice is one that must be paid over party politics and election victories?
Whilst the concern for many Conservatives with similar views to Mr Vero is a significant one, perhaps the loss of such would not be missed from the party? The debate on gay marriage appears to be ‘clearing out’ the Tories that remain impartial to change, paving the way for a more open-minded generation that can now appreciate the party, not on its past, but on its future as a leading proposer of greater equality and fairness. The party of the moral high-ground will no-doubt be its paramount characteristic in the near future, rather than that of an archaic, soul-less community of anti-progressive minds. The loss of the traditional core and the replacement of enthusiastic youthful activists will re-install life into the dying limbs of the party that are the branches of those willing to walk-out and leave all that they’ve worked so hard for in the past.
It is this movement of immeasurable respect for the Conservative party from young and first-time voters after the outcome of today’s vote, which is sure to pass in The House of Commons, that is most likely to secure victory in 2015. After all, the young vote that the Liberal Democrats had benefited from in the 2010 General Election is ‘up for grabs’.
This could be the momentous occasion when Cameron disentangles the chains that have loomed over his party for decades and brings about further equality in the face of outdated beliefs and at the same time achieving party victory in 2015 by revitalising the Tories with young ‘blue blood’.
Alex Bright is the Managing Editor of Politiker. Follow on Twitter @alexanderbright
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