Break-ups are always difficult. First come the tears, then the anger and then, further down the line, the blame. This process is never easy. The temptation is to cast about for some reason other than ourselves to explain the very painful situation we’re in. But the wisest among us know that looking inward is often the best way to move on without repeating the same mistakes again.
The Conservative Party is in the process of a very painful and public break-up with power and the whole array of emotions are on display. But can it come up with the right diagnosis to stop it from wandering into the same damaging situation again?
That’s the question senior Conservatives should now be asking, because the volatility of British politics could present the party with an opportunity, as well as crushing disappointment. It is not a given that Labour will now be in power for a decade – the party’s election guru Pat McFadden knows this and has reportedly warned his team they will need to govern and campaign at the same time if they are to prove themselves worthy of another term in office.
But for the Conservatives to get back into Downing Street they first need to agree on the reason why it all went wrong. Immigration is not the answer, nor – as senior Conservatives including Eric........