What centrists keep getting wrong |
There’s a reason why centrists keep failing: their formula of triangulating between two sides of a debate in order to appear balanced, or to hedge against being wrong, won’t win over voters. It suggests a lack of leadership that should have no place in politics, especially when Britain faces such clearly identifiable problems.
The centrists are the real populists because they are chasing what they think the electorate wants to hear
And yet, the centrists never learn. A new ‘movement’ – aimed at reclaiming the centre ground for the Tories – is being launched today by former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Davidson and ex-West Midlands Conservative Mayor Sir Andy Street.
Street says of this project, dubbed ‘Prosper UK’: ‘The world is fragmenting into populists of the left and populists of the right and the centre ground is being squeezed out. Our argument is that is completely wrong. And actually in Britain, there are still a huge majority of people who have centrist views.’
The implication is that this group will work out what a ‘centrist’ Conservative party would have to do, or say, in order to win back those voters –........