Quote of the day 7th July 2024

"Learn from what actually happened last week, not what you are told happened by those with an axe to grind. As an example, look at the polling evidence which shows that only 36% of Reform voters say they would have voted Conservative if Reform had not stood. Simplistic solutions which involve adding the Reform vote to the Tory vote and saying “Look, there is a rightwing majority here” are delusional."

"Reject any attempt to narrow the party’s appeal so that it only aims at “real Conservatives”. At a personal level I resent this attempt to say that moderate one nation Conservatives like me are lesser Conservatives than say, David Frost, who promulgates this idea frequently. I have fought nine general elections in the Conservative cause so I think I have earned my party membership card. More importantly, saying to millions of potential Conservative voters that they are not Conservative enough is weapons-grade idiocy in a first past the post electoral system. If the Conservative party starts becoming ideologically exclusive it will wither and die."

"Start listening to the priorities of young people. The biggest underlying failure of recent years has been always to shy away from decisions which would help the young in case they would annoy older voters. The vast majority of those older voters know that their children or grandchildren are struggling and want them to be helped."

Damien Green, extracts from an article published yesterday


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