FELDSTED -- Long time conservatives have been kicked to the curb by the Party, bent on putting forward a “progressive” stance otherwise known as ‘liberal lite’

Commentary reference: Is this the end for Labour? It would be too easy to pin the blame for the election calamity on Corby

The article noted above was written by Paul Embery, a firefighter, trade union activist, pro-Brexit campaigner and 'Blue Labour' thinker and related to politics in the UK but has some lessons that are applicable to Canadian politics.

Essentially the battle for power in the United Kingdom (UK) had been between Conservatives and Labour while we struggle with a Conservative vs Liberal battle. As happened in the UK, the political party power struggle has left citizens/electors out in the cold.

Political parties manipulate us, appealing to our emotions rather than dealing with realities. Our standards and values are ignored. It is appalling that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would publicly declare that Canada “has no culture”.

“Government leaders are amazing. So often it seems they are the last to know what the people want.” - Aung San Suu Kyi

From the article:

So, there we have it. It turns out that the British working-class was not, in the end, willing to throw its weight behind a London-centric, youth-obsessed, middle-class party that preached the gospels of liberal cosmopolitanism and class war. Who’d have thought it?

Well, me for a start. And plenty of others who had been loyal to the party over many years and desperately wanted to see a Labour government, only to be dismissed as ‘reactionaries’ who held a ‘nostalgic’ view of the working-class. 

That sounds distressingly familiar. Long time conservatives have been kicked to the curb by the Party, bent on putting forward a “progressive” stance otherwise known as “liberal lite”. We did not have the confidence that a conservative majority would represent us.

Mr. Embery goes on:

But the woke liberals and Toytown revolutionaries who now dominate the party didn’t listen to us. They truly thought that ‘one more heave’ would bring victory. They believed that constantly hammering on about economic inequality would be enough to get Labour over the line. In doing so, they made a major miscalculation: they failed to grasp that working-class voters desire something more than just economic security; they want cultural security too.
 

They want politicians to respect their way of life, and their sense of belonging; to elevate real-world concepts such as work, family and community over nebulous constructs like ‘diversity’, ‘equality’ and ‘inclusivity’.

By immersing itself in the destructive creed of identity politics and championing policies such as open borders, Labour placed itself on a completely different wavelength to millions across provincial Britain without whose support it simply could not win power. In the end, Labour was losing a cultural war that it didn’t even realize it was fighting. 

Again, that sounds distressingly familiar. Canada is embroiled in a cultural war, pitting identity politics against working class realities, identifiable minorities against everyone else and in a class-war pitting the elites against working people.  

Mr. Embery goes on:

Brexit provided an opportunity for the party to reconnect with its traditional base, to show working-class voters that it understood their priorities and was on their side. But it flunked the test, choosing to indulge its own membership rather than appeal to those whose votes it needed. Its decision to support a second referendum spelled electoral suicide. There could be no greater signal to the disaffected millions in the party’s old heartlands that it did not represent them or respect their democratic wishes. From that moment, the writing was on the wall. 

That is a decent summary of our most recent election.

Electors did not have the confidence that a conservative majority would turn the corner and represent them, recognizing that they too have a place in a democracy and respecting them and their needs. That is the reasons why the residents of provinces outside of central Canada feel unappreciated and abused.

When western provinces are reeling under government policies that have destroyed a robust economy and put tens of thousand out of work, they are in a rebellious mood with sound reason.

We are in desperate need of leadership connected to the people rather than to ideology.

Either the Conservative Party will learn to respect our way of life, our sense of place and belonging and elevate real-world concepts such as work, family and community over nebulous constructs like ‘diversity’, ‘equality’ and ‘inclusivity’ ... or wither and die.

John Feldsted
Political commentator, Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba