POLITICS | JAMES FORSYTH
ing like an act of nativism or an attempt to
turn back the clock. If Brexit turns into a
culture war, the Tories will find themselves
caught in the crossfire. To win a majority at
the next election, they’ll have to hold their
Remain-voting constituencies, such as the
Cities of London and Westminster. Lose
this kind of seat, and it is very hard to see
how the Tories could form a government.
Before the Budget, the Tories did begin
to make a case for Brexit focused on the
future. Philip Hammond argued that one
benefit of leaving the EU would be that the
UK would be free to regulate new technolo-gies in its own way. This is a crucial point.
The UK is a world leader in artificial intelli-
gence, Fintech and driverless cars. But in all
these areas, the EU’s precautionary princi-
ple could end up retarding innovation. The
government should be consistently making
the argument that the UK is more likely to
play a leading role in these industries, which
will do so much to define the next few dec-
ades, outside of the EU.
If the Tories are to define Brexit, they
must have a better idea of the final deal
that they are aiming for and the opportu-
nities that will involve. For example, the
government doesn’t want to commit to cre-
ating ‘free ports’, tariff-free zones that allow
the easy import and re-export of goods, as
it doesn’t yet know precisely what kind of
customs arrangement it will have with the
EU and whether free ports would be com-
patible with that.
But there are some things that the gov-ernment could do now as an EU member
that would help set the right tone. It could,
for instance, take students out of the migra-
tion numbers. On her trip to China, Mrs
May said that the changes she had made
as home secretary to root out abuses of the
system meant that international students
no longer had any ‘long-term impact on the
numbers’. So why not declare victory and
remove students from them altogether?
This would not only send a signal around
the world that Brexit Britain isn’t pulling up
the drawbridge but would also give a boost
to this country’s university sector, which
is so vital to the success of the post-Brexit
economy.
As soon as the UK has left the EU, the
government could vary VAT rates. Exempt-
ing a particular area from this sales tax
would be a simple way to encourage both
urban regeneration and keep high streets
going in the face of ever more competi-
tion from internet retailers. This is a small
change, but illustrative of how the UK gov-
ernment will have more freedom of action
after Brexit.
But the Tories must be more than just
the party of Brexit. No. 10 is right to iden-
tify housing and education as two areas
that the party needs to concentrate on: both
are crucial to social mobility. But at pre-
sent Tory policy in these areas is not suf-
ficient. Ultimately, getting enough homes
built will require radical planning reform
— something which Mrs May is reluctant
to embrace. Like David Cameron, May suf-
fers from representing a beautiful southern
constituency with plenty of greenbelt land.
Next time around, the Tories would be well
advised to pick a leader whose constituency
views are less attractive.
On education, the Tories have a record
worth promoting. But they do need to find
a way to deal with educational blackspots
such as Knowsley, where there is currently
no A-level provision in the entire borough.
Elections are about the future. Between
now and 2022, the Tories must show the
country that they are the party that knows
how to take advantage of the opportunities
that the coming decades will offer this coun-
try and its citizens.17 reasons to love Brexit — page 24.T
he Tory party is the party of Brexit,
whether it likes it or not. The referen-
dum was called by a Tory prime min-
ister, Tory politicians led Vote Leave and it is
a Tory government that is taking Britain out
of the European Union. Theresa May might
equivocate when asked if she’d vote Leave
in another referendum, but to the average
voter, Brexit is a Tory policy.
Mrs May’s reluctance to say she’d back
Brexit in another vote is revealing of a
broader Conservative desire to avoid being
too closely associated with the project. A
classic example is Philip Hammond’s view
that the £350 million a week supposedly
promised to the National Health Service is
Boris Johnson’s problem, not his. But ulti-
mately, if Brexit doesn’t deliver what the
public wants, it will be the whole Tory party
that suffers. Few voters will bother to dis-
tinguish between those Tories who backed
Remain and those who didn’t.
Delivering an orderly Brexit is existen-
tial for the Tories. If they fail to do that, their
claim to be a competent party of govern-
ment will be gone for a generation at least.
Given that if Brexit breaks, the Con-
servatives will pay the price, they should
take ownership of it. They did try this at the
last election, but in the wrong way. Mrs May
said that she wanted an early election to
strengthen her hand in the Brexit talks and
to weaken the opposition parties ‘who want
to stop me from getting the job done’. A few
weeks later, she upped the ante, accusing the
EU of trying to interfere in the election. She
urged voters to let her ‘fight for Britain’.
But this bellicose rhetoric couldn’t dis-
guise the fact that Mrs May was trying to
fight an election on process, not substance.
In that ill-fated campaign, there was pre-
cious little detail on what a May government
wanted to do with the powers that Brexit
would give it. Rather, the Prime Minister
was asking voters to improve her negotiat-
ing position. But with voters none the wiser
on what she would use this power to achieve,
this appeal fell on deaf ears.
The right way for the Tories to take own-
ership of Brexit is to set out the kind of coun-
try they want Britain to be after we have left
the EU. They must make clear that the Brexit
they deliver will be outward-looking and
future-focused. They must avoid it appear-
Brexit belongs to the Tories
Ultimately, if Brexit doesn’t deliver
wh at th e public want s, it will be th e
whole Conservative party that suffers‘I want a Brexit-style divorce
— with him as the UK.’