It has been quite an eventful, unpredictable week in British politics. The use of old style political chicanery to force the terrible, illiberal 42 day measure through the House set a number of dogs running that have provoked great discussion in the Westminster village and beyond. The fall of David Davis and the mounting concern about the erosion of civil liberties are bound to remain talking points for some time to come. What is clear, however, is that a staunch defence of civil liberties should remain a central component of modern Conservatism.
The resignation of David Davis has already been the subject of a fair deal of comment in these parts. It is fair to say that his decision has come in for a bit of flak on Platform 10. Michael and Will were both quite right when they suggested that we need to retain discipline as a Party and cannot afford to be indulgent or to act in a way that sacrifices the initiative to our rivals. It is quite right that there may have been other, better ways of raising the profile of this oh so important issue of civil liberties. But the die is cast and the decision is made. We need to be careful not to ignore the other side of the coin. I firmly believe that any negative political impact will only be a short term one and will be more than counterbalanced by the long term political benefits of the issue of the diminution of liberties under this Government being raised up the agenda.
Firstly, it is quite clear that Davis has no quarrel with Conservative policy. David Cameron and the Shadow Cabinet will be campaigning in Haltemprice and Howden. The clear focus of Davis’ attack is the steady erosion of fundamental liberties under this illiberal Government, of which 42 days was merely a symbolic totem. Secondly, you cannot help but salute the bravery of somebody who puts his career on the line over something they believe in strongly. He would have, almost certainly, taken one of the great offices of state in a Cameron Government. To have given up, at least in the short term, the potential for high office represents the kind of personal bravery that a sizeable proportion of the public, probably quite unfairly, think is pretty much absent from modern political life. His resignation may go down as a ‘what might have been’ with Lord Randolph Churchill’s in 1886 but it has certainly been a resignation in pursuit of a noble cause.
Most importantly, however, we must not forget that the protection of fundamental civil liberties forms a pivotal part of modern, progressive Conservatism. As a Party we are not prepared to countenance the continued erosion of liberty, be it through the extension of detention without charge; a pervasive DNA and database culture; or the extension of other schemes that fundamentally alter the relationship between the citizen and the state. The staunch defence of civil liberties is bringing the Conservative message to a new audience, particularly amongst younger, less partisan and more liberal minded, voters. Defending civil liberties is a crucial part of the brand of a reinvigorated Conservatism. It sets us apart from the authoritarian instincts of Gordon Brown and his decaying Government and the perceived authoritarianism of past Conservative Governments. It puts us in tune with the liberal instincts of modern Britain and the liberal instincts of those opinion formers that we cannot choose to ignore. If the ‘Davis affair’ raises public knowledge and public perception of the continued erosion of civil liberties and the Conservative stand against this ongoing erosion then, in the long term, he will have brought benefit to both his Party and the country.