With talk dominated by fiscal crisis and cuts, it is vital that we do not lose sight of the ability of politics to provide hope and to make a real positive difference. Hope may have become a devalued commodity since the dashed expectations of New Labour, but we must not let distract us from the message that a progressive Conservative Government can make Britain a better place in which to live.
Don’t forget that deficits can be reduced at the same time as reaching progressive goals. We should take note of the experience of the Clinton administration in the US, in achieving substantial reduction in poverty, at the same time as turning a substantial budget deficit into a surplus. Plenty of progressive goals have been achieved throughout history at the same time as budget deficits have been reined in.
Our rhetoric must emphasise how a Conservative Government will fulfil the hope that has been invested in it. We need to provide hope to the people in deprived communities who have seen social mobility go backwards. We need to provide hope to the people who have lost their jobs because of this recession. We need to provide hope that our educational reforms will enable people from any background fulfil their potential. We need to provide hope to those people in the inner cities still suffering the effects of relative poverty in the early 21st Century.
Hope is one of the most powerful words in the English language. A vision of a brighter future is one of the most powerful and important images that politicians can provide. Hope for a brighter future and a better politics must be at the very heart of our language over the next few months.
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Perhaps Clement Attlee’s handling of the parlous ship of state while introducing the NHS as commissioned by Chruchill and planned by Beveridge could be another sign of hope.