Theresa May Is A Tory For Modern Times, Says David Mellor

19 May 2017, 12:21

Theresa May's manifesto proves she isn't a new Maggie, but is a Tory for the modern age, says David Mellor.

Theresa May is not a doctrinaire Tory. In fact, there are some people who say she's not even a Tory at all. Certainly on economic and industrial policy, she's inclined to interfere, she picks up a rag bag of measures, like what she's going to do over energy prices and she puts them forward.

But you see, some old Thatcherites - and I'm an old Thatcherite, an ancient Thatcherite - resent that but I think she has to do what the times demand and what the times are demanding is a leader who can reach out to people who might not think of themselves as Conservatives, but who might be persuaded to vote Conservative if they feel that the Conservatives are Us and not Them.

Under Dave Cameron, the Conservatives were always Them, because Dave Cameron, the son of privilege, had no relationship with normal people.

Mrs May, more interestingly, as the child of a priest understands that money matters, understands the problems that face the so-called JAMs- the Just About Managings.

So if any election manifesto I don't just say this because I was a Tory minister if any election manifesto is interesting and worth looking at, it's the Tory one because it doesn't tell the same old story over and over again.

Where it will get her, we will see, but at least someone has tried to make a difference.