Tominey, Associate Editor, Daily Telegraph
‘This is a timely and thought-provoking book. Nick Timothy argues that the key question in politics today should not be whether the market or the state can do a better job but how we can reconcile both with community. For those of us who believe that strong communities are the key to our future happiness and prosperity, this book is a powerful call to action, by someone who has thought deeply about the challenges we face, during and since he worked in Number Ten.’
Tom Tugendhat, MP
‘Conservatism is most real and interesting when it confronts the trade-offs between individual freedom and civic obligation, dynamism and rootedness, and seeks to reconcile them. This is why this is an important book on the future of conservatism and indeed the future of our country.’
David Willetts, Conservative peer and author
‘This brilliant book makes a compelling and novel argument about the origins of the crises experienced in Britain and other liberal democracies. Its philosophical analysis is backed by robust empirical research, and its vision of a new conservatism is backed by creative new policy suggestions. Whether you agree with all of those suggestions or not, this is a must-read contribution to the debate that is raging all the way across the West.’
Gavin Williamson, MP
‘The recent Conservative election victory is a complete vindication of the Nick Timothy approach. This book should be required reading for the new government on how to improve the lives of their new voters – and for the Labour Party to understand their seismic loss.’
Rachel Wolf, Partner at Public First and author of Boris Johnson’s 2019 general election manifesto
‘This book is an absolute must-read. It’s both thorough and challenging. Inevitably there will be elements you’ll disagree with but there are many others that are truly enlightening. The bottom line is that this is a vital contribution to a must-have debate.’
Sir Simon Woolley, crossbench peer and director of Operation Black Vote
REMAKING ONE NATION
The Future of Conservatism
NICK TIMOTHY
polity
Copyright © Nick Timothy 2020
The right of Nick Timothy to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2020 by Polity Press
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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3919-2
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people have contributed in different ways to the production of this book. Any errors, needless to say, are my own. But I want to thank the friends and colleagues who have helped me along the way. I owe a debt of obligation to my publishers, Polity Press, and in particular to my editor, Dr George Owers, whose suggestions were indispensable. I owe an equal debt to Wadham College, Oxford, where between 2018 and 2019 I was a Keeley Visiting Fellow. In particular, I am grateful to the Warden, Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, for awarding me the Fellowship, and to Lord Wood of Anfield, who proposed me to the College. I am grateful, too, to Dr Paul Martin and Dr Tom Sinclair for their wise advice and support.
I want to thank Chris Evans, my editor at The Daily Telegraph, and Tom Welsh, the newspaper’s insightful comment editor. I should also thank Tony Gallagher, the editor of The Sun, for whom I wrote between 2017 and 2019. It has been a privilege to write about many of the issues covered in this book in their magnificent newspapers. I am thankful to Matthew Taylor, who made me a Fellow of the RSA, which often provided me with a calm and quiet workspace in the middle of London. I should also thank the University of Sheffield, where I am a Visiting Professor, and in particular Professor Andrew Hindmoor and the brilliant Dr Matt Sleat.
Matt has been a wise counsellor throughout, as have Professor John Gray and Professor Vernon Bogdanor. Other friends and colleagues to whom I owe a particular debt for their thoughts and advice include Claire Ainsley, John Bowers, Matthew d’Ancona, Mike Flower, David Goodhart, Paul Goodman, Michael Gove, Tom Greeves, Ygal el Harrar, James Johnson, Professor Eric Kaufmann, Hans Kundnani, Baroness Meyer of Nine Elms, Sir Christopher Meyer, Rick Nye, Lord O’Shaughnessy of Maidenhead, Professor Adrian Pabst, Bojan Pancevski, Nick Pickles, Amol Rajan, Manveen Rana, Russell Rook, Gisela Stuart, Will Tanner, Niva Thiruchelvam, Nick Webb, Rachel Wolf, Sir Simon Woolley and my brother, John Timothy. It goes without saying that not everybody listed here agrees with everything I argue in the book.
In particular, I am grateful to Rick Nye for allowing me to reproduce the Populus ‘Clockface’ research in chapter 3. Nick Webb went far beyond the call of duty – especially given his own liberal beliefs – with his numerous comments and improvements. Adam Brown – my old friend ‘Stumpy’ – put me up for many Oxford nights and never hesitated to get the drinks in. And, of course, there is Martina, who advised and supported me through several draft texts and hundreds of conversations and email exchanges. It is to Martina, and to the whole of my family, that I dedicate this book.
‘Two nations [of rich and poor]; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws.’
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