I’m a great admirer of the writings of Patrick O’Flynn as he’s often willing to say what other commentators on the centre-right might consider to be somewhat unsayable,which is to draw attention to the failures of the Conservative Party. It is from reading Mr O’Flynn’s writing that I’ve come to learn of the policies of the now reformed and rejuvenated Social Democratic Party. Through his published pieces I’ve come to see how the policies of this party chime with what polls often show what Britons desire, which is a government that is to the centre-Left economically and to the centre-Right and Right on cultural and social matters.

In a recent piece in The Critic magazine, Mr O’Flynn looks at the current state of the Tory party, it’s mismanagement of everything from the economy, energy security to policing along with the party’s slide into constant division and internal plotting and asks the question ‘Why would anyone vote for the Tories’? It is indeed a very good question. At present voting Tory means voting for a mess of a party, a party that has failed dismally to properly manage vital public services such as policing, failed to reform the sclerotic mess that is the NHS, failed to protect our borders and seems unable or unwilling to fight the Left on cultural and social matters.

At present it seems that the only reason to vote Conservative is to stop something perceived to be worse which is a Labour Party or a Labour led Coalition which will have the likes of David Lammy, Layla Moran or Richard ‘Benny from Crossroads’ Burgon pulling on the levers of power. This is a policy of ‘holding onto nurse for fear of finding something worse’ and does not provide a positive reason for voting Conservative. The Tories have failed so dismally on issues such as the cross Channel invasion that I doubt that many people will vote Tory next time as the Tories are now seen as being liars over this issue. Like Mr O’Flynn I look at the Tories and I really can’t see any positive reason to vote for them.

On the subject of what the Tories have become Mr O’Flynn said:

Whilst Conservative MPs were caught up in one long parlour game of plot and counter-plot, core public services declined disastrously. The state of various branches of the NHS beggars belief. More than seven million people are waiting for operations (an all-time record), ambulance response times have risen precipitously and with frequently fatal consequences, face-to-face GP appointments have become all but impossible to get and the number of people waiting more than four hours for attention at A&E departments is soaring.

Schools have barely started making good on the learning lost out on by pupils — especially ones from deprived backgrounds — during the various Covid lockdowns. Basic policing has all but collapsed, to the great benefit of bicycle thieves, burglars, shoplifters and posh eco-loons. The incredible shrinking Armed Forces are still shrinking. Arms-length government agencies such as the DVLA, HMRC or the Passport Office that were once known for efficiency are now practically impossible to contact and routinely fail to meet output targets.

Sadly Mr O’Flynn is correct. The Tories in Parliament have turned inwards and are failing to manage the nation properly and manage it for the benefit of Britons. There can be no greater example of this than how the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak swans around the world at various conferences and international talking shops, dishing out money extorted from British taxpayers for reasons of virtue signalling, whilst everything back home collapses.

The current incarnation of the Conservative Party gives me no good solid and positive reasons to vote for it. I voted Tory in 2019 primarily for the purposes of getting Brexit through a Parliament that was dead set against implementing what the British people voted for. But I also voted Tory for other reasons. I wanted a government that would defend and enhance freedom of speech, that would depoliticise our police forces, defend Britain’s borders and manage public services effectively and efficiently. The Boris Johnson government and subsequent Tory governments have delivered on none of these things. I can see no real reason to vote Tory next time and I’m unwilling to listen to a party that lies to the public over matters such as immigration on a regular and repeated basis. Next time I will vote with my conscience even if it means Labour’s lunatics get a shot at government and put my cross against the name of a candidate standing for Reform or the Social Democratic Party.