"We CANNOT divide the Right!" | David Starkey Talks

In this talk in Godmanchester, Huntingdonshire, I laid out the long tradition of political conservatism in Britain; where it comes from and where it must go.

The foundations of British conservatism were laid in the wake of the shattering defeat represented by the Great Reform Act of 1832. Three years later, Sir Robert Peel first used the term "conservatism" in his Tamworth Manifesto. But it was Benjamin Disraeli who divined the essence of the political movement later in the 19th century. The key question was, he said, not whether we should accept change. Change is inevitable. Rather it is what kind of change?

This is the same question we are wrestling with today. And in answering it, the Conservatives and Reform, and even Restore Britain, are all hovering over the same or similar answers. Their differences lie in willingness, professionalism, temperament and, sadly, personalities.

Since my interview with Rupert Lowe last month, many people have contacted me to insist that only Restore Britain represents "true conservatism". This is a fallacy. Conservatism does not reside exclusively in any one vehicle. I hope this talk provides a better understanding of what the movement is really about, and the need for an open-minded and practical awareness of how it can be effected. Enjoy!

Thumbnail credit: Image of Nigel Farage is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Image of Kemi Badenoch as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 in Greenwich. Credit: FCDO/Kevin Moran. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Image of Rupert Lowe is by Michel Christen, Copyright © European Union 2019 - Source: European Parliament.