The British Conservative Party’s drift to the right: Taking on the “deep state”

Abstract

The British Conservative Party has increasingly embraced a right-wing conspiracy theory according to which a host of unrelated actors are said to be working against the best interests of ordinary British people to advance a “woke” agenda that is left-wing, anti-Brexit, pro-immigration and unpatriotic. Some conservatives, namely former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have even gone so far as to suggest that these forces form part of a “deep state”, working in the shadows against the elected government and therefore against the people themselves. They purportedly do so by advancing “cultural Marxism” – pushing a silent revolution through, rather than against, the key institutions of the British State. Through an analysis of political speeches and of reports from right-wing think tanks close to the Conservative Party, this article seeks to analyse the British government’s recent attacks on those who it has designated as the principal enemies of the people: the universities, the BBC, the police and the judiciary. These attacks are not just rhetorical but have concrete effects on the ground which may seriously undermine their independence. Whilst there is scant evidence for the apparent left-wing bias of these institutions, painting them as “woke” serves primarily as a useful populist political strategy, placing the Conservative Party firmly on the side of “the people” in the context of the culture wars” and serving as a distraction from serious economic problems.