Strong and Stable?

It’s been the Conservative Party’s calling sign since the beginning of the election campaign, but is it the public they’re trying to convince or themselves?

With campaigning for the snap general election now in full swing, it’s hard to imagine anyone making it through a single day without hearing the words “Strong and Stable” coming from somewhere, be it the news, Facebook feeds or even sitting in the pub. Everyone knows that is the hallmark of the Tory’s campaign, but just how Strong and Stable is the Conservatives’ position?

It was back in 2010 that the Conservative party first rose to government, ousting Gordon Brown’s Labour government, but they didn’t do it alone. They came into power by forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, exactly the thing that Theresa May is now trying to stop the other parties do, calling it a “Coalition of Chaos.” That coalition fell apart with most of the blame being thrown at the Liberals for anything that went wrong and resulted in the Conservatives eventually taking sole power across the country for the 2015 general election.

Ignoring the Coalition government the Conservatives have at this point had two years in power, to grow their Strong and Stable position, but let’s take a closer look. During the EU referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron made a strong speech outside Downing Street, imploring people to vote to remain in the EU, famously saying that “Brits don’t quit.” He then quit as Prime Minister, leaving the Tory Party leaderless.

The Conservative leadership race in itself was interesting. There were five key candidates for the leadership position, and after two were eliminated in the ballots, the remaining two withdrew, basically making the choice of new Prime Minster “or Theresa May” and as such the country was given its new leader, a leader that the public at no point voted for. Not only that but, David Cameron – a remain voter, who stepped down because he didn’t think a leave voter could run a fair Brexit – handed over the job to Theresa May, who herself was a remain voter. A Strong and Stable party, with Strong and Stable policies then.

Talking of policies, these have hardly been stable. When talking about national debt Mrs. May claimed that it was important not to saddle our children and grandchildren with significant debt, and yet the Office for Budget Responsibility has claimed that public sector debt is set to almost double by 2021.

At the Conservative Party Conference, Mrs. May also pledged to support the NHS, claiming that they were a party for the workers and a part of the NHS and then cut NHS spendings by £22 billion. All this after the vote leave campaigners claimed an extra £350 million could be spent on the NHS each week. On the subject of Brexit, Mrs. May claimed last year to have a firm plan for a Hard Brexit, and yet so far the only announcements we have heard are that she’s going to be difficult about her position, while the EU think her bargaining position is dubious. Not the most stable position to be in.

When it comes to jobs the Conservative government has fallen flat as well. The Prime Minister claimed that they would be fighting for job security for those on zero hour contracts, and yet despite this claim the number of people on zero hour contracts in the UK has in fact increased by 20% in the last year.

For the entire run up to the election Mrs. May has been trying to convince people to vote for a Strong and Stable party, but so far her party does not appear to be the one she describes. Trying to convince voters that a “Coalition of Chaos” is a bad idea because her party failed to deliver on it doesn’t mean that her party is instantly the Strong and Stable option she is insisting upon.

There is now only a short time until the election, and time will tell which way the country will vote, but if the Conservatives are to be believed it’s either for something Strong and Stable or for Chaos, the real question is which is which.