Will this crisis change Conservative thinking in the long-term

NO.

 

In answer to the thread title ....no.

They will say how much they appreciate all the hard work then revert to type and screw the real workers and look after those at the top.

 

Good article . I would agree old Tory ideals have been laid bare and over the next generation not fit for purpose . I mean they can leave it to the markets while simultaneously doing a second round of austerity but I don't think people will take it this time around . No one to blame this time but themselves .

 

Some will go along with the "Big State" while plotting ways to damage it long term - look how long some of them have tried to attack the NHS over the years. Some will push for austerity on steroids while looking at ways to cash in. Some of them will do both at the same time. Looking at the "big beasts" in Parliament, you can have a good guess at what the likes of JRM and IDS will do (while blaming the victims for being work shy or something)...

 

It won’t over time, this lot seem to be the most centrist of conservatives for a while however.

they were quite unashamed, maybe even a bare faced cheek at the last budget as they’d spent the whole election campaign telling everyone the money they spent would bankrupt the country.

 

Away from the party political stuff, one thing it should do is make it obvious we need a central bank of PPE equipment big enough to cope with similar outbreaks.
It need not be wasteful with stuff degrading or going out of date if all NHS trusts buy from the same 'bank' ensuring a good turnover and regular fresh supply to replenish what is being used on a weekly basis thus maintaing the emergency stock capability.

 

It does also make the strong case for national ownership of utilities - In such a situation, the government could cover the debt until people were in a position to pay it back instead of private companies who need the money to make a profit.

 

I cannot disagree with that.

 

I’d not worry over who owns the energy companies, I’d be more ensuring control of the distribution networks was a priority. Given most of the distribution networks are not uk owned.....

 

The main planks of the Tory philosophy have been private ownership, the generation of profit
and the support of entrepreneurs and their mantra was, is and always will be, private is good, public is bad.
That is why a number of services normally supplied by Local Authorities have been starved of cash and
where possible,taken over by the private sector.

The old adage is that a leopard never changes its spots and whilst no doubt appreciating what the front line NHS
workers are doing during the pandemic and recognising the numerous acts of public spiritness up and down the land,
once the lockdown is over and we are back to something approaching normality, I sadly fear they will revert to type.

 

I'd re-word the question & say what are the mainstream voting age folks thinking in the future? It has been dominated by the old that have little understanding of the plight of younger generations. As yet I've no idea. Things could get a lot worse, or a bit better. Most small companies like mine will go to the wall & never return. Jeff Bezos will have a few wanks on my head, before spitting on my corpse. Most folks won't even bat an eyelid.

 

Changing how a person votes is different to changing the ideals of a political party. Many, many people aren't that into politics. I'm not on a normal day. I'm into drinking. The Tory Party advertise themselves as a political party for everyone. Some of the things they say can be very appealing, particularly when a large part of the media is ravaging the opposition. But there will be those who, after this, despite voting Tory in the past, will never, ever vote for them again.

 

In the brief period of this government Northern rail was brought back to state control and other franchisers were in the process of review. Hopefully lessons will be learnt from this crisis a successful country needs a strong private sector to finance the public sector and an investment in young people is needed . Tories need to demonstrate they have a plan to strengthen the economy ,for everyone.

 

The thing about Tories is not whether they'll change their policies/views per se. It's whether what they do will serve their interests or not. Whatever they will do will be to serve the people/businesses/corporations/financiers who sponsor them and seek to gain from keeping them in power.

 

I will watch with interest. I am a tory voter, have been for a long time. But this situation will present a sea change in the economic outlook, worldwide, for up to a generation. The old way of thinking can't apply for the foreseeable. There is going to be an awful lot of deprivation and hardship coming up as the economy has to start again. Employment churn will be enormous as businesses fail by the thousand and slowly, new ones take their place as we slowly recover. This is the new normal. Old style austerity, with a view to getting finances back to normal in the lifetime of a parliament, is just not viable. We have to carry this debt burden for a generation now and concentrate on looking after people and boosting the economy, incrementally, no matter how slowly it happens. Reducing debt in the short term is no longer of relevance. Everyone is in the same position anyway and it would hurt even more than people will already be hurting.

If this government adopt the principles of austerity in the next 4.5 years and make those with least carry the burden then, for the first time since I was a teenager, they will likely lose my vote in 2024. Its untenable.

I do think though that, just like after the war, this crisis has made a change of government next time many times over more likely anyway. No matter how well they perform, no matter how well they look after people, or how well they prop up and kick start the economy, the fact is that things will get very very bleak in the next few years and by 2024, people will want change. It nigh on inevitable.

 

Im

I'm 68 and take exception to your assertion that the old don't understand the needs of the young. Most of us have childten and grandchildren, and probably have a better understanding of the needs of the young than the young themselves!
Furthermore for many of us our major ongoing concern is the constant battle to hold on to as many of our assets as we can. In order to pass them to our young.

 

With no sense of the irony.

 

point taken