Britain | Bagehot

How Britain’s Tories came to resemble the trade unions 

The new enemy within

“On strike!” written on a blue rosette
Illustration: Nate Kitch

The 50th birthday party of the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) on March 6th was a swish affair. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, and scores of Conservative MPs tucked into champagne and pork in the gothic splendour of the London Guildhall. There was much to celebrate. Founded by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph in 1974 to “think the unthinkable” about Britain’s stalling post-war economy, its ideas and policies had powered her administration. The think-tank’s principles remain the government’s lodestars, Mr Sunak declared. “In no small part, we live in the world created by the Centre for Policy Studies.”

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The enemy within”

From the March 16th 2024 edition

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