The leader and his party are still getting to know one another
BRUCE ANDERSON
IBlackpool t was a sombre and thoughtful speech, delivered by a leader who is still mastering the art of the big occasion. 'Security abroad, security at home' was the conference soundbite, and it was well designed to bring out lain Duncan Smith's strengths. His text was an essay in shades of grey; an evocation of fear and threat. He linked the terrorist outrages, which made it seem as if the civilised world had ceased to be able to control the threats to its way of life, with the sense of loss that many British citizens feel because of deteriorating conditions in our inner cities. There was none of Tony Blair's moralising fervour; Mr Duncan Smith is much more at ease with darker, minor-key themes.
The text was more impressive than the delivery. Mr Duncan Smith drew an analogy between the counter-terrorist campaign, in which the mission must define the coalition, and the battle to secure better public services in Britain. Here again, the mission will draw together disparate forces; it will not be allowed to become a prisoner of vested interests.
Major intellectual questions remain unsolved. As Labour will quickly point out, Mr Duncan Smith called for lower taxes and criticised the Chancellor's willingness to increase public spending faster than economic growth — while also committing himself to producing the finest public services in the world. That would appear to be contradictory. This, of course, is inevitable at the early stages of a radical policy review, but there was no guarantee that the Tories would discover a way of reconciling the demands for lower taxes and better services.
Throughout the speech, as throughout the conference, one had the sense that a leader and his party were still getting to know one another. Over the past four weeks, Mr Duncan Smith has grown in assurance and in selfconfidence, but it would be surprising if there were not moments when he still feels awestruck by the rapidity of his rise, and the magnitude of the task which faces him. Equally, he is a largely unknown figure even to many Tory MPs, who are still bewildered at the way in which Michael Pornllo imploded and Ken Clarke was marginalised. There was a further unanswered question: when will British politics return to normal, and what lasting effect will the terrorist outrage have on the Prime Minister's standing?
On this, the Tory Party may be in the grip
of an illusion. In current circumstances, Tories should have one advantage; they are comfortable with security issues. This is the only major party without a doubting, pacifist hinterland. Tory strategists claim that the centre Left was only able to win so many elections in the 1990s because defence seemed so much less important in the new post-Cold War political agenda. September 11 changed all that, they argue, and, given the open-ended nature both of the campaign which the West is fighting and of the threat which we are facing, it will stay changed, to the Tories' advantage. Populations which are worried about their safety will naturally turn to right-wing parties.
In America, that may prove to be true. In Britain, matters are complicated by Mr Blair's protean political genius. In no way is he a captive of his party; it merely provides him with base facilities, from which he can launch raids across the political spectrum. An electorate in need of reassurance in a dangerous world might well be suspicious of the Labour party. but that is no reason why it should reject Tony Blair, who shares those suspicions. The war may help him to achieve his ambition, to transcend party politics. He is also confident that his own internal party security apparatus is strong enough to keep a grip on Labour's fundamentalist wing.
Osama bin Laden has also made it easier for lain Duncan Smith to control his own party. The lull in inter-party warfare also extends to intra-party warfare. During the past month, Tories have largely stopped insulting one another. On Wednesday morning, as she awaited Mr Duncan Smith's speech, Ann Widdecombe was praising Michael Howard's performance, and insisting that he was an excellent choice as shadow chancellor. If peace can break out on the Widdecombe/Howard front, anything is possible, and Mr Duncan Smith is determined to ensure that his party's unexpected truce develops into a permanent ceasefire.
Indeed, he has developed a surprising enthusiasm for eirenic gestures. He has spent a lot of time buttering up Steve Norris. This may turn out to be a wasted effort, for Mr Norris still seems obsessed by personal publicity, which he can best obtain by being rude about his own party and its leader. But lain Duncan Smith is trying to deny him the excuse to rebel or defect.
The new leader is also taking trouble with serious figures from different wings of his
party. He has sought Douglas Hurd's advice, a point which impressed Chris Patten, whom he has also met. William Hague never found the time to visit his MEPs in Strasbourg; lain Duncan Smith has already done so. Those who have met him in such circumstances — in many cases for the first time — seem to have formed the same impression. This is a man of strong beliefs, but an equally ingrained courtesy, who is happy to listen carefully even when he is disagreeing fundamentally. In all his personal contacts, lain Duncan Smith has the knack of being disarming.
There are two respects in which he has already made a significant departure from William Hague's style of leadership. Though Mr Hague had formidable academic qualifications, he never seemed that interested in ideas. He may have been highly intelligent, but by temperament he was no intellectual. lain Duncan Smith is. The first point which struck senior figures from Tory Central Office in their initial wary contacts with their new boss was his enthusiasm for new ideas. His approach to policy-making will be more cosmopolitan than Mr Hague's was. Mr Duncan Smith may not wish to adopt the Europeans' currency but he will study how they run their public services.
His policy work will also be much more collegiate than Mr Hague's. In the Hague era, there was a recurrent complaint even from members of the shadow Cabinet; most of them often felt excluded. Access to the Leader's Office was jealously guarded by an inner coterie, and even when there were meetings, Mr Hague often seemed more interested in what his staff had to say than in the shadow ministers' views. Mr Duncan Smith intends to have regular breakfasts with all his shadow teams, and has told his shadow Cabinet that they will be his principal advisers in their own policy areas. The demands on an Opposition leader's time are unconscionable, and Mr Duncan Smith, too, will need his gatekeepers. But he intends to have much more of an open-door policy towards his senior shadow spokesmen. It will be interesting to see whether that proves viable.
On one point, we can be certain. This is no rigid, small-minded ideologue, but a generous-minded man with a capacity for intellectual growth. By choosing an unknown figure as its leader, the Tory party took a leap in the dark and committed itself to an adventure. It is going to be a fascinating process.
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