Politics has fractured along new fault lines – those elected must repair the cracks

Boris Johnson stood for party leader as a One Nation Tory, he fought the campaign as a One Nation Tory and this is the agenda that has given him the largest Tory majority since 1987. Much is being made of the collapse of the Labour party’s vote, but something more profound is under way. The Tories are changing, and they have a message that was directed at – and understood by – a new cohort of voters. It has the potential to transform British politics.

It’s wrong to say – as many do – that the phrase ‘One Nation Tory’ is senseless. Its meaning comes from Disraeli’s dictum, in Sybil, that Britain was divided into two nations: the rich and the poor. The point of One Nation Toryism is to render this distinction null and void: to create a Conservative party that has a classless appeal and a situation where a typical Tory voter is as likely to be on the minimum wage as they are to be a millionaire.