The Tories are no longer taking the core vote for granted

For some time it was not polite to utter the phrase ‘core vote’ at a Conservative party gathering, or within earshot of those loyal to the leadership. It referred, after all, to people who believed taxation was theft, who despised the European Union and all it stood for, who venerated the monocultural society and saw no difficulty with mediaeval punishments for criminals. To suggest the Tory party’s core vote was something to be cherished, respected and, indeed, catered for was akin to dropping an especially pungent fart at the proverbial vicarage tea party. Throughout the Hague years, and the Duncan Smith years, and (until now) the Howard months, this remained unchanged. ‘The core vote’, a senior shadow minister told me two or three years ago, ‘has nowhere else to go. What we need to concentrate on are the people in the middle who need to be tempted back to us.’