The Tories have no excuse to whine about The Blob

The last few weeks have served as a reminder of the sort of conspiratorial, self-excusing hole the Conservative party could well go down in opposition. Speaking in the United States, Liz Truss blamed her premiership collapsing on the ‘wokenomics’ of the ‘deep state’, giving succour once more to the idea that the Tory party could have done what it wanted, could have governed better, were it not for The Blob. It’s a seductive argument, but a dubious and self-defeating one if the party wants to gain power again.

When the party is, almost inevitably, in opposition there is a chance this line of thinking will fully take hold. If it does, it will mean years of whining and very little winning. As reassuring as it might be for senior politicians, abandoning the agency of leaders in this debacle results in two things: speaking only to a shrinking, aggrieved pocket of voters, and failing to address how the party might be effective next time.