How Britain’s Tories came to resemble the trade unions

The 50thCPSMPCPS birthday party of the Centre for Policy Studies () on March 6th was a swish affair. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, and scores of Conservative s 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.”But triumphalism was mixed with gloom. It fell to Michael Spencer, chairman of the , to share the bad news. Lately the Thatcherite revolution has not been going so well. Britain has struggled to produce growth that would have been the norm 20 years ago, he said. It is saddled with high debt and high taxes.