THERE IS NO TRADITION MORE STORIED — and more futile — than that of the post-election autopsy.
With the dust settled, the ballots counted, and the bodies buried, defeated parties typically spend months engaged in a performative display of soul-searching and wound-licking. Previous leaders are disavowed, new directions charted, and old ideological assumptions questioned. In a year or two, the new-look party is presented in earnest to the electorate, alongside promises that, this time, things will be different. The comparisons to desperate ex-boyfriends write themselves.
In the wake of its defeat, the Conservative Party looks set to continue along this well-trodden path of self-discovery. This will all, largely, be a pointless exercise. The reasons for the Conservative Party’s defeat are obvious, and the steps
