Searching for muscle memory

Who on the Conservative benches has practical experience of opposition?Amidst all the excitement of a new government making its presence felt, it’s worth taking a moment to think about how a party adjusts to opposition after a lengthy period in power.

The assumption is that those who have been there before will bring their experience to bear. However, the scale of losses, added to the large number of long-serving MPs retiring at the end of the last Parliament, means that, of the 121 Conservatives in the current parliamentary party, only 21 (17.5 per cent) have direct experience of being in opposition. That’s fewer than the 32 of 165 Conservatives (19.4 per cent) who survived the previous Labour landslide in 1997 or indeed the 67 (26 per cent) of the 258 Labour MPs who found themselves facing the coalition in 2010.

Collectively, these 21 MPs have 209 years’ experience of opposition (average just short of ten years). Seven experienced the transition from government to opposition in 1997 and then the full thirteen years out of office. One other, Andrew Mitchell, lost his seat in 1997, having been a minister under John Major, and so only experienced opposition when he re-entered Parliament in 2001.

Mitchell is one of three who are in the Interim Shadow Cabinet, along with Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Wright. There are five more former cabinet ministers on the backbenches, alongside seven other former ministers.nbsp; Amongst these is the only remaining ex-Conservative party leader in the Commons (Iain Duncan Smith). Three were shadow ministers, without ever serving in government. Three have never held front-bench roles.

Three chaired departmental Select Committees (Bernard Jenkin, Julian Lewis and John Whittingdale) and two (David Davis and Edward Leigh) chaired the Public Accounts Committee.

It remains to be seen how active these long-serving MPs will be in opposition, how far they will be able to pass on their experience and indeed, how receptive their new colleagues might be. Opposition is a different skill from government and has to be learned.nbsp; It requires a shift of mindset and of attitude which does not come instantly following rejection at the polls.nbsp; Losing an election is a painful experience. As with any other big emotional shock, it takes time to come to terms with the fact and time to learn how to live in changed circumstances.

Richard Lambert

pragmatic advocacy from Pragmatix Advisory is a regular bite-sized briefing from our resident former trade association CEO and policy director which offers background information and insight to help anyone campaigning and lobbying.

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