Progressive Conservatives discuss inequality

Submitted by Bill Kerry on 13 January 2010

A new group of progressive Conservatives – Bright Blue – hosted an interesting discussion last night entitled “Does Inequality Matter?”  The speakers were the Rt Hon Theresa May MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) and Polly Toynbee (Guardian columnist).

Polly Toynbee based much of her case around The Spirit Level whereas Theresa May’s position seemed to focus more on the current mainstream policy fixes of choice – namely social mobility and education. Pleasingly, there seemed to be a general consensus that inequality does matter but some disagreement on how to tackle it and some problems around defining the debate and whether it was really just about addressing poverty.

However, the fact that we were discussing inequality in a Conservative-hosted event held in the Thatcher Room at Portcullis House, Westminster, was not lost on the attendees - nor was the fact that the first person to speak at a Bright Blue event happened to be Polly Toynbee. I left feeling encouraged that the inequality debate is going beyond the usual places.

Once it is recognised and widely accepted that the gap between rich and poor has to be narrowed in order to improve society, all sorts of new and interesting policy debates can be had across the political spectrum. As The Spirit Level makes clear there are many routes to greater equality. The relatively high level of equality achieved by Japan is a result of narrower spreads of income before tax and not by way of high taxes and a large, re-distributive welfare state. This is also true for New Hampshire in the US. A policy mix somewhere between Sweden and Japan is also perfectly possible.

Our upcoming One Society campaign, due to be launched shortly, will attempt to draw out various policy options. In the run up to the general election it will seek to provide the three main parties with approaches, informed from their particular traditions and perspectives, that they should consider in tackling inequality. The Equality Trust calls on all political parties to prioritise policies designed to reduce inequality in their general election campaigning and manifestos. Only by making the UK a more equal society can we have the better, healthier, more cohesive and sustainable society we all want.