In this week’s ‘All That’s Left’, Lauren takes a look at the history of Liverpool’s turbulent relationship with the Conservative party.
It is fair to say that Liverpool has a history of being one of the most politically radical cities in the UK.
The melting pot of ethnicities in the city has more often than not geared itself towards the left of politics, through organisations such as the Communist Party, Socialist Worker Party and, of course, the Labour Party.
However, if you mention the Tories to any Liverpudlian, no matter what political leaning, the subjects of the docks, council funding and Margaret Thatcher will always stir emotion.
This city has always felt forgotten about by the establishment. In this case, the establishment are the upper classes, the elites of society who are aligned with the Conservative Party.
This seems to stem from the Liverpool general transport strike of 1911, where Winston Churchill felt it was necessary to send in the army to control protesters and station a gun boat on the river Mersey.
It was especially odd considering this was a national protest and many believed Churchill was trying to make a scapegoat out of Liverpool, who already had a national reputation as a city of ‘louts’, which possibly stemmed from pre-existing Irish stereotypes.
At the time Churchill remarked, “You need not attach great importance to the rioting in Liverpool last night. It took place in an area where disorder is a chronic feature.”
One could argue disorder was a chronic feature in Liverpool due to escalating unemployment in the north under the Tory government at the time.
A time when unemployed men were forced to line up every morning and humiliatingly have their muscles judged by dock managers, only to be sent home again.
Fast forward to the 1980’s, and once again Liverpool was portrayed in a negative light by the establishment.
Unemployment rates were among the highest in the UK, with the rapid decline of the docks contributing to the problem.
It has since come to light that Margaret Thatcher was advised to abandon Liverpool to a state of ‘managed decline’ following the Toxteth riots in 1981.
This attitude displayed by Thatcher and her cabinet is embedded into local memory and generally deeply resented to this day. It will be interesting to note how the people of Liverpool will react to Thatcher’s passing in years to come.
Now, here is the biggest insult – last week my colleague Liam Curran argued in his column ‘The Right Path’ that Boris Johnson has what it takes to become a future prime minister. If this were to ever happen, I highly doubt the news would be taken kindly in Liverpool.
In 2004, Johnson wrote an article in the Spectator which contained references to Liverpudlians having “a deeply unattractive psyche” or more precisely a “victim status”. He goes on to repeat those age-old untruths regarding the Hillsborough disaster.
Since then Johnson has officially apologised. However, so has Kelvin McKenzie, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a news agents that sells The Sun in Liverpool.
Of course, I’m not saying there is no Conservative Party sentiment in the city at all.
Liverpool has had Conservative councils and MPs in the past. However, the general mood towards the Tories is a negative one, caused primarily by the Conservative Party’s attitude towards Liverpool.
In comparison with cities such as Manchester, which has always been highly favoured by the Conservatives, Liverpool has always felt like the poor relations.
After David Cameron’s official apology regarding the Hillsborough disaster, will the Tories ever try to make amends with the city of Liverpool?
Maybe the real question is, will Liverpool ever forgive the Tories for their past failings?
