To many, contemporary conservatism seems a hollowed-out creed. On the one hand authoritarian populism, on the other heartless free-market individualism, neither of which offers much to those whose sense of meaning is securely rooted in their families, communities and country.

There is a better way, Danny Kruger argues. In Covenant (Forum, 31 August) the Co-chair of the New Conservatives makes the case for a new conservatism that restores the sources of virtue and belonging that underpin the good life. We must resist the ceaseless move towards obsessive autonomy and self-worship, exemplified in the ‘social contract’ and revisit a social covenant centred around families, places and communities. The best basis for the age of tech is, Kruger argues, a conservative one. Supporting these key institutions can make modernity safe, fruitful and prosperous.

Examining the most fundamental questions of love, sex and death, ranging from marriage to assisted dying, Kruger charts a course towards a conservatism based on relationships, social obligations and covenant. Combining a political philosophy with practical policy proposals, Covenant demonstrates how the Conservative Party can consolidate its new class coalition and govern for all classes and communities.

The Henry Jackson Society is delighted to welcome you to a conversation between Danny Kruger and Dr Alan Mendoza about the ideas contained within Covenant, and whether they offer realistic solutions for Britain in 2023.

Photo credit: Nikki Powell

Danny Kruger is the MP for Devizes in Wiltshire. He has worked for a succession of Conservative leaders and Prime Ministers, including as Political Secretary to Boris Johnson. He is the founder and former chief executive of two charities working with prisoners and young people at risk. He has a D.Phil. in history from Oxford University and is the author of On Fraternity: Politics beyond Liberty and Equality (Civitas, 2007).

Alan Mendoza is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Henry Jackson Society, Britain’s leading think tank fighting for the principles and alliances which keep societies free. He directs strategy for the organisation as well as acting as its main public face in mediums as diverse as the BBC, Sky, CNBC, Al-Jazeera, Bloomberg, LBC and TalkRadio. On the print side, Alan is a columnist for City AM, London’s business newspaper, and has contributed to The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Sun and a host of international newspapers and magazines.

Having obtained a B.A. (Hons.) and M.Phil in history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Alan completed a Ph.D. at the same institution. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was the Parliamentary Candidate for the Conservative Party in the Brent Central Constituency for the 2015 General Election. He is also a Trustee of the President Reagan Memorial Fund Trust.

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EVENT SUMMARY

The Henry Jackson Society was pleased to welcome Danny Kruger MBE MP this week to discuss his forthcoming book The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood, and Nation.The HJS’s own Dr Alan Mendoza interviewed Mr Kruger about the central thesis of his book and the ideas which underpin his political philosophy — what Mr Kruger describes as the fundamental “tension between [our] desire to be free and [our] desire to belong.” Kruger argues that the West has been captured by “The Transgressive Idea,” a radical kind of individualism that incentivises us to detach from community, family, and country in a myopic, futile race towards a self-sufficiency defined by one’s separation from others. Mr Kruger believes firmly that this “Idea” deeply threatens that which has made the West historically strong and morally authoritative, laying out his claim that it is only by embracing the much older premises of classical conservatism that we may “get modernity right” and “achieve the old fashioned life we all aspire to, without any of the downsides. Mr Kruger outlined his vision for 21st Century Britain, a place where an old fashioned, culture-and-community-centred lifestyle predominates, without sacrificing its place in the cut and thrust of a global market economy. Dr Mendoza and Mr Kruger applied this intellectual theme to a far-reaching set of issues, touching on everything from 18th-century English political thought to immigration, religion, and the rapid advance of artificial intelligence — all tethered to the central point that human flourishing is inextricably linked to our relationships to individuals, to communities, and to nations.