What the country needs, I am now convinced, is a self-help group for writers of political booklets. A sort of Pamphleteers Anonymous, where serious political professionals can go to discuss the ideas they were convinced were brilliant early on in their career but from which they now need to tiptoe away.
We should see this as a fifth emergency service, one of those fabric of society groups, somewhere that offers a supportive face and the solidarity of someone who has been there and who can put their arm around your shoulder and tell you it’s OK to walk away from your earlier ideas. “Don’t worry,” they will say. “I once believed a semicircular parliament would reduce the confrontational nature of British politics.”
You just know that Liz Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng and the three other authors of the radical Tory manifesto Britannia Unchained never had that reassuring arm and a quiet voice letting them know they don’t really have to carry out any of those ideas just because they once shilled them in a political tract.
It must be terrifying for the five right now. Admittedly, two of them are prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer so they probably have other things to worry about, but very few of us want to be held accountable for the things we said when we were trying to work our way up the career ladder.
And it is so easy to fall into the trap. There are numerous well-funded political think-tanks preying on young MPs, grooming them with glasses of warm white wine at a launch party and promises of political recognition.
The pamphlet, for those who have yet to read it, was a 2012 free-market calling card from the quixotic quintet, which they used to declare themselves as the coming figures of the new right. The problem is that they still appear to believe in most of what they wrote, though with hindsight they might regret describing the British as being among “the worst idlers in the world”. It’s certainly not true of Conservative MPs, many of whom have several jobs.
Given their later success, one might argue that the booklet did its jobs for the freedom five, but it also offers a valuable lesson for politicians and politics. Young politicians write pamphlets to boost their profile. A pamphlet can also mark you out as a bit of a thinker.
Of course, you don’t want to overdo this. Party leaders are suspicious of anyone who sees themselves as an intellectual, which, as anyone who ever entrusted a problem to Oliver Letwin will tell you, is with good reason. The good news is that no one is accusing the Britannia Unchained crowd of being too clever.
But the risk of being held to your idea is serious. In 2016, Rishi Sunak wrote a perfectly serviceable pamphlet on freeports for a centre-right think-tank, the kind of wheeze that gets you noticed and possibly speeds you towards your first ministerial job. Unfortunately, Sunak rose so fast that people had not forgotten about it by the time he became chancellor, and he was forced to implement the idea as one of his major Brexit dividends.
And speaking of Brexit, what was that but a column dashed off for the Telegraph on a quiet week, which suddenly a number of Conservative leaders were forced to implement?
Not that this is merely a Conservative disease. Ambitious young Labour party members will knock out a number for the Fabian Society calling for some foolish notion like nationalising Google, and suddenly they are being invited to speak at fringe meetings at party conference.
There are some good things to say about pamphleteers. For one thing, they resisted the urge to make a book out of their idea. Britannia Unchained is technically a book but essentially one made up of pamphlet-length pieces. Having the nous to know your hastily improvised tract is best suited to a quick 25 pages is a sign of self-awareness not gifted to all.
So look, we need to cut these guys a break. We need to recognise the perils of pamphleteering and show some solidarity, to let them know that it’s OK, no one really remembers it. Just walk away quietly. For the good of all.
Follow Robert on Twitter @robertshrimsley and email him at robert.shrimsley@ft.com
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