Ross Douthat, writing in the New York Times, under the headline "Will Nostalgia Kill the British Right":
At the moment the electoral sweet spot for right-of-center governments in the Western world is a mixture of cultural (not religious) conservatism and relative economic moderation — an anti-libertarian right-wing politics, favorable to the welfare state and skeptical of immigration, that appeals to constituencies buffeted by globalization and anxious about national identity....
But Truss has gone in the opposite direction, not just with her tax-cut push, but with a push for expanded immigration — a double-down on a 1980s growth prescription, a Reagan-Thatcher nostalgia trip, that's carried the Tories away from their own constituents and earned her party absolutely apocalyptic poll numbers.
Holman Jenkins, writing in the Wall Street Journal: "Ms. Truss may be gone before a further realization sinks in: The only salve for this tidal wave of hurt will be a turn toward pro-growth policies....Ms. Truss's truth will march on regardless of her personal fate: The only hope of ameliorating our situation lies with policies that put economic growth front and center."
Personally, I'd far, far prefer Reagan-Thatcher and pro-growth to "anti-Libertarian," "not religious," and "skeptical of immigration." On the welfare state, Reagan saw the need for the safety net while also worrying about the dangers of dependency. The outcome of this conflict—over whether Reagan and Thatcher are models to emulate or a "nostalgia trip" to avoid—will be crucial to not only "poll numbers" for right-of-center political parties but prosperity and human flourishing in the United States and the United Kingdom.
