The Conservative Party and the other major British parties have been developing alliances with like-minded parties in other countries, through, for example, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. This is a worthwhile and important part of foreign policy and should be continued and expanded.

Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Gerhard Shroeder are not Conservatives’ favourite people. Their electoral appeal may be strong in the short-term, but their political foundations are shallow. Each one of them stripped their party of its core beliefs for the sake of winning votes, and in that they were very successful, but they have lost their anchor. But however much we may dislike that abandonment of principle, there is one thing we can and should learn from them without mimicking the shallowness of the venture, and that is building relationships with like-minded parties in other countries.

It would be to the Conservative Party’s advantage to work more closely with sister parties around the world. At the moment informal relationships exist with some, notably the Republican Party in the United States, and at elections advisers are sometimes sent from one side of the Atlantic to the other. But it would be good to develop ideas together and to work together on an international basis.

The Conservative Party in Britain could join forces with Conservatives in the United States, Australia, Germany, France, Canada and others around the world, to develop an international free-market agenda. This could be done through:

These should not be the preserve of our current political leaders, but should be open to grassroots Party members.

It could develop to a further stage, whereby Conservative Associations around Britain develop ‘twinning’ relationships with sister parties’ branches in other countries.

Most importantly, these relationships could be used to provide support to new free-market parties in fledgling democracies. The Republicans do this already through their International Republican Institute, and the Conservative Party in Britain could adopt a similar approach and establish the International Conservative Institute. Party members, regardless of their position in the Party, could go individually or in delegations to emerging democracies to advise like-minded parties on:

Parties around the world that share our commitment to small government and individual liberty should be willing to take a stronger stand against regimes which blatantly disregard concern for human dignity and freedom. Joint statements by conservative parties in the democratic world condemning the human rights violations in countries such as Burma, China, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Sudan would show the world a unity of purpose.

Conservatives need not feel like a beleaguered minority.  Their values are shared by the majority of people in the world today. By establishing the ‘Right Way’ to deepen relationships among conservative parties around the world and to counter the intellectual shallowness of the ‘Third Way’, Conservatives will regain confidence in the power of their ideals.