Will there ever be a British Tea Party?

At this very moment, polls are closing and votes are being counted in the most exciting US midterm elections in years.  The big story, of course, is the Tea Party, a ragtag bunch of conservatives and libertarians (and loonies).


As usual with an American political development, numerous commentators have been conjecturing about whether there will ever be a British Tea Party.


Well, in my humble opinion at least, the answer is simple: no.  For a start we already have political parties that recognise that government spending needs to be reduced, and a government that is doing this.  So immediately that takes away the need for a grassroots movement like the Tea Party, which by definition is formed because people do not feel their views are being heard by politicians.


But the reasons are more practical than that.  British parliamentary candidates are not regularly chosen by primary, as the US Republican nominations have been.  It was these primaries that the Tea Party were able to hijack.  Without them there is no air for an equivalent movement to breathe.


And the other reason is of course quite obvious - we're not Americans.  For whatever reason, we're not constantly looking for a halcyon past, like some Americans seem to be.  Our political outlook is different; we tend to be more willing to wait for change to happen over time, rather than rushing it now with pressure groups and grassroots movements like the Tea Party.


Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe we will soon see a British Tea Party.  But, for the moment at least, I doubt it.