Philip Davies and the Conservative Brand

The thing about what Philip Davies said, was not so much what he said, but that in so many circles it was treated seriously and that he felt able to repeat it again and again. He obviously believed that he had the approval of his supporters, despite the fact that his rationale was evidently discriminatory from the outset and as such he was arguing for something that at the moment would be against the European Convention on Human Rights. In taking a stance against the convention he may well be right to believe that he has the support of the Conservative grass roots.

Nevertheless, in arguing against a minimum wage that is inclusive of all communities Philip Davies is arguing against equality and fairness for all of the people who live in this country. He is arguing that some people are worth less than others and that the contribution of somebody with a learning disability is less valuable to the society in which we live. The problem with his rather simplistic rationale is the difficulty that we have in measuring the value of people, irrespective of whether or not it is morally defensible to do so.

It might well be that a business that only employed one sector of the community might be able make more bits of this or that. But for businesses and other kinds of organisation adding value isn't just about the cheapest way of doing things. For example its cheaper to use child labour but we don't do it and we could exploit children and people with learning difficulties to do things that are dangerous, but any company that did so, would go out of business because it would be seen as abhorrent.

In contrast to this, a company that is perceived to work inclusively with its whole community is a company that is likely to receive the support of that community and in the long term make more money. Adding value to an organisation and to a brand is much more complex than Philip Davies and his supporters would seem to believe.  And the reason that people with learning difficulties have problems in getting work is because not enough businesses understand this.  

Philip Davies is having a couple of days of fame at the expense of people who are vulnerable and easily exploited. Far from being clever and adding value to the Conservative Brand he has done it a great dis-service, because this version of the politics of spite is not so easy to hide and in the end the people will remember and the Conservatives will be seen again for what they are.