The idea that Johnson is ‘moving left’ may be Thatcher’s final victory | Andy Beckett

Conservative economic policy has little to say about the real sources of inequality in Britain – but after Thatcherism, any hint of empathy is mistaken for a dramatic change of heart

Ever since Margaret Thatcher seized the Tory leadership 45 years ago, one of the few seemingly reliable facts in British politics has been that the Conservatives are aggressively rightwing on the economy. Sanctifying the free market, prioritising the wealthy, promoting competition throughout society, justifying inequality: in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, the Tories have pursued a particular, hard-nosed vision of economic life, even as they’ve softened periodically on social issues.

Yet since Boris Johnson eased into the leadership last summer, there have been louder and louder hints that a Tory economic rethink is belatedly under way – more than a decade after the financial crisis that undermined so much of their economic philosophy. There has been less talk of tax cuts and more of tax increases; an election manifesto that promised “opportunity for all” and “social justice”; an increase in the minimum wage well above the rate of inflation; the nationalisation of Northern Rail; and the possibility of state aid for other troubled but strategically important businesses.

Related: For Johnson’s new voters, the betrayal starts now | Aditya Chakrabortty

In last year’s Tory manifesto, the vaguely egalitarian economic passages don’t last long

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