One of the toughest things in politics is trying to explain that, yes, things are bad, but no, they are not quite as bad as you think. I have yet to find a way to make that argument without it being misunderstood or caricatured.

It is an argument that almost every British conservative now finds himself having with American rightists. Yes, things are bad. We have no First Amendment. We had a needless surge of immigration, much of it illegal and involving some seriously bad hombres. Our public sector is riddled with the kind of wokery that has been in retreat stateside since 2024.