Reading the Runes: The hard right figures JD Vance has met on his Oxfordshire sojourn
US VP JD Vance is on what might be described as a working holiday in England(& possibly Scotland).
Last weekend he stayed at the official residence of Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kent. Lammy is my MP and coming from Tottenham he is not a Tory, but it might be reasonable to say that his main political principle has been to advance his own career. Reports suggest that he shares Christian beliefs with Vance, but that is a broad spectrum. Vance is a Christian Zionist, while I’ve never noticed that aspect to Lammy’s Christianity.
That said this is a footnote to Vance’s stay in Oxfordshire. He has met a number of hard right figures. On Monday evening he reportedly had a BBQ (well his staff did) and amongst others hard right Tory MP Danny Kruger and Cambridge academic James Orr were present. Orr’s ideas have been influenced by Vance’s Hillybilly Elegy and Lord Glasman’s Blue Labour and he in turn has influenced Vance. Also present according to the BBC was pillow salesman Thomas Skinner who is also a self-styled social media influencer. He appears to be on the hard right politically.
On Tuesday Vance met at some point Tory leader in waiting Robert Jenrick, whose politics are probably a little on the moderate side for Vance. Tory MP Chris Philp was also there presumably to carry Jenrick’s bag.
On Wednesday, again reported, Farage apparently met Vance. Farage said it was confidential and so far there is no visual evidence of the Reform CEO having been in Oxfordshire. It sounds more likely it was a breakfast phone call.
Reading the Runes on this it may be that in meeting Jenrick and probably being in touch with Farage, Vance is just keeping tabs on some of the players on the UK hard right. His meeting with Orr, and Kruger who has been associated with the National Conservatism strand in Tory politics is more likely where Vance’s actual sympathies lie. That is on the further shores of the Tory Party but a little bit more based on political ideas than Farage’s trademark bluster
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