今日主題：Britain Politics-- Tribes of Tories / 英國政治--托利黨的派系紛爭
康康精選GRE&GMAT會考的主題，堅持每天精讀一定會進步的哦!!
康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：
中英文稿：
Britain Politics-- Tribes of Tories
英國政治--托利黨的派系紛爭
The Conservative Party increasingly resembles a patchwork of pressure groups. That is a bad sign for its leader
保守黨越來越像壓力團體一鍋燴，黨魁遭遇壞勢頭
UNION bashing, tough talk on welfare and short shrift for criminals—in many ways it was a conventional Conservative Party conference. But away from the main stage, in gatherings of MPs and grassroots activists, the conference buzzed with big ideas. “We are sceptical of politics driven by focus groups,” asserts Kwasi Kwarteng, a Tory MP. With four other members of the Free Enterprise Group, Mr Kwarteng has just published a tract of radical free-market policies designed to shift opinion. His was not the only outfit aiming to cause a stir. In his closing speech, David Cameron tried to define what the Conservative Party stands for (see Bagehot).At times it felt as if everybody else at the conference was trying to do the same.
抨擊歐盟，激烈地討論福利問題和罪犯臨刑前短暫懺悔問題——從許多方面看這都是一次傳統的保守黨會議。但是，遠離主會場的下議院議員及草根活動家卻興奮地談論著一些好點子。托利党議員Kwasi Kwarteng斷言，“我們對由焦點群體控制的政治抱懷疑態度”。他和其他四位自由企業派的成員剛剛公佈了一系列旨在改變輿論的激進的自由市場政策。他不是唯一一位企圖用一套理論引發轟動的人。大衛•卡梅倫在總結陳詞裡就嘗試定義保守黨的主張。有時候給人的感覺是，會議裡的所有人似乎都在競相做同樣一件事情。
Pressure groups of Tory politicians and activists are multiplying. Conservative Voice, launched in September to champion traditional policies on crime, immigration and jobs, now claims thousands of supporters. Bright Blue campaigns for “progressive conservatism” and pushes causes such as environmentalism and international development. MPs representing marginal constituencies last year formed The Forty to devise strategies for the 2015 election. And so on. Pamphlets and books are whizzing off the presses.
托利党政客和活動分子組成的壓力集團越來越多。九月份成立的“保守之聲”維護傳統的犯罪、移民、及就業政策，現在擁有成千上萬的支持者。“亮藍”派為“進步的保守主義”奔走呼號，極力宣傳環境保護主義及國際發展等事業。去年，代表“邊緣選區”的議員成立了“四十”派，為2015年的選舉出謀劃策。各種團體名目繁多，不勝枚舉。宣傳書冊鋪天蓋地從出版社湧出來。
Five strains of thought can be detected. First come the two, subtly different, varieties of David Cameron’s “modernising” project, which seeks to anchor the party in the electorally decisive centre ground. Cautious reformers, including the prime minister himself, are at home in modern Britain but nostalgic about traditional institutions. Radical reformers, including George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, and much of the 2010 intake of MPs, are more socially and economically liberal, and often more urban.
可以看出有5股思想包含其中。一是大衛•卡梅倫的“現代化”設計的兩種差別甚微的變體。“現代化”改革力求將保守黨的政治立場鎖定在中間位置，以確保選舉中的優勢。包括首相在內的謹慎改革派雖精熟于現代英國政治，卻對傳統制度念念不忘。包括財政大臣喬治•奧斯本及許多2010年當選的議員在內的激進改革派則對社會及經濟持更自由的觀點，且通常更傾向城市。
Three other strains are less influential. The pitiful remnants of the party’s once-strong left wing, economically interventionist and relaxed about Europe, huddle around the Tory Reform Group. Better represented among the party grassroots are the social conservatives and the libertarians. The former, mostly close to the Cornerstone Group, were out in force at an anti-gay-marriage rally on the conference fringe. The latter are defined by hawkish views on taxes and foreign policy.
其他三股思想的影響力稍弱。保守黨內曾強勢一時的左翼力量餘部主張經濟干預，並對歐洲態度相對寬鬆，抱團支持托利改革派。黨內底層成員中占主流地位的是社會保守主義者和自由論者。前者基本上與基石派相似，曾在會議週邊大搞反同性戀結婚遊行。後者則被認為在稅收和對外政策上持有鷹派觀點。
The Tory tribes are particularly vivid and noisy these days. Public disagreement between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats at the heart of the coalition government, as well as a widespread belief among Tory MPs that Lib Dems are steering the ship, has made dissent seem more acceptable. One senior Liberal Democrat compares coalition to an X-ray machine: it exposes the fractures beneath a party’s skin. Coalition also diminishes Mr Cameron’s powers of patronage, such as cabinet seats, with which to buy off agitators. The tribal gatherings are outlets for energy that, in past Conservative administrations, was channelled into government business.
托利眾派最近尤為活躍喧鬧。保守黨和自由民主黨在聯合政府的核心問題上公開不和，托利党議員也普遍認為自由民主黨在掌舵，這就使異議看起來更可以接受。一位老資格自由民主黨員將聯合執政比作一台X光機:它暴露了一個黨內部的裂痕。聯合執政還侵蝕了卡梅倫的任免權，比如用來收買政治煽動者的內閣席位。過去保守黨一黨執政時期，各方力量都被調撥到政府事務中去，而現在，派系分化倒成了這些力量的宣洩口。
And there is a lot of energy in the party these days. The Tories’ 2010 intake, which makes up 48% of the parliamentary party, contains fewer intellectually mediocre patricians than its predecessors. Many new MPs have extensive professional experience outside politics. Before the last general election Mr Cameron meddled with candidate-selection procedures to enhance social and ethnic diversity. In the process he produced a more independent, opinionated crop of Tory MPs.
這幾年，保守黨內部出現了很多股力量。2010年入黨的人占議會人數的48%，與前幾屆相比，資質平庸的貴族成員比例下降。許多新議員除了有政治知識，還具有廣泛的專業經驗。上次大選之前，卡梅倫還調整議員候選人選舉程式，以提高社會及種族多元性。在此過程中，他製造了一個更獨立、更固執的托利議員團體。
The broadly loyal culture of the party means its tribes are not nearly as dangerous as they might seem. Whereas Labour periodically breaks into warring dogmatic factions, Conservatives are generally united by a broad set of common principles—including a sceptical attitude to grand political schemes. One trenchant backbench critic acknowledges that many Tory MPs “usually follow the prevailing pattern”. Even on Europe, a topic that has caused infighting in the past, there is little sign of factionalism. The party is almost uniformly Eurosceptic, although some are hotter than others and there are differences over the timing of any referendum on the EU.
保守黨廣泛的王室情結意味著其各派系並不像表面上看起來那麼危險。與工黨時不時就發生分裂，派系之間明爭暗鬥、唇槍舌劍相比，保守黨各派系靠一整套共同原則——其中包括對宏大政治藍圖的懷疑態度——總體上保持著團結。一位後座議員兼批評家一針見血地指出,許多托利党議員“一般都會遵循眼下流行的觀點”。即便是歐洲這個在過去挑起內鬥的問題，都鮮有激起派系衝突的跡象。儘管有些派系在這個問題上會比其他派系更為激進，並且對何時就歐洲問題舉行公投的時機存在分歧，但保守黨內幾乎整齊劃一地持歐洲懷疑論。
Beating the drum
鑼鼓喧天
Yet the tribes are important, and revealing of the Conservative Party’s state. Tim Bale, author of two books on the party after 1945, notes that cliques have previously shifted the entire Conservative encampment. In the 1950s the One Nation Group swung the party behind a mixed economy. Under Margaret Thatcher, cerebral MPs around the Centre for Policy Studies led it the other way. Mr Cameron rose to the leadership on the shoulders of a small number of young, ambitious modernisers.
然而，各派系都很重要，並且體現了保守黨的狀態。蒂姆•貝爾——著作了兩本講述1945年後的保守黨的書籍——指出，派系分化已經改變了整個保守黨陣營。20世紀50年代時，一國保守主義派使整個保守黨追隨混合經濟，瑪格麗特•柴契爾執政時，政策研究中心的理智的議員改變了這一方向。卡梅倫則是在一小撮年輕又雄心勃勃的現代主義者的支持下贏得領導權的。
Successful cliques have several things in common. They tend to have a succinct analysis of how and why the party needs to change. They have a knack for PR and a strong grasp of the prevailing mood. They know that they have to say something repeatedly before the party—let alone the country—will listen. They have an electoral strategy.
成功的派系有幾點相同之處。他們會對黨為何以及如何發生改變進行簡要的分析，有處理公共關係的技巧並對當下流行觀點有深刻的瞭解，知曉他們必須重複地講述某些事情直到黨乃至整個國家都會聽他們的，此外，他們還有一套選舉策略。
At present the radical modernisers are best placed to steer the party. The Free Enterprise Group, seen as their vanguard, has a simple message: government should remove barriers in the way of business. Dominated by media-savvy professional types, it knows how to communicate this mantra. It has Mr Osborne’s ear, as well as some support from other tendencies in the party. It seems to be swaying the leader: Mr Cameron’s speech this week was big on business-worship.
眼下正是激進現代主義派領導保守黨的最佳時機。被視作其先鋒的自由企業派傳遞了一個簡單的資訊：政府應該為商業發展掃清道路。自由企業派擅長媒體專業用語，知道如何傳達這一準則。它在奧斯本那兒說得上話，又有黨內其他派系的支持。它似乎能影響領導人：卡梅倫本周的演講就充滿商業崇拜氣息。
In many ways the ferment within the Conservative Party is beneficial. One new centre-left MP praises a fine “buffet” of different approaches; a backbench grandee talks of the value of “safety valves” on hot issues. There is a refreshingly relaxed view towards rival philosophies, which was notably absent from the Labour Party when it was in power. A combination of loyalty and flexibility has served the Conservative Party well in the past.
從許多方面講，保守黨的內部紛爭是有利的。一位新中左議員贊其為提供不同點子的精緻“自助餐”；一位後座政要稱其在熱點問題上起到了“安全閥”的重要作用。一種對待不同信條的觀點出現了，其輕鬆感令人耳目一新，這是工黨執政時期明顯缺乏的。忠誠和靈活的結合使保守黨在過去表現地可圈可點。
Yet the growing din of opinionated voices is a bad sign for the leadership. It is no coincidence that several new groups have appeared recently, at a time when the government has tripped over health reform, deficit reduction and constitutional change and the Conservative Party has fallen further behind Labour in opinion polls. The absence of a clear direction from the top of the party has created a space into which alternative proposals are pouring. The party as a whole is fizzing because 10 Downing Street is not.
然而，各方固執己見的聲音越鬧越大對保守黨的領導地位不是個好兆頭。近期幾個新派系的出現，政府在醫療改革、削減赤字及修改憲法上面摔了跟頭，保守黨民調支持率遠遠落後於工党，這些完全不是巧合。党的領導層缺乏一個明確的思想路線，留下一個缺口，使得不同政見蜂擁而入。保守黨上下吵得熱火朝天，皆因唐寧街10號風平浪靜。
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