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don't have an ideological drive for a small state
Is that true?
I'd have said practically they don't have a drive for a small state. Ideologically they have a fairly libitarian streak, with issues like civil liberties being particularly important - in a way which Labour can't be because of the inheritantly coercive nature of socialism.
hugo7-
From the BBC's summary of their 2017 manifesto, these are shown as the key policies:
Second EU referendum on Brexit deal
1p in the pound on income tax to raise £6bn for NHS and social care services
End the 1% public sector pay cap
Invest nearly £7bn extra in education
Ban the sale of diesel cars and small vans in the UK by 2025
Scrap the planned expansion of grammar schools
End imprisonment for possession of illegal drugs for personal use
Reinstate university maintenance grants for the poorest students
Job-sharing arrangements for MPs
Increase maximum sentence for animal cruelty from six months to five years, and a ban on caged hens
Extend free childcare to all two-year-olds and introduce an additional month's paid paternity leave for dads
Reverse cuts to work allowances in universal credit and housing benefit for 18-21 year olds
Levy up to 200% council tax on second homes
Take over the running of Southern Rail and Govia Thameslink
£300m for community policing in England and WalesOther than legalising drugs which shows libertarian principles (although depends how you do it, legalise and regulate is hardly classic libertarianism) lots of these seem to me to be expansive state policies, because they either increase spending or taxation or reinstate/increase a govt role.
andyfallsoff
Why do you say this specifically? I find it interesting as I'd say they seem closer to the left than the right - e.g. happy to increase taxes to fund public expenditure (look at their proposals re. The NHS in last prospectus, for example).
They don't have an ideological drive for a small state, which is one of the main factors I'd identify with the Tories.