Chapter 22- the Conservative party 1997-2007

Question 1

what caused a crisis for the conservatives in 1997

Answer 1

the scale of the election loss

Question 2

how much smaller was the tory party in 1997 compared to 1990

Answer 2

half the size

Question 3

how many of the remaining conservatives were eurosceptic

Answer 3

145 out of 165

Question 4

why did Hague represent a new start

Answer 4

he was only 36

Question 5

what did thatcher say about Hague during the leadership election in 1997

Answer 5

‘vote for William Hague to follow the same kind of government I did’

Question 6

how did Hague unify the party

Answer 6

ruled the possibility of entering a single currency

Question 7

who did Hague appoint as shadow chancellor and why

Answer 7

pontillo and many felt he would have been leader of the party ion he hadn’t lost his seat in 1997

Question 8

why did Hague resign in 2001

Answer 8

conservatives heavily defeated in election

Question 9

who did Iain Duncan-smith beat ion the final round of leadership elections in 2001

Answer 9

Kenneth Clarke (pro-european)

Question 10

what was the new voting system that elected Duncan smith and what was this introduced

Answer 10

there would be several rounds of ballots until only two candidates remained and then the party membership would vote

so whoever was elected would be popular among the electorate

Question 11

why was there a reopening of divisions when Duncan smith was leader

Answer 11

he was aggressively eurosceptic

Question 12

what are examples of the conservatives remaining socially conservative under Duncan smith

Answer 12

voted against the repeal of section 28

voted against unmarried couples being able to adopt

Question 13

why did the social conservatism of the party cause divisions under Duncan smith

Answer 13

modernisers such as David Cameron and George Osborne refused to follow party line

Question 14

what did Duncan smith support which was controversial

Answer 14

british entry into Iraq war

Question 15

why did Duncan smiths leadership end in 2003

Answer 15

faced a vote of no confidence

Question 16

why was Michael Howard seen as a unifying figure

Answer 16

had the support of both mods and rockers within the party

Question 17

what did one troy MP say about Howard

Answer 17

‘many of us who hate everything Michael Howards stands for politically will back him because we are tired of being embarrassed’

Question 18

what are examples of Howard promoting modernisers in highs party

Answer 18

made David cameron shadow secretary for education in 2005 and George Osborne shadow chancellor in 2005

made it clear he wanted his successor to be a moderniser

Question 19

who did David cameron beat to the leadership in 2005

Answer 19

David Davis

Question 20

how did Cameron represent the conservatives becoming more modern

Answer 20

promised to take climate change seriously- visited the arctic, cycled to Westminster

favoured gay rights

wanted to increase overseas aid

praised the NHS for treatment of his disabled son and prom used to maintain it

Question 21

what stance did the tories take towards Europe under Cameron

Answer 21

still eurosceptic but spoke about it less

Question 22

what did George Osborne do as chancellor to show modernity of tory party

Answer 22

promised to maintain labour level spending on public services

ruled out tax cuts

Question 23

what were the key reasons for electoral failures of tories in 2001 and 2005

Answer 23

divisions over thatcher

divisions of Europe

divisions over social liberalism

resistance to reform

failure to learn lessons

Question 24

what were the results of the 2001 election

Answer 24

labour- 40.7%. 412 seats

tory- 31.7%. 165 seats

Question 25

what were the results of the 2005 election

Answer 25

labour- 35.2%. 355 seats

tory- 32.4%. 198 seats