Chapter 22- the Conservative party 1997-2007 Flashcards
what caused a crisis for the conservatives in 1997
the scale of the election loss
how much smaller was the tory party in 1997 compared to 1990
half the size
how many of the remaining conservatives were eurosceptic
145 out of 165
why did Hague represent a new start
he was only 36
what did thatcher say about Hague during the leadership election in 1997
‘vote for William Hague to follow the same kind of government I did’
how did Hague unify the party
ruled the possibility of entering a single currency
who did Hague appoint as shadow chancellor and why
pontillo and many felt he would have been leader of the party ion he hadn’t lost his seat in 1997
why did Hague resign in 2001
conservatives heavily defeated in election
who did Iain Duncan-smith beat ion the final round of leadership elections in 2001
Kenneth Clarke (pro-european)
what was the new voting system that elected Duncan smith and what was this introduced
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
why was there a reopening of divisions when Duncan smith was leader
he was aggressively eurosceptic
what are examples of the conservatives remaining socially conservative under Duncan smith
voted against the repeal of section 28
voted against unmarried couples being able to adopt
why did the social conservatism of the party cause divisions under Duncan smith
modernisers such as David Cameron and George Osborne refused to follow party line
what did Duncan smith support which was controversial
british entry into Iraq war
why did Duncan smiths leadership end in 2003
faced a vote of no confidence
why was Michael Howard seen as a unifying figure
had the support of both mods and rockers within the party
what did one troy MP say about Howard
‘many of us who hate everything Michael Howards stands for politically will back him because we are tired of being embarrassed’
what are examples of Howard promoting modernisers in highs party
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
who did David cameron beat to the leadership in 2005
David Davis
how did Cameron represent the conservatives becoming more modern
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
what stance did the tories take towards Europe under Cameron
still eurosceptic but spoke about it less
what did George Osborne do as chancellor to show modernity of tory party
promised to maintain labour level spending on public services
ruled out tax cuts
what were the key reasons for electoral failures of tories in 2001 and 2005
divisions over thatcher
divisions of Europe
divisions over social liberalism
resistance to reform
failure to learn lessons
what were the results of the 2001 election
labour- 40.7%. 412 seats
tory- 31.7%. 165 seats
what were the results of the 2005 election
labour- 35.2%. 355 seats
tory- 32.4%. 198 seats
