Conservative Party Flashcards
Core principles
- Tradition: protect traditional institutions (e.g. monarchy, church, marriage, family) to provide stability
- Pragmatism: decisions on the basis of what works, the ‘tried and tested’; adapt to circumstances instead of experiments
- Human imperfection: people are flawed and self-interested, and need strict law and order
- Organic society: society and communities are like an organism (e.g. the human body) with parts that need each other, but are also hierarchical and ‘know their place’
phases of the conservative
1860s-1970s – ‘one nation conservatism’
1980s-1990s – Thatcherism or ‘New Right’
2005-2016 – Cameron: ‘New Tories’/ ‘Cameroons’/ return to
‘one nation conservatism’?
Recent years - May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak: Brexit
one nation conservatives
Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s supported the welfare state, and the idea that the government should
care for the neediest in society.
One Nation Conservatives believed that being wealthy came with the obligation to give some help to the poor. This is called ‘paternalism’: those best equipped (by birth and upbringing) should lead the country, but those at the top have a duty to care for the less well off.
one nation example
The conservative party raised the national minimum wage in 2023 to £10.42 per hour for those aged 23
Manifesto promise - And we are proud to have confirmed a record £34 billion per year by the end of the Parliament in additional funding for the NHS – and to have begun work on building 40 new hospitals across the country, as well as investing in hospital upgrades and new machines to boost early cancer diagnosis across 78 hospital trusts.
thatcherism
Margaret Thatcher changed the Conservatives radically,
moving it to the right. The party’s more radical right-wing
ideology of this period was called the ‘New Right’ or
‘Thatcherism’
Next to traditional conservative principles (tradition,
pragmatism, human imperfection, organic society) it
introduced economic principles focused on
‘Small government’: a minimal role for the state
Free market: unregulated market competition and private
enterprise
Self-reliant individuals: Less dependence on government
Thatcherism was right-wing on economic issues
(neo-liberalism), but also on traditional conservative social
issues:
Tough on law and order
Traditional values
Thatcherism example
Jeremy Hunt announced that he will cut support for households dealing with rising gas and electricity costs by up to £40bn.
Policing and crime bill - tough on law and order
Cameron conservatism
moderate Conservative Party, to win back voters
from a moderate Labour Party.
The Conservatives had become perceived as ‘the nasty party’
Cameron tried a more moderate, ‘soft’
image in an attempt to ‘detoxify’ the
Conservative brand (Cameron’s
background is in PR!).
🡪 ‘New Tories’ (‘modern compassionate conservative’)
cameron conservatism examples
Embracing ‘green’ environmental views – proposed
a Climate Change Bill in 2006 with binding carbon
targets
2006 ‘Hug a hoodie speech’ softer approach to
crime – calling for more understanding of young
offenders
Support of gay marriage 🡪 Same Sex Marriage
Act 2013
2015 ‘living wage’ increase of minimum wage
cameron in government examples
Austerity: budget cuts, especially restricting social welfare
Bedroom tax (2010-15)
Welfare benefit cap (2010-15)
Scrap EMA (2010-15)
Scrap student Maintenance Grants (2015-)
Reducing tax credits (2015-) (withdrawn)
theresa may
Moderate on economic issues
Described herself as ‘One Nation’ Conservative
Promise to fight against injustices of difference between rich and
poor; ‘We need an economy that works for everyone’
Traditional Conservative on cultural issues
Advocating a ‘hard Brexit’
Proposed to repeal Hunting Act 2004
Focus on reducing immigration 🡪 ‘hostile environment’ on
immigration and ‘Windrush scandal’ as a result as main legacies
boris johnson
Moderate, ‘liberal’ background
Pro-EU, pro-immigration, for a higher minimum wage as London Mayor
‘Conversion’ to hard Brexiteer
Last-minute conversion to ‘Leave’, and Leave campaign leadership
Resigned from May government as foreign secretary because he didn’t
think her Brexit policy was ‘hard’ enough.
Very uncompromising line on Brexit as PM
Thatcherite?
Appointed mostly hard right Thatcherite ministers in his cabinet
Kicked moderate (One Nation) Conservative MPs out of the party
Big spender (more One Nation)?
Promises on spending on the police, NHS, schools
‘Levelling-up’ agenda for the North (former ‘red wall’)
Increased government spending (NHS, infrastructure, schools) and tax
increase in 2021 Budget
liz truss
Right wing on fiscal issues - small government
Tax cuts in the controversial ‘mini-budget’, including reducing the
difference in tax paid by rich and poor
Scrap government regulation of business; e.g. end fracking ban, end
cap on bankers’ bonuses
Right wing on social issues as leader
Despite originally being more progressive (e.g. voted for same sex
marriage) as party leader she was more conservative, e.g. against
gender self-identification
