The Conservative Party Flashcards
what are the three main political parties in the UK?
The Conservative party
The Labour Party
The Liberal Democrat party
traditional conservatism: where can the Conservative party be traced back to?
The Conservative party can trace back its origins to the Tory party of the late 17th century
they were a group of aristocrats that first came together in defence of the historic privileges of the crown and the Church of England as powerful land owning institutions
traditional conservatism: what happened by the 1830s?
by the 1830s under the leadership of Sir Robert Peel the party was evolving and became dedicated to the defence of property and traditional authority against the threat of revolution
It stressed the importance of protecting and conserving established institutions hence the name Conservative
traditional conservatism: when did the Conservative Party begin to become remarkably successful?
In the late 19th and 20th centuries the party was remarkably successful in broadening its support by appealing to the middle classes and landowning aristocrats
one nation conservatism: what is one nation conservatism?
a development of traditional conservatism
A paternalistic approach adopted by the Conservatives under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century
The name came from a passage in one of Disraeli’s books (Sybil) in which he contemplates the growing division between the rich and the poor due to the development of industrial capitalism
one nation conservatism: what does one nation conservatism revolve around?
Revolves around the idea that the rich (the natural leaders) have an obligation to help the poor in return for acceptance of their right to rule
Sought to close the gap between the classes caused by industrial capitalism And prevent Britain being divided into what Disraeli called two nations
Wanted to win popular support using patriotically foreign policy and social reform designed to strengthen national unity
one nation conservatism: what happened after WW2?
One nation conservatism peaked after World War II
The party broadly accepted the changes introduced by labour between 1945 and 51 including the mixed economy welfare state and government action to maintain high employment
This was known as the postwar consensus — They compromised, undoing few of labours policies if any
One nation conservatives prided themselves on a pragmatic and non-ideological approach, maintaining contest between the two parties but balancing ideas of free enterprise and state intervention
one nation conservatism: who has continued this strand of conservatism?
Arguably continued by David Cameron and Theresa May in the 21st-century
Thatcherism and the New Right: what did Thatcher give her name to?
Margaret Thatcher gave her name to a sharp ideological form of conservatism known as Thatcherism which was linked to the rise of the new right
Thatcherism and the New Right: what is the New Right?
The new right is an approach combining neoconservatism (which seeks a more authoritarian approach to morality and law and order) with neoliberalism (which endorses the free market and the rolling back of the state)
Sought to reduce state intervention in the economy and restore order in the face of rising challenges from trade unions and other left groups
Radical policy agenda that rejected the one nation conservatism compromise and broke the postwar consensus
Thatcherism and the New Right:
Thatcherism Involved control of public spending, tax cuts to provide incentives for business leaders and to stimulate economic growth and privatisation of previously state owned industries to promote improvement and wider consumer choice through competition
legal limits on the power of trade unions to deter industrial action, a tough approach to law and order by increasing the powers of the police and the judiciary and protecting national sovereignty against the growth of the European Community (EU)
Roll back the state and encourage people to take responsibility and become independent e.g. through the sale of council houses to their tenants, which attempted to encourage independence
However the popularity of the NHS and the need to maintain state welfare provision made radical reform limited
post-Thatcherite party:
Thatcher Was dominant but divisive and aroused both admiration and hostility both in and out of the party
After her departure in 1990 the party struggled to develop a new identity independent of her
post-Thatcherite party:
John Major, her successor, to some extent represented the continuation of Thatcherism in his privatisation of coal and railways but had less of a confrontational and dominant image
Major was a moderate pro-European, he unsuccessfully sought to reconcile the hard line Eurosceptics (Those who wanted strong resistance to what they saw as an overly powerful EU) with a smaller pro EU group (Those who sought to keep British influence over a rapidly integrating continent) within his party
Party divisions over Europe and a series of scandals led to the 1997 election defeat labour then won two more elections after this in 2001 and 2005
post-Thatcherite party:
The party had an ageing membership and outdated policies they were unable to appeal to an increasingly diverse society and did not come back into power until 2010 under David Cameron
The leaders after major including William Hague Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard failed to distance themselves from Thatcherism
post-Thatcherite party:
David Cameron was elected as leader of the Conservative party in 2005 and attempted to ’detoxify’ the Conservative brand — He learned from the way Blair had reinvented the Labour Party to win more support
He was respectful of Thatcher but aware that Britain had changed considerably
he identified himself as a Liberal Conservative he was tolerant to my naughty groups valued public services such as the NHS and was interested in the environment
post-Thatcherite party:
Both Cameron and May claimed to stand on the side of the ordinary people rather than just the wealthy elite
Cameron emphasised bonds between people rather than individualism through his idea of the big society — Cooperation between the state and voluntary sector in building the big society
He also moved away from Thatcherism by supporting the legalisation of gay marriage
This all seemed like an updated version of one nation conservatism but there were respects in which the party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism
post-Thatcherite party:
Cameron failed to win an outright majority in 2010 so formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats that lasted the full five years
This coalition was successful due to Camerons moderate tone and pragmatism
Although there were tensions over voting system reform and Britain’s nuclear weapons system
Cameron then formed a Conservative government after a win in 2015
Conservative leaders since 1975
Margaret Thatcher 1975 to 90
John Major 1990 to 97
William Hague 1997 to 2001
Iain Duncan Smith 2001 to 2003
Michael Howard 2003 to 2005
David Cameron 2005 to 16
Theresa May 2016 to present
David Cameron:
In spite of his successes Cameron will always be remembered as the prime minister responsible for Brexit
Firstly he called a referendum when he really did not need to and secondly he led the campaign that could not persuade the electorate to stay in the EU
Until his sudden fall from power Camerons record as a prime minister was decidedly mixed
his government could claim several successes and economically could claim to have left the country in better shape than he found it but there were also failures
but in the end like Blair he left a party who had lost confidence in him
David Cameron: political career
Elected Conservative party leader in 2005
After the general election in 2010 he became prime minister leading a coalition government with the Liberal Democrat’s
He was catapulted into power with little senior experience and never having been a minister or a real frontbench spokesperson — He was also very young when he became prime minister at the age of 44 he was the youngest for nearly 200 years
Against the odds he won an overall majority in the 2015 general election and formed a majority government
He resigned in 2016 following defeat in the referendum on UK membership of the EU later he also resigned as an MP and left politics
David Cameron: political ideals
traditional conservatism
In many ways David Cameron was a typical Conservative pursuing many of the ideals of his predecessors, including…
- Reduce taxation
- Reduce the role and size of the state
- replace many public sector providers with private sector enterprises (privatisation)
- Pursued an active foreign policy in attempt to maintain Britain’s influence and status in the world
- Strongly defended the forces of Law and order and placed a high priority on the security of the state in the face of international terrorism
- Remain suspicious of reform to the political system and resisted strong demands for significant constitutional reform — for example of the electoral system and the House of Lords
David Cameron: political ideals
one nation conservatism
- He was a unionist who strongly defended the unity of the United Kingdom
- Showed a preference for policies that would unite the community rather than divide it
- Despite his resistance to constitutional reform he did accept that society was ready for the liberalisation of laws on gay marriage and the strengthening of laws against race hatred — in other words he accepted the natural organic development of a more tolerant and diverse society
David Cameron: other political ideals
A defender of property rights he refused to interfere significantly in property markets and saw the inexorable rise in property prices as a largely positive development
In addition to these Conservative instincts David Cameron sought to define himself in terms of three ideals — the big society one nationism and social liberalism
David Cameron: Big Society
David Cameron was inspired by the ideas of Edmund Burke who is often described as the father of traditional conservatism
Burke referred to what he called the little platoons of society — these were local groups of citizens who are politically and economically active maintained social cohesion and gave people a sense of identity which could not be provided by the centralised state
The little platoons could act as a guardian against the excessive power of the state
David Cameron: Big Society
The modern equivalent envisaged by David Cameron was to consist of a network of groups such as faith groups community societies private companies parent organisations and charities
In practice the modern platoons would engage in such activities as setting up new free schools building to provide local authority services campaigning for environmental causes establishing conservation groups and setting up a charitable trusts to provide subsidised housing or social care
By taking responsibility for such activities and replacing over reliance on the state the theory of big society is that communities will thrive and opportunity will be spread more widely
Although Camerons ideas for a big society were not ultimately successful
David Cameron: one nationism
David Cameron is one nation conservatism has two main aspects
1) A determination that the United Kingdom should remain together as one single family in practice this means resisting the influence of nationalism which flourishes largely in Scotland
2) Prevent the gap in living standards between the prosperous south and the depressed north widening further and perhaps to reduce the differences
The main practical application of this was the creation of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’, promoted also by George Osborne, to improve infrastructure in the north
David Cameron: social liberalism
Though clearly a Conservative David Cameron was something of a liberal where social affairs were concerned
He supported the progress in gay-rights exemplified by the introduction of same-sex marriage
He also introduced a significant increase in the provision of nursery care for preschool children
In secondary education he resisted calls for the extension of selective grammar schools, which Theresa May And many others in his party support, preferring to see opportunity spread through all schools
David Cameron: how far did Cameron achieve these ideals?
Camerons critics will argue that though he Tried to define himself in terms of these three philosophies, he actually achieved very little in terms of putting them into practice
Within three years the big society idea had withered and Scottish nationalism had risen, threatening the union
the gap in living standards between the wealthy and poor also widened and opportunities for the young continued to narrow
On the other hand his instinct for tolerance and equal rights has led to real action and has been put into practice
David Cameron: achievements
Developed a more inclusive vision of Britain than any other Conservative Prime Minister taking up the cause of the gay community women and ethnic minorities and the low paid
Brought the Conservatives back into power after 13 years out of office in 2010 by rebranding the party
Led a coalition government which it was widely believed could not last long but which lasted the full five years and then won an election out right for his party in 2015
Succeeded in introducing gay marriage despite opposition from within his own party, a rainbow flag then flew above Whitehall In March 2014 to mark the introduction of gay marriage
Preserved the commitment that Britain should devote at least 0.7% of its national income to overseas aid again despite fierce opposition from the Conservative right wing
Although he and the Chancellor missed their targets in government debt reduction He did succeed in bringing the nation’s finances more under control
His decision to allow the Scots a referendum on independence in 2014 was a major success as the result kept the United Kingdom together, for the time being at least
David Cameron: achievements
Cameron was also able to shield many families on low incomes from the worst effects of the austerity program introduced to bring down government debt
This was done by introducing a much increased minimum wage known as the living wage and adhering to the Liberal Democrat demands to raise the level at which people start paying tax and so take millions of them out of paying tax altogether
David Cameron: achievements
In education he presided over a period of steadily improving standards in schools and successfully introduced a free school program to increase diversity in education and to put some power back into the hands of parents
David Cameron: failures
Cameron was a risk taker which seem to work when he was confronting opposition from within his own party but sometimes failed when it came to external forces
The apparent failure of his Libya policy and the outcome of the EU referendum are the two key examples
David Cameron: failures
Failed to tackle the problem of excessive wealth being retained in the hands of a select few
David Cameron: failures
Though he won the Scottish Independence referendum the result has led to greater powers being transferred to Scotland
while the EU referendum has led to renewed demands for Scottish independence, threatening the union
David Cameron: failures
His policy in Libya proved to be a disaster almost on a scale with Tony Blairs Iraq adventure
While his decision to help anti-government rebels with power was successful in the short term and the much reviled dictatorship of Colonel Gaddafi was brought to an end
like Blair and George Bush in Iraq there was no plan for restoring order in the country and the result in both cases has been bloodshed and chaos
David Cameron: failures
His decision to allow a referendum on EU membership was an error of judgement, driven not by his own conviction but by desire to gain political dominance over his party’s Eurosceptic wing and to undermine UKIP
He then led the Remain campaign to defeat
David Cameron: failures
He also failed to meet the government targets on government debt reduction
The austerity program that has done so much damage to public services failed to achieve its aim possibly as a result of a reluctance to raise taxes
Indeed Cameron will be remembered for the decline in public services such as the NHS and social care as well as the erosion of many welfare benefits and the near collapse in the provision of subsidised housing
David Cameron: failures
His flagship philosophy of big society proved to be virtually stillborn
Other than the flourishing free school program little evidence can be found of big society initiatives
It was an attempt by him to carve out a distinct identity he had seen how successful Tony Blair’s Third Way had been in the 1990s and sought to emulate it, without success
David Cameron: strengths
Though he was supported by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Treasury it was clear that the Prime Minister was chief economic policy maker — Cameron was determined that the UK would make inroads into public sector debt even if this meant a measure of austerity and he firmly led the government’s strategy
As long as he maintained the support of an inner group of ministers (Osborne May Gove Letwin) he could dominate government
Parliamentary performance was important Cameron learned how to handle Parliament and this gave him great authority
David Cameron: weaknesses
Without a decisive Parliamentary majority he was always in a fragile position Cameron was forced into actions he might not have undertaken had he enjoyed more Parliamentary support — the prime example was the calling of an EU referendum, though his actions in Syria and Libya were also constrained by a non-compliant Parliament
The Prime Minister remained vulnerable to events outside his control in particular Brexit was a totally unexpected development he also found it difficult to respond to the overwhelming refugee crisis that emerged in 2014
Ultimately every prime minister stands alone at the apex of government the Prime Minister is responsible for the performance of government so when the UK voted to leave the EU Cameron could not transfer responsibility to anyone else he had to take responsibility and so resigned
Enoch Powell’s assertion about political careers ending in failure has proved to be accurate
David Cameron: Big Society
Camerons idea of the big society was never properly defined and failed to take off
It was intended to be a network of groups such as faith groups community societies charities et cetera that would aim to carry out many tasks such as setting up new free schools bidding to provide local authority services and campaigning for environmental causes
These groups would take responsibility so that over reliance on the state would be reduced
Theoretically communities with thrive and opportunity will be spread more widely
David Cameron: Big Society
The big society seems to be a continuation of one nation conservatism because both focus on the idea that members within society have obligations towards each other and there is a paternalistic obligation of those who are privileged and wealthy to the poorer parts of society
on the other hand it may be seen as a continuation of Thatcherism because it seeks to strengthen national identity and social stability as well as emphasising idea that we are responsible for ourselves and should not rely on the state for everything, it emphasised increasing personal responsibility and small, minimal government
David Cameron: policies aimed to distance conservatism from its image as the ‘nasty party’
Cameron’s policies were very liberal where social affairs were concerned — he supported progress in gay rights and introduced same sex marriage in 2014, he also strengthened the laws against racial hatred
he shielded and protected many families on low incomes from the worst effects of the austerity programme — introduced an increased minimum wage (the living wage) and raised the level at which people needed to start paying tax
He stepped away from Thatcherism with a more liberal approach to law and order, calling for more understanding of young offenders in a speech dubbed ‘hug a hoodie’ by the media
he wanted to reduce the problem of reoffending through rehabilitation (‘rehabilitation revolution’) and rewarded charities and private firms that helped criminals in their rehabilitation
David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?
economic policy
Prioritised reducing the budget deficit inherited from previous Labour government and accused them of irresponsible overspending which they blamed for the 2008 financial crisis
insisted on a program of public spending cuts known as austerity to prevent Britain’s borrowing costs from rising and to maintain confidence in the financial markets
budgets of Whitehall departments were cut by up to 25% with some exceptions such as health and schools
many viewed the big society as a smokescreen for cutting costs because it seemed to withdraw the state from the provision of public services
David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?
welfare policy
Intended to cut costs and encourage people on benefits to be more self-reliant
Osborne distinguished between hard-working ‘strivers’ and undeserving ‘shirkers’ who the government sought to penalise
Introduced universal credit which merges all benefits into one payment (a simplified welfare system)
Wanted to encourage low income people to take up employment
Radical overhaul of the NHS — allowed the private sector to compete with state hospitals
David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?
law and order
Supported tough sentencing for certain crimes especially after the 2011 London riots
His approach resembled Blair’s insistence on being “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”
David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?
foreign policy
Consistent with Thatcherism
Support for airstrikes in Syria and Iraq
held a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU — however he did support the remain campaign and resigned in 2016 after the majority voted to leave the EU
Maintaining strong links with the USA
one nation conservatism:
This particular brand of conservatism has its roots with Benjamin Disraeli famous for extending the franchise to some of the working class for the first time in the 1867 great reform act
He rejected the view which was common among the fearful elites at the time that workers would always be naturally inclined towards socialism and instead believed that workers had much in common with Conservatives in particular a patriotic outlook that led them to support institutions such as the monarchy church and Empire
Therefore the Conservative party needed to capitalise on this potential common ground by putting forward a program located to the workers interests therefore he instituted a series of reforms designed to improve the lives of the working class including better factory and housing regulations three primary education of the legalisation of trade unions
one nation conservatism:
Since Benjamin Disraeli the term one nation has been used to refer to a paternalistic form of conservatism in which the rich are deemed to have a moral duty to help the poor and vulnerable usually through the implementation of regulations and public services designed to benefit the working-class
It was associated with the Conservative party during the interwar years under the leadership of Stanley Baldwin and during the postwar consensus under Harold McMillan and Edward Heath
Theresa May:
Like David Cameron before her Theresa May has repeatedly spoken of herself as a one nation Conservative
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative
In a speech she gave to the 2002 Conservative party conference she argued that the party had lost touch with ordinary people and had come to be seen as representing a privileged and selfish elite with outdated reactionary views
She pointed out that people had begun to see the Conservative party as the nasty party and was effectively calling for a total rebranding of the party
This speech gained traction feeding into David Cameron’s later attempts to soften the parties image under the guise of compassionate conservatism
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative
When the party finally returned to power in 2010 as part of the coalition government Theresa May was made Home Secretary which allowed her to demonstrate what her compassionate conservatism looked like in practice
She vowed to take on the perceived impunity of the police force and demanded that they clean up their act on issues such as police brutality racialised use of stop and search powers and unauthorised surveillance
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative
She set up enquiries into…
- the Hillsborough disaster — where 96 people were killed following poor police operation at a football match
- The illegal surveillance of the Lawrence family — whose teenage son Stephen had been killed in a racist murder which the police failed to investigate properly
- Black deaths in police custody
Theresa May was praised by Britain’s black newspaper The Voice for taking these issues seriously
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative
As prime minister she has consistently sought to bolster this hard-won image as the defender of the downtrodden
Her maiden speech outside Downing Street spoke of the “burning injustices” faced by the poor the black community the working-class and women and cowed to govern in the interests not of the “privileged few” but of all those who are “just about managing”
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative
She appeared to be signalling a renewed era of government interventionism by creating a new Department of industrial strategy
This was reinforced when she wrote in the Telegraph in 2017 that those “just getting by don’t need a government that will get out of the way” but rather an “active government” willing to “step up” and “fix broken markets”
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative
All of this suggests a decisive rejection of the Thatcherite laissez faire orthodoxy that economies work best when governments keep out
while Thatcher did much to roll back trade union rights, May began to speak of having workers represented on company boards
her Chancellor Philip Hammond in his autumn budget statement said the government was ditching Cameron’s commitment to eliminate the budget deficit by 2020
they instead announced new public spending measures in the form of a £23 billion Productivity Investment Fund
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative
The idea that Theresa May represented a sharp turn away from the policy of austerity is not entirely accurate
Drastic cuts to public spending and to welfare in particular continued, with Hammond even announcing a new cap on government welfare spending
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative
Further Thatcherite measures are evident in several new tax cuts including a promise to slash £6.7 billion from business rates and to reduce corporation tax from 20% to 17%
All this appears to be moving in the opposite direction from the traditional one nation view of taxing the rich to fund quality public services for the poor
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative
In a speech to the CBI Theresa May conceded that the plan for having workers on company boards would be voluntary rather the mandatory
Her government is still pushing ahead with plans to restrict trade union powers
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative
Even as Home Secretary there were elements of the old nasty party in Theresa May’s policies
In 2014 the Italian Navy ended the highly successful search and rescue operation which had rescued 150,000 migrants in the Mediterranean under pressure from the British government
The British position was that saving migrants only encourages them to flee, while leaving them to drown may act as a deterrent to others seeking a new life in Europe
Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative
This lack of compassion has also been evident in a number of other international policy announcements made since she came to office
In 2016 it was announced that the governments commitment to meet the UN’s goal of contributing 0.7% of GDP to international development programs was to be watered down following a right-wing press campaign vilifying such programs as a waste of money
Then in 2017 an enquiry into human rights abuses by British soldiers in Iraq was closed down, with hundreds of cases still unheard
in 2017, the government announced that it was no longer willing to take in the 3000 unaccompanied child refugees it had promised to accept only the previous year
Theresa May: conclusion
Theresa May has strong one nation rhetorically but her practice is far from compassionate
Economically her policies are more consistent with the Thatcherite ideas of slashing government spending to fund tax cuts
However she does appear to diverge
from the laissez faire approach on the issue of government intervention in the economy
but even here, the departure from free-market principles seems to be not so much to support the poor as to support business, with the productivity investment fund explicitly designed to make industry competitive rather than to improve living standards
In this sense Theresa May’s approach is classic conservatism, driven not by commitment to any particular principle but rather by pragmatic concern for the profitability of British capital
In practice her policies contradict the concept of one nation conservatism
current Conservative party stance: economic policy
Eliminate the deficit by “the middle of the next decade” by continuing with fiscal rules
Try to limit borrowing to 2%
By 2020 increase income tax personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate to £50,000
Not increase the level of VAT
Reduce corporation tax to 17% by 2020
A strong economy to support world-class public services, invest for the long term and support growth across the whole country
current Conservative party stance: welfare policy
the ban on new selective schools will be lifted
Build at least 100 new free schools a year
Increase school budget by £4 billion by 2022, with free school meals for all infants to be scrapped and replaced with free breakfasts
Increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8 billion over the next five years
Build 1 million homes by the end of 2020 and build more social housing
current Conservative party stance: law and order
National infrastructure police force set up to combine the civil nuclear Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence police and the British transport police
Serious fraud office incorporated into the National crime agency
£1 billion made available to modernise the prison estate
Reduce the number of MPs to 600
current Conservative party stance: foreign policy
Reduced annual net migration to a sustainable level in the tens of thousands
Control immigration from the EU with new policy
Toughen up requirements for student visas
Retain its commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on International development aid but change how that money is spent
Maintain overall size of the Armed Forces and retain the Trident nuclear deterrent
