The Conservative Party (PP 2.2a) Flashcards
What period do the Conservative originate from, and what did these early Conservatives want?
The Conservatives originate in the period after the English Civil War (1642–1651) and the settlement between the monarch and Parliament that followed from this.
> The Conservatives forerunners, “the Tories”, were the group that supported the monarch against Parliament (the supporters of Parliament having power over the King were called “the Whigs”).
> These early Conservatives wanted to conserve the traditional form of rule in Britain, and this meant the political power of the monarchy and the large landowners (the aristocracy) on which they were based.
In the eighteenth-century, what did Conservatives start doing, who was the leading Conservative thinker and what did he think?
- Conservatives became the opponents of radical change.
> Leading Conservative thinker at the time of the 1789 French Revolution, Edmund Burke, was opposed to the radical destruction of tradition by the revolution.
> He favoured tradition
> Thought change should be gradual and cautious so as to preserve the best elements of that tradition.
What Conservative idea started to emerge in the 1850s, and who developed these ideas?
One-nation conservatism
> Developed by the Conservative politician (and later prime minister) Benjamin Disraeli.
What did the early form of One Nation Conservatism support?
- Promotion of policies that would create social stability in this new environment.
> Measures to benefit the working class (such as legal restrictions on the length of the working day and the replacement of slum housing with public (council) housing).
> Allowing the working-class to have the vote. - Enthusiastic supporters of the monarchy
> Keen supporters of the Empire, and sought to build popular support for it through, for example, having “Empire Day” in schools.
In the early-mid twentieth century, what idea within the Conservative Party continued to develop, in terms of policy on finance and welfare?
- Conservatives, while accepting the existence of a capitalist economy, were cautious of what an unrestrained free market would do.
> Became supporters of the welfare state (state run health services in the NHS, greater publicly-funded education, welfare benefits, council housing) and some state regulation of the economy to stop unemployment rising.
> Willing to sit down and discuss issues with trade unions to keep strikes to a minimum, even if that meant lower profits for the owners of industry.
Why did the Conservative Party change in the 1970s, what new conservatist movement formed because of it, and who led this movement?
The UK economy was not performing well, with both unemployment and inflation being high.
> Led to a section (faction) of the Conservative party rejecting one-nation ideas. This group were the New Right, and in Britain they were identified with Margaret Thatcher who became Conservative Party leader in 1975 and was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990.
What does the New Right believe in, in terms of the economy and trade unions?
- Economy will only flourish if capitalism is allowed to operate freely without state interference.
> Privatising state-owned companies such as electricity, gas and water
> Taking measures to control inflation (mainly raising interest rates) even if this meant that unemployment rose (and it was very high at times in the 1980s).
> Seeking to reduce taxes and cut public spending.
> Reducing the power of trade unions – Thatcher introduced many laws to reduce the ability of trade unions to organise strikes.
What two phrases can describe the New Right movement, and explain what they mean?
- “neo-liberalism” – these ideas are seen as creating a “smaller state”, a state that does less and spends less.
- “neo-conservatism” - promoting “traditional values” of law and order and the traditional family.
How many leaders have the Conservative Party had since Thatcher (1990 to now), and what does this say about the party?
Ten leaders
> Very unstable
What two policy ideas have split the Conservative Party in recent years?
- Whether the economic reforms that Thatcher promoted are finished, or whether the free-market reforms that she pushed should continue to reduce what the state does.
- The issue of Europe was divisive for many years, the majority of the leaders of the Conservative Party wanted to remain in the EU but many Conservative MPs opposed this view.
What did the Conservative party spend much of the period between 1997-2010 (Blair/Brown) having problems about?
For much of this time, the Conservative Party appeared to be fixated with the issues of Europe and generally appeared out of touch.
Who became leader in 2005, and what did he attempt to do?
- David Cameron became leader of the Conservative Party in 2005 and attempted to drag the party back to the centre ground of politics.
> Emphasised a more caring and compassionate Conservatism with elements of one nation conservatism especially in social policy.
What did David Cameron instead do, from 2010?
- The Conservative-led coalition from 2010 to 2015 had a programme of austerity, cutting public spending
> Conservatives thought that it needed to pay this debt off, from the 2007-8 financial crisis.
> Cameron government was in favour of staying in the EU but was being put under pressure by some of its own MPs.
> Led the EU referendum with the intention to stay, and lost; resigned
Who became Conservative party leader after David Cameron resigned in 2016, until 2019?
Theresa May, until 2019
Who became Conservative Party leader in 2019?
Boris Johnson
What did Johnson do in his tenure, and why did his government collapse?
- He abandoned the policy of austerity and was willing to increase tax to pay for public services if he thought that this was popular
- “Levelling up” agenda (push resources into poorer northern areas.)
- Willingness to spend more
- “Get Brexit done” and anti-immigrant rhetoric
Johnson’s government collapsed largely because of this personal behaviour.
Who was elected in mid-2022, and what happened?
Liz Truss (2022) had a disastrous period of neo-liberal reform (attempting to cut taxes but not spending).
Who was then elected after Liz Truss, and what did he attempt to introduce?
- Return to the austerity
- Free-market emphasis drawing on New Right ideas mixed in with some right-wing rhetoric of opposing migration and asylum seekers (“stop the little boats”).
What happened to the Conservative Party in the 2024 election (vote share and seats)
Conservatives slumped to their worst ever election defeat (24% of the vote and just 121 seats.)
Who won the 2024 leadership election for the Conservatives?
Kemi Badenoch
What are the two currents in conservatist thought?
One-nation conservatism (ONC)
New Right
What type of conservatism is one-nation conservatism linked with?
Traditional conservatism
What do one-nation conservatists think about tradition?
- They oppose radical change and value tradition.
- If change happens, therefore, it should be gradual and cautious and driven by practical (pragmatic) considerations not some “grand design” for society.
- Tradition is important because it is the accumulated wisdom of previous generations who have worked out what is best.
- The current generation hold this in trust for the next generation.
What is paternalism, in the context of one-nation conservatism?
- The belief that the upper classes, particularly the aristocracy and landed gentry, have a duty to care for and protect the lower classes, much like a parent would care for a child.
What is noblesse oblige, in connection with one-nation conservatism?
- Noblesse oblige complements paternalism and refers to the moral obligation of the nobility and wealthy classes to act with generosity and responsibility towards those less fortunate.
What establishment are one-nation conservatists huge supporters of?
Royalty and the Empire
> Disraeli spent much time trying to popularise Queen Victoria; established ‘Empire Day’ as well
What do one-nation conservatists think about the economy?
- These conservatives were not opposed to capitalism, but they were not enthusiasts for it either. > Many saw capitalism as a force which, if uncontrolled, could damage the “social fabric” that held society together.
> They believed that other interests had to be considered as well as that of allowing capitalism to operate freely.
What do one-nation conservatists think about hierachy in society?
One-nation conservatives believe that a hierarchy emergers naturally in society.
> This hierarchy is good since it is based on tradition (that is, it has been shown to work).
> One-nation conservatives seek social stability, so keeping things (as far as possible) as they are is a good thing.
> But it also means that the rulers of society have responsibilities (reasonable standard of living; that is the paternalism, and the noblesse oblige outlined above).
What happened to one-nation conservatism after Thatcher was elected in 1975, and why?
- The ONCs who had run the Conservative Party pre-1975 were widely believed to have failed
> Thatcher pursued New Right policies; this marginalised ONCs and graudally disappeared
What is compassionate conservatism, in relation to ideas that one-nation conservatists subscribe to today?
- Compassionate conservatism
> More should be done to help the poorest in society. Generally, steps should be taken to limit the inequality between rich and poor.
> Avoid other divisions opening up in society; avoiding marginalisation, discrimination, racism; support of anti-discrimination policies and reform like same-sex marriage
What do one-nation conservatists think about the free market today?
- Less commitment to free-market principle
> May support state regulation
What are one-nation conservatists socially, today?
- Socially liberal.
> Recently ONCs have supported same-sex marriage. > Theresa May was, notably, supportive of trans-rights.
What is the general opinion of one-nation conservatists on the EU today?
- ONCs tended to be strongly in favour of the UK’s membership of the European Union.
> The “Eurosceptic” wing of the party tends to be on the New Right.
What is ONC now used as a label for in the Conservative Party?
A label for conservatives who are more moderate and placed towards the middle of the left-right spectrum.
What are the two key concepts of the New Right, and explain what they detail?
Neo-liberalism
> These ideas relate to economic policy and centre on the promotion of free-market capitalism and the reduction of the role of the state in economic policy.
Neo-conservatism
> These ideas focus on having a strong state in areas other than the economy, such as law and order.
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about the free market?
Neo-liberalism promotes the idea that the state should be less involved in the economy and a capitalist free market (also known as laissez-faire capitalism).
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about taxation?
Low taxes
> The reduction of tax and state spending.
> Individuals should pay less tax and keep more of their money, so they can choose how to spend it themselves.
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about state management of the economy?
No state management of the economy.
> When unemployment rises, it should not intervene to create new jobs.
> The New Right trust in the free market to adjust itself so in time unemployment will fall.
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about inflation?
Low inflation
> The only area where the state should intervene into the economy is to keep inflation low, through increasing interest rates (which will tend to slow the economy and push wages down, reduce the amount of money people have to spend and increase unemployment).
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about privatisation?
Privatisation
> The New Right take the view that it is more efficient for these industries to be run by the public sector, and that companies that cannot make a profit should close down and make way for enterprises that can.
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about welfare spending?
Reduce welfare spending
> Opposed to high levels of state benefits.
> These support people not working; lower benefits will encourage people to work.
> People should make their own provision for pensions.
What does neo-liberalism (and the New Right) say about the power of trade unions?
Reduce the power of the trade unions.
> If the trade unions have too much power, they can force up wages which will damage the economy (and ultimately make these workers too expensive and loose them their jobs).
What does neo-conservatism (and the New Right) say about law and order?
Law and order
> Keen on strong and effective policing and longer prison sentences for offenders.
What does neo-conservatism (and the New Right) say about tradition?
Traditional values.
> Thatcher was keen to promote the traditional family.
> When rioting broke out in several British cities in the early 1980s, she blamed the break down in family structure, particularly the growth of single-parent families.
What does neo-conservatism (and the New Right) say about social conservatism?
Social conservatism.
> Many on the New Right are socially conservative. This means that they have little time for issues of diversity.
> Thatcher did not take any steps against racism or to promote greater equality.
> Her government allowed an amendment to legislation in 1988 (“Section 28”) that was aimed to stop schools suggesting it was OK to be gay (this followed Conservative anger over a book, Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, used in schools to help explain to younger children that some of their classmates might have two dads).
What does neo-conservatism (and the New Right) say about nationalism?
Nationalism
> The promotion of a strong sense of national identity and pride is central to neo-conservatism.
> Party was becoming increasingly hostile to the EU post-Thatcher, and many of her strongest supporters became opponents of Britain’s membership of the EU.
What was privatisation like under Thatcher (economic policy)?
There should be no state-owned industry.
> Prior to the 1980s the state-owned large sections of industry. This included gas, electricity, water, the railways, coal mining, the iron and steel industry, much of the car industry and much else beside.
> Much of this was “privatised” (that is, sold off into private ownership) in the Thatcher years.
What was taxation and government spending like under Thatcher (economic policy)?
- Thatcher was in favour of reducing state spending and reducing the level of taxation.
> Thatcher succeeded in reducing state spending which had been as high as 44% of GDP in 1976. By 1989, it had fallen to less than 30%.
> Income tax rates fell too (rate of income tax (the rate that most people pay) was reduced from 33% to 25% (although most people paid more in other taxes such as VAT and local property taxes). - Richer people paid a lot less tax; in the 1970s, the top rate of income tax for those on the highest incomes was 75% (and for those with unearned income from investments as high as 90%).
> Thatcher cut this to 40% by 1990
What was the membership of trade unions in the 1970s, what was this as a fraction of the working population, and what were unions willing to do?
Trade unions had a large membership (13 million in the 1970s, more than half the working population). > Many unions were willing to strike to protect the level of workers’ pay.
How did Thatcher attempt to limit the unions power (three ways)?
- Introduced a number of laws to make it more difficult for trade union members to go on strike.
> Made secondary strikes illegal (when a group of workers strike to support another group of workers, often by refusing to cross their “picket lines”) - In the yearlong miners’ strike (1984-85), she refused to back down (the mining industry was state owned) and used the police against the miners’ picket lines.
- Some of the strongest areas of trade union membership were in industries such as coal, iron and steel and shipbuilding.
> Thatcher allowed these industries to decline, and thus many industries where trade unions were strong were much diminished by 1990.
> There had been nearly half-a-million miners in the UK in 1980, but by 1990 that number had fallen to 200,000.
> It continued to fall rapidly. In 2015 the last coal mine in Britain shut.
What was Conservative economic policy like from 2010 until 2019?
- Squeezing spending on public services (austerity) to pay debt off from the 2007-08 financial crisis
> Slowed the rate at which the British economy grew, so it grew only slowly, falling behind most other European states.
> Wages grew slowly too, leaving UK wages behind.
> Quality of public services was squeezed. - Businesses still owned by the state continued to be privatised (most notably, the Royal Mail).
- Trade unions continued to be marginalised.
What was Conservative economic policy like under Boris Johnson, in connection with “levelling up”, and what was this pattern repeated with (2019-2022)?
Sought to consolidate the ‘Red Wall’ by delivering economic growth in these areas, and this meant the state spending money to promote this.
> Higher borrowing and higher taxes
> Borrowed massively to ensure that the living standards of most people did not fall during COVID.
> State took on a huge amount of government debt.
This pattern was repeated with the energy crisis/cost of living crisis.
What did the Johnson government introduce in 2021, in terms of taxation, and how does this fit with New Right ideas?
In 2021, the Johnson government announced an increase in Corporation Tax, increasing one of the taxes that neo-liberals believed should be low to encourage business growth.
> Also increased National Insurance (a form of Income Tax) by 1.25% to pay for improvements to the NHS and social care (mainly old people’s homes)
> Followed a path of Quantitative Easing (in effect, more government borrowing to stop unemployment rising), not New Right/neo-liberal policy.
Again, this is out of line with previous Conservative policy.
How did the Johnson government clash with the New Right on infastructure?
In favour of big state-funded infrastructure projects
> HS2 railway line
> Put state money into BritishVolt.
Both projects were (largely) abandoned by the Sunak government.
In summary, how did Johnson conflict with the New Right, in terms of the economy?
Johnson was willing to develop a more active role for the state in the economy against New Right thinking.
What was economic policy like under Sunak?
Sunak promised a return to economic orthodoxy (i.e. the New Right)
- Reduction of inflation in the traditional neo-liberal way, by increasing interest rates (even at the expense of job losses) and keeping pay down (especially in the public sector).
- Return of austerity
- Certain tax cuts if possible
- Passing the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 which required that key workers (transport, health, teachers) continue to work through strikes to maintain public services.
What happened to policing between 2010 and 2015?
- Due to austerity, funding for policing was massively cut, leading to far fewer police
What does the New Right think about law and order?
- Increased spending on the police
- Increased police powers
- Willingness to use the police in strikes
- Harsh prison sentences
How has the New Right generally dealt with welfare (and under Thatcher)?
New Right have always been constrained on welfare.
- Thatcher looked for ways of privatising education and the NHS, but found no way of doing so.
> In the end it had to compromise by keeping these elements of the welfare state intact.
How has the Sunak government dealt with law and order?
Willing to talk of the need of more for policing, but not spend the money to provide it.
> Targeted terrorism and migration much more (i.e. the Rwanda Plan and rhetoric on “illegal migrants”)
How does Johnson break from the New Right in terms of taxation and funding of welfare, and how did Truss and Sunak respond to this?
1.25% National Insurance increase in early 2022 is against the Conservative mainstream position. (It would have raised around £12 billion per year, short of the current “funding gap” in the NHS which has been estimated to be around £30 billion per year]. The increase was cancelled by Truss when PM and has not been reinstated by Sunak.
How has partial privatisation impacted welfare post-Thatcher?
There has been an increase in private provision within the NHS (such as meals, laundry and building maintenance). Some previously NHS services are now in large part privately provided (opticians, dental care).
How have market forces impacted welfare post-Thatcher?
In the 1990s, the Conservatives introduced an “internal market” in the NHS that separated the NHS into bodies (like GPs, local doctors) who bought services, and bodies like hospitals, which sell them. Greater parental choice of schools, with funding following each student, created a similar system in schools.
How has linking benefits to work impacted welfare?
The New Right see out-of-work benefits as a block to people getting work.
> Their response has been to reduce the level of benefits to make living on benefits a tough option and encourage people into work.
> Much tougher requirements have been introduced over the years to require people to take the jobs that are offered to them or lose their benefits.
What has been the one big recent exception to the New Right’s welfare provisions?
Old-age pensions.
> More recently, Conservative governments have taken a different attitude, compared to Thatcher
What did the 2010 Conservative(-LibDem) government introduce, in relation with old-age pensions?
In 2010, the Conservative-LibDem coalition introduced the “triple lock” on state pensions. This means that state pensions go up by whichever is highest of
· Average earnings
· Prices (i.e., inflation)
· 2.5 per cent
This means that pensions have gone up by more than wages, making many pensioners increasingly better off (particularly those who have a private pension to supplement their state pension).
> This is associated with many older voters supporting the Conservatives.
What are the two foreign policy ideas that dominate UK policy, and explain them?
“Atlanticism”.
> UK’s alliance with the USA
> Key to UK foreign policy; not fundamentally altered since 1945.
Membership of the European Union.
> Much more changeable and in recent years has had a massive impact on the Conservative Party
Since 1945, how has “Atlanticism’ impacted the UK?
Since 1945, it has been the policy of all governments to maintain a military and foreign policy alliance with the USA.
> Formation of NATO (supported by Conservatives)
> Central to all governments since to support US foreign policy.
> UK has maintained a relatively high level of military spending.
> Strong supporter of Ukraine against Russian invasion, and along with the US (under Biden), is one of the main suppliers of weapons to the Ukrainian government.
What two ideas did the EU split the New Right into?
- The majority of the Conservative leadership supported continued membership of the EU.
> Broadly, the EU is a free market (the “internal market”) which neo-liberals could support. - A minority in the leadership (but a large minority) became increasingly opposed to the EU.
> Successfully opposed Britain joining the Euro in 2000,
> Both on neo-conservative grounds (nationalism) and neo-liberal grounds (the EU was seen as attempting to regulate the economy too much).
Did the Conservatives support the UK joining the EU (or EEC) in 1973?
This was a policy shared by all parties (and if anything, Labour was the more anti-EU party).
What happened with the EU in 2016, in relation with David Cameron?
David Cameron called the EU referendum in 2016 he did so as a pro-European.
> Expected to win the vote to remain.
> Called it to silence the opposition to EU membership, especially from UKIP that was taking votes from the Conservatives in elections.
What was the response to the Brexit referendum result in the Conservative Party?
When the referendum delivered a Brexit vote, it created a crisis in the Conservative Party.
> The ultimate result of this was to turn the Conservative Party into one that was strongly anti-EU. > This was cemented by Johnson’s election as leader in 2019 (Johnson had been one of the leaders of the “Leave” campaign in the 2016 referendum).
> Sunak too was a leave supporter in 2016.
What policy did Johnson pursue in terms of Brexit?
A “hard Brexit”
> Cut all ties with the EU.
> Not having any arrangements with the EU, and trading with the EU like any other country in the world.
> Trade with the EU is more difficult and expensive.
What do neo-liberals who support Brexit think about it?
In the long run, Britain can develop a freer and less regulated form of capitalism that will be more successful.
What do neo-conservatists who support Brexit think about it?
Less concerned about the economic consequences,
> Argue that this is the UK “taking back control”, and that this national sovereignty is more important than economic growth.
