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.