Conservatives internally united

• Paragraph 1 : Economy

  Point: After returning to power in 2010, they are united on the economy.  Firmly wedded to the power of the market forces and private property to drive wealth creation and retention and remain pragramatic over economic policy.Argue that party expenditure, both factions stress, must be kept under control and trade union power must be curbed.

  • Example: 2019 manifesto promised not to raise national insurance contributions, VAT and income tax
  • Party lifted bankers bonus cap in october 2022
  • The party was reluctant to extend the windfall tax on profits made by energy companies owing to rising energy costs
• Paragraph 1 Counter:

  One Nation Conservatives:

  • Prioritize social cohesion & state intervention.
  • Support mixed economy, welfare state, and moderate spending (e.g., rejected Truss’s unfunded tax cuts to protect public services).
  • Example: 2021 NI rise (briefly) to fund NHS backlog.

  New Right:

  • Believe in free markets, self-interest, and minimal welfare (avoids "dependency culture").
  • Push for low taxes & deregulation (e.g., Truss’s 2022 budget).
  • Example: Sunak later scrapped NI rise, showing tension between pragmatism and ideology.

  Key Conflict:

  • One Nation = Pragmatic, state-backed solutions.
  • New Right = Ideological, tax cuts & austerity.
• Paragraph 2: Welfare - United

  Point: Modern Conservatives agree that welfare should be minimal, encouraging work rather than creating reliance. the party focuses a great deal on reducing benefits, especially housing benefits, which tend to affect the poor more than the rich

  • example: universal credit reduced by £20 per week in October 2021 and struggled to accept committing to raising benefits in line with inflation thereafter.
  • The government maintained that the uplift was always intended as a temporary pandemic measure. When challenged about the impact—such as pushing 500,000 people below the poverty line—Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated that the solution was to help people find employment rather than maintain higher benefit level
  • unity around Thatcherite principles—strong preference for market-driven solutions rather than an expansive welfare stat
• Counter-Argument 2: Welfare - Divided

  • One Nation → welfare = moral duty (noblesse oblige)
  • New Right → welfare = dependency, economic drag
  • Tension: support for the poor (One Nation) vs efficiency/cuts (New Right)
  • Johnson during COVID: clash visible — furlough scheme (One Nation) vs push to reopen economy (New Right)

  Example:

  • COVID response: Johnson’s government wrote off hospital debt to support the NHS—aligning with One Nation beliefs.
  • May’s “Just About Managing” rhetoric showed concern for lower-income voters.
  • Sunak’s gave lip service to these promises in the tory manifesto, the reality there is a spending squeeze on public services which has alienated One Nation MPs, especially in Red Wall seats, who rely on funding for reelection.
  • Sunak is referred to as a technocrat, he holds no true idealogical view and is instead focused on policy detail and thus cannot unite as party
• Argument 3: Law and Order - United

  Point:

  • Conservatives broadly follow a Thatcherite, authoritarian approach to law and order.
  • Party identity as the “party of law and order”, with strong support for tough policing and state authority to impose social morality and that parliament must hold all power in terms of crime.

  Example:

  • COVID lockdowns: United response with strict enforcement and penalties.
  • aligns with the new right view that a crackdown on crime, big or small, is essential for social harmony. the lack of dispute of this amongst the party proves its unity
  • Immigration policy: Rwanda deportation scheme and Illegal Immigration Bill backed by Sunak and Braverman.
  • This is because the party believes the tough bill will deter immigration as well as preventing immigrants from claiming asylum.
• Counter-Argument 3: Law and Order - Divided

  • One Nation → focus on rehabilitation, not punishment
  • e.g. Rory Stewart (2019): tackle root causes of crime
  • echoes Ken Clarke (Cameron era): “prison doesn’t work”
  • New Right → harsher, punitive justice approach
  • Immigration split:
  • Moderates (One Nation) → want safe asylum routes
  • Hardliners (New Right) → push to leave ECHR to enforce deportations

  Significance:

  • New Right view: human nature = selfish/bleak → needs strong government control (e.g. Johnson, Sunak)
  • Immigration split:
  • Far New Right → Braverman bill = too soft, want UK out of ECHR to crack down harder
  • One Nation Tories → concerned bill lacks safe, legal routes for genuine refugees