Conservative Party

• By the 19th century, Toryism was the party of:

  • property
  • pragmatism
  • authoritarianism
  • tradition
  • stability
• One-nation conservatism is the idea that the Conservative Party should protect and advance the interests of the whole nation. It is more inclusive and progressive than traditional conservatism.
• Benjamin Disraeli's 'one nation' sentiments helped the Conservatives to reach out to the working class. As prime minister, he supported extensive social care reforms.
• New Right conservatism is rooted in classical liberalism because it seeks to reduce the influence of government in the economy and over people's lives. It also derives from traditional conservatism because of its emphasis on the importance of achieving security through law and order and strong defence.
• By the 1970s, the effectiveness of one-nation conservatism was being undermined by large-scale industrial unrest.
• Governments should promote neo-liberalism by:

  • lowering taxation
  • reducing inflation
  • discouraging a 'dependency culture'
  • limiting the influence of trade unions
• Governments should promote neo-conservatism by:

  • protecting the traditional family unit from alternative lifestyles
  • giving the government extensive powers to fight crime
  • emphasising the nation state as the ultimate source of a citizen's security
  • strong defence policies
• When David Cameron became PM of a coalition government in 2010, he proved to be extremely socially progressive, supporting same-sex marriage legislation, promoting what he called a 'Big Society' and introducing a National Citizen Service to encourage young people to support their communities.
• Following Theresa May's failure to enact legislation to take the UK out of the EU (2016-19), Boris Johnson won an 80-seat majority in the 2019 general election. His success in winning so many 'Red Wall' seats in traditionally Labour heartlands encouraged the Conservatives to refocus on public spending as a way of 'levelling up' society.
• Johnson's Conservative Party abandoned much of the economic neo-liberalism and social conservatism of Thatcherism, with a great focus on one-nation principles of economic and social inclusion.
• Since the resignation of David Cameron in 2016, the Conservative Party has struggled to politically define itself, with significant divisions apparent on a range of issues.
• David Cameron was committed to making the Conservative Party more inclusive and progressive. Since then, home secretaries, such as Priti Patel and Suella Braverman, have once again adopted more socially conservative policies, strenuously attacking what they see as being political correctness and emphasising their toughness on law and order.
• Although Cameron was determined to make the Conservatives more protective of the environment, when she became PM, Truss quickly announced that she was ending the ban on fracking and wanted to expand North Sea gas and oil extraction. When he succeeded her, Rishi Sunak immediately reimposed the ban on fracking.