6 the Conservative Party

• Traditional conservatives


  Aristocratic group in Parliament that came together in defense of historic privileges of the crown, the church, and powerful land-owning institutions
• One-nation conservatism


  One-nation conservatism aimed to reduce class divisions through a paternalistic approach, where leaders cared for the disadvantaged in return for their support to govern.
• One-nation conservatism peaked in the post-war consensus period when the party broadly accepted the changes introduced by the 1945-51 Attlee government
• Thatcherism/New right


  Reduced the size of the state, restored order to society in the face of militant trade unions and other groups on the left, neoliberal economics, limiting the power of trade unions, tough approach to law and order and foreign policy, Euroscepticism
• Thatcherism


  • Strong conviction politics, radical policy agenda, rejected the instinct of one-nation conservatives to seek compromise, extremely divisive figure
• John Major represented a continuation of Thatcherism but was less confrontational, failed to distance the party from Thatcherism which had become toxic
• William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith, and Michael Howard failed to unseat Tony Blair and move the party beyond an association with Thatcherism, Europe, immigration, and law and order
• David Cameron

  Detoxified the conservative party, moved away from Thatcherism, tolerant of minority groups and different lifestyles, interested in the environment, demonstrated value of public services like the NHS, used the idea of the "big society" to bring back one-nation conservatism, but ultimately defined by austerity and divisions over Europe
• Theresa May also tried to move the party away from the image of just representing elites
• David Cameron showed an interest in the environment and demonstrated the value he placed on public services such as the NHS
• Cameron's Premiership was ultimately defined by austerity, which he seemed quite opposed to one nation services and quite right-wing policy
• Austerity refers to spending cuts to reduce government deficits following the 2008 financial crash
• Cameron's Premiership was also defined by divisions over Europe, which can be seen as going against one-nation politics
• Cameron and May maintained they stood on the side of ordinary people rather than just the elite, and tried to move the party away from the 'nasty party' image
• Cameron emphasized the bonds between people, arguing for cooperation between the state and charities and voluntary sector, including building a 'big society'

  An updating of one-nation conservatism
• Cameron supported the legalization of gay marriage, in contrast to the party's previous support for Section 28 which banned the promotion of homosexuality
• Theresa May sought to continue Cameron's liberal and one-nation approach combined with continued austerity, but her Premiership became largely defined by Brexit
• Boris Johnson's Premiership was also difficult to define ideologically, as it was largely driven by events like the COVID-19 pandemic
• Johnson moved the party away from austerity, with the introduction of the furlough scheme and a 'levelling up' agenda
• Liz Truss introduced a 'mini-budget' with significant tax cuts funded by borrowing, which was seen as a return to Thatcherite policies
• Truss's policies were ultimately reversed by Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister
• Sunak's five priorities for 2023


  • Halving inflation
  • Growing the economy
  • Debt falling
  • Cutting NHS waiting lists
  • Passing new laws to stop small boats
• Sunak has taken a strong stance against immigration as part of his ideology
• Thatcher greatly reduced taxes and public spending, privatized state-owned industries, and took a strong law and order approach
• Thatcher's policies were seen as rejecting one-nation conservatism in favor of a more ideological 'new right' agenda
• Cameron's economic policies were similar to Thatcherism, focused on reducing the budget deficit through austerity measures
• Cameron took a more liberal approach to law and order, promoting rehabilitation, but still supported tough sentencing for certain crimes
• Cameron's welfare policies were intended to cut costs and encourage self-reliance, with negative rhetoric towards those on benefits
• Cameron continued Thatcher's support for privatization, including in the NHS
• tended to cut costs and encourage those receiving benefits to be more self-reliant
• There's a real kind of penalization and a lot of negative rhetoric against those on benefits when the Conservative party was in power
• The Universal Credit system benefits has also introduced and intended to simplify the welfare system and encourage low-income people to take up employment
• The Conservative party implemented a radical overhaul of the NHS and allowed the private sector to compete with State hospitals
• Cameron's approach is similar to Thatcher's in that he promoted the special relationship with the US, supported airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and supported pragmatic Euroscepticism
• Cameron ultimately tried to fight Britain's Corner in the EU, attempting to renegotiate the UK's terms of membership before holding a referendum in which he supported Remain, but ultimately had to resign when he lost it
• Cameron prioritized tackling climate change, saying his government would be the greenest government ever, and prioritized green investment and introducing a carbon tax on fossil fuels
• Cameron also sought to be a liberal conservative and importantly legalized same-sex marriage in 2013
• Sunak's economic policy is focused on trying to prioritize National finances in the context of the cost of living crisis by reducing the national debt and seeking to harm inflation by the end of 2023
• Sunak's government seems likely to do this by increasing taxes and cutting public spending, with corporation tax for example rising from 19 to 25 in April 2023
• Sunak's government is strongly opposing striking workers, refusing to offer them substantial real-time pay increases, and is also looking to introduce anti-strike legislation