Other historians point to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party, that coalesced around William Pitt the Younger in the 1780s.
"Tories and Conservatives." in David Brown, Robert Crowcroft, and Gordon Pentland eds., The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History, 1800–2000 (2018): 306. Dorey, Peter; Garnett, Mark; Denham, Andrew.
From about 1812 on the name "Tory" was commonly used for a new party that, according to historian Robert Blake, "are the ancestors of Conservatism".
Blake adds that Pitt's successors after 1812 "were not in any sense standard-bearers of 'true Toryism'". The term "Conservative" was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J.
"Men or Measures? Conservative Party Politics, 1815–1951," Historical Journal Vol.
The Conservatives are a founding member party of both the International Democrat Union and the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. == History == === Origins === The Conservative Party was founded in the 1830s.
Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830.
The Longman Companion to the Conservative Party Since 1830 (2001); chronologies; relations with women, minorities, trade unions, EU, Ireland, social reform and empire. Harrison, Brian.
The party also has 264 unelected members of the House of Lords, 8 members of the London Assembly, 31 members of the Scottish Parliament, 16 members of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and 7,430 local authority councillors. The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party.
The name immediately caught on and was officially adopted under the aegis of Robert Peel around 1834.
The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. === Conservatives and Unionists (1867–1914) === The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced the Conservative Party to popularise its approach under Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli, who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1867.
The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. === Conservatives and Unionists (1867–1914) === The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced the Conservative Party to popularise its approach under Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli, who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1867.
The Age of Disraeli, 1868-1881: The Rise of Tory Democracy (A History of the Conservative Party Series) (1992) Shannon, Richard.
England, 1870–1914 online , passim. Garnett, Mark, and Philip Lynch.
The Crisis of Conservatism: The Politics, Economics and Ideology of the British Conservative Party, 1880-1914 (1995). .
The Crisis of conservatism: The politics, economics, and ideology of the British Conservative Party, 1880–1914 (1996) Harris, Robert.
The Age of Salisbury, 1881-1902: Unionism and Empire (A History of the Conservative Party) (1996) Snowdon, Peter.
In 1886, the party formed an alliance with Spencer Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington (later the 8th Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain's new Liberal Unionist Party and, under the statesmen Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Lord Salisbury and Arthur Balfour, held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in 1906 when it split over the issue of free trade.
A New England?: Peace and War 1886–1918 (2005) 976pp broad survey Seldon, Anthony and Stuart Ball, eds.
In Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged Unionists who were opposed to Irish Home Rule into one political movement.
The party increased its national vote share, becoming the first incumbent party to do so since 1900.
Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900 (1994) 896pp; essays by experts Contents Shannon, Richard.
In 1886, the party formed an alliance with Spencer Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington (later the 8th Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain's new Liberal Unionist Party and, under the statesmen Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Lord Salisbury and Arthur Balfour, held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in 1906 when it split over the issue of free trade.
After its defeat in 1906, a radical conservatism emerged that sought to promote "tariff reform" (that is high new tariffs) in order to unite the British Empire and protect British agriculture and industry from foreign competition and head off the threat of socialism. Young Winston Churchill denounced Chamberlain's attack on free trade, and helped organise the opposition inside the Unionist/Conservative Party.
He was replaced by Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman who called an election in January 1906, which produced a massive Liberal victory with a gain of 214 seats.
But as the 1997 general election loomed, despite their high-profile New Labour, New Danger campaign, it was still looking certain that Labour would win. An effective opposition campaign by the Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives in 1997 that was Labour's largest ever parliamentary victory and the worst defeat for the Conservatives since the 1906 general election 91 years earlier.
Two general elections were held in 1910, one in January and one in December.
British Politics, 1910–1935: The Crisis of the Party System (2004) Roberts, Andrew.
In Britain, the Conservative party was known as the Unionist Party because of its opposition to [rule] in Ireland. Under Bonar Law's leadership in 1911–14, the Party morale improved, the "radical right" wing was contained, and the party machinery strengthened.
In 1912, the Liberal Unionist Party merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party.
The Unionists had more popular votes but the Liberals kept control with a coalition with the Irish Parliamentary Party. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party.
The Liberal party never recovered, but Labour gained strength after 1920. Nigel Keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses.
English History, 1914–1945 (1965), a standard political history of the era Thackeray, David.
An all-party coalition government was formed in May 1915.
In late 1916 Liberal David Lloyd George became prime minister but the Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their landslide in the 1918 election.
In late 1916 Liberal David Lloyd George became prime minister but the Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their landslide in the 1918 election.
Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918–1945 (Oxford UP, 2013). Beer, Samuel.
Britain between the Wars, 1918–1940 (1955) 694 pp; Norton, Bruce F.
The Liberal party never recovered, but Labour gained strength after 1920. Nigel Keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses.
It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes. === 1920–1945 === In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led the breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power.
Thatcher from her earliest days in politics favoured the idea because it would lead to a "property-owning democracy", an important idea that had emerged in the 1920s.
Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence, formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922.
It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes. === 1920–1945 === In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led the breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power.
In the organisation of the Conservative Party, constituency associations dominate selection of local candidates, and some associations have organised open parliamentary primaries. The 1922 Committee consists of backbench MPs, meeting weekly while parliament is sitting.
The 1922 Committee plays a crucial role in the selection of party leaders.
All Conservative MPs are members of the 1922 Committee by default.
It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes. === 1920–1945 === In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led the breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power.
The Conservatives regained power in 1924 and remained in power for the full five-year term.
The Growth of the British Party System Volume I: 1640–1923 (1965); The Growth of the British Party System Volume II: 1924–1964, revised to 1966 Conservative-Labour Confrontation (1967) Campbell, John.
They were defeated in 1929 as a minority Labour government, again led by MacDonald, took office.
She was also deeply unpopular in certain sections of society due to high unemployment, which reached its highest level since the 1930s, peaking at over 3,000,000 people following her economic reforms, and her response to the miners' strike.
In 1931, following the collapse of the Labour minority government, it entered another coalition, which was dominated by the Conservatives with some support from factions of both the Liberal Party and the Labour Party (National Labour and National Liberals).
British Political Opinion 1937–2000: The Gallup Polls (2001) Lawrence, Jon.
In May 1940, a more balanced coalition was formed, the National Government, which, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, saw the United Kingdom through World War II.
The libertarian influence of Professor Friedrich Hayek's 1944 best-seller Road to Serfdom was apparent in the younger generation, but that took another quarter-century to have a policy impact.
The Conservatives since 1945: the Drivers of Party Change.
As Party Chairman 1946–55, he rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money, and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues.
Their appeal was especially effective to housewives, who faced more difficult shopping conditions after the war than during the war. ==== Modernising the party ==== In 1947, the party published its Industrial Charter which marked its acceptance of the "post-war consensus" on the mixed economy and labour rights.
Conservative Prime Ministers Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout the 1950s and early-1960s.
It used the dissatisfaction with the socialist and egalitarian policies of the Labour Party to rally middle-class supporters and build a political comeback that won them the 1951 general election.
In practice, it may have had the effect of lending more power to constituency parties and making candidates more uniform. The success of the Conservative Party in reorganising itself was validated by its victory at the 1951 general election.
By 1951, Labour had worn out its welcome in the middle classes; its factions were bitterly embroiled.
Conservatives were ready to govern again. With a narrow victory at the 1951 general election, despite losing the popular vote, Churchill was back in power.
However, family allowances fell by 15% in real terms during that period. "Thirteen Wasted Years" was a popular slogan attacking the Conservative record 1951–1964.
Macmillan believed that trade union votes had contributed towards the 1951 and 1955 victories and thought that it "would be inexpedient to adopt any policy involving legislation which would alienate this support". Macmillan's bid to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in early 1963 was blocked by French President Charles de Gaulle.
Winston Churchill during his 1951–1955 post-war premiership built up a strong relationship with the Eisenhower Administration in the United States.
"The Conservative Party of Great Britain," Journal of Politics 14#1 (February 1952), pp. 41–71 in JSTOR Blake, Robert and Louis William Roger, eds.
The Conservatives were conciliatory towards unions, but they did privatise the steel and road haulage industries in 1953.
Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the welfare state enacted by Labour were accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as Butskellism and that lasted until the 1970s.
Goodlad says the Conservative foreign-policy leadership properly adjusted Britain's world role by building an independent nuclear capacity and maintaining a leading role in world affairs, and anyway successive governments seldom did a better job. The Conservatives were re-elected in 1955 and 1959 with larger majorities.
Macmillan believed that trade union votes had contributed towards the 1951 and 1955 victories and thought that it "would be inexpedient to adopt any policy involving legislation which would alienate this support". Macmillan's bid to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in early 1963 was blocked by French President Charles de Gaulle.
The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Eden, but his successor, Macmillan, minimised the damage and focused attention on domestic issues and prosperity.
Macmillan boasted during the 1959 general election that Britain had "never had it so good". In 1958, Geoffrey Howe co-authored the report A Giant's Strength published by the Inns of Court Conservative Association.
Goodlad says the Conservative foreign-policy leadership properly adjusted Britain's world role by building an independent nuclear capacity and maintaining a leading role in world affairs, and anyway successive governments seldom did a better job. The Conservatives were re-elected in 1955 and 1959 with larger majorities.
Macmillan boasted during the 1959 general election that Britain had "never had it so good". In 1958, Geoffrey Howe co-authored the report A Giant's Strength published by the Inns of Court Conservative Association.
This is a noticeable shift in British politics, as in the 1960s and 1970s the Conservatives were more pro-Europe than the Labour Party: for example, in the 1971 House of Commons vote on whether the UK should join the European Economic Community, only 39 of the then 330 Conservative MPs were opposed to membership.
Macmillan believed that trade union votes had contributed towards the 1951 and 1955 victories and thought that it "would be inexpedient to adopt any policy involving legislation which would alienate this support". Macmillan's bid to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in early 1963 was blocked by French President Charles de Gaulle.
The period saw the decline of the United Kingdom as a prominent world leader, with the loss of practically the entire Empire and a laggard economy. Following controversy over the selections of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home via a process of consultation known as the 'Magic Circle', a formal election process was created and the first leadership election was held in 1965.
The Growth of the British Party System Volume I: 1640–1923 (1965); The Growth of the British Party System Volume II: 1924–1964, revised to 1966 Conservative-Labour Confrontation (1967) Campbell, John.
They have had a mixed history on support for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution. In 1968, Edward Heath issued his 'Perth declaration', in support of a Scottish assembly, in the wake of growing nationalism.
Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the welfare state enacted by Labour were accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as Butskellism and that lasted until the 1970s.
The UK in the 1970s had seen sustained high inflation rates, which were above 20% at the time of the leadership election, subsequently falling to below 10%; unemployment had risen, and over the winter of 1978–79 there was a series of strikes known as the "Winter of Discontent".
By the 1970s, many working-class people had ample incomes to afford to buy homes, and eagerly adopted Thatcher's invitation to purchase their homes at a sizable discount.
This is a noticeable shift in British politics, as in the 1960s and 1970s the Conservatives were more pro-Europe than the Labour Party: for example, in the 1971 House of Commons vote on whether the UK should join the European Economic Community, only 39 of the then 330 Conservative MPs were opposed to membership.
The conservative English philosopher Roger Scruton is a representative of the intellectual wing of the traditionalist group: his writings rarely touch on economics and instead focus on conservative perspectives concerning political, social, cultural and moral issues. === One-nation Conservatives === One-nation conservatism was the party's dominant ideology in the 20th century until the rise of Thatcherism in the 1970s.
This is a noticeable shift in British politics, as in the 1960s and 1970s the Conservatives were more pro-Europe than the Labour Party: for example, in the 1971 House of Commons vote on whether the UK should join the European Economic Community, only 39 of the then 330 Conservative MPs were opposed to membership.
They supported the Belfast Agreement negotiated by the Blair government in 1998, and in 2009, negotiated an electoral pact with the declining Ulster Unionist Party, whom it had previously been allied to before 1973 and informally during the John Major's tenure as Prime Minister.
However a general election was held in February 1974 in a bid to win public support during a national emergency caused by the miners' strike.
Heath's hopes of returning to power later in the year were ended when Labour won the October 1974 election with an overall majority of three seats. ===Margaret Thatcher (1975–1990)=== Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and Margaret Thatcher deposed him in the 1975 leadership election.
Heath's hopes of returning to power later in the year were ended when Labour won the October 1974 election with an overall majority of three seats. ===Margaret Thatcher (1975–1990)=== Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and Margaret Thatcher deposed him in the 1975 leadership election.
Some support it perhaps stemming from an extension of the cohesion principle to the international level, though others are strongly against the EU (such as Peter Tapsell). === Free-market Conservatives === The second main grouping in the Conservative Party is the "free-market wing" of economic liberals who achieved dominance after the election of Margaret Thatcher as party leader in 1975.
The UK in the 1970s had seen sustained high inflation rates, which were above 20% at the time of the leadership election, subsequently falling to below 10%; unemployment had risen, and over the winter of 1978–79 there was a series of strikes known as the "Winter of Discontent".
Thatcher led her party to victory at the 1979 general election with a manifesto which concentrated on the party's philosophy rather than presenting a "shopping list" of policies. As Prime Minister, Thatcher focused on rejecting the mild liberalism of the post-war consensus that tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong labour unions, heavy regulation, high taxes, and a generous welfare state.
Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's monetarist battle against inflation.
At the time of the 1979 general election, inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, having decreased under Callaghan, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983 (it continued to be under 7% until 1990).
The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979–2001 (2003) Rowman & Littlefield.
While its views and policies have changed throughout its history, the party has generally adopted liberal economic policies favouring free market economics including measures such as deregulation, privatisation, and marketisation since the 1980s, although the party also historically advocated for protectionism.
The British economy benefitted in the first Thatcher ministry by tax income from North Sea oil coming on stream. The period of unpopularity of the Conservatives in the early 1980s coincided with a crisis in the Labour Party, which then formed the main opposition.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was established in 1981 and consisted of more than twenty breakaway Labour MPs, who quickly formed the SDP-Liberal Alliance with the Liberal Party.
It did so on the grounds that it is dominated by European federalists and supporters of the Lisbon treaty, which the Conservatives were generally highly critical of. === Logo === When Sir Christopher Lawson was appointed as a marketing director at Conservative Central Office in 1981, he was surprised find to that, apart from a few diverse symbols, there was no logo to represent the party.
She was greatly admired by her supporters for her leadership in the Falklands War of 1982—which coincided with a dramatic boost in her popularity—and for policies such as giving the right to council house tenants to buy their council house at a discount on market value.
Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's monetarist battle against inflation.
The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped. Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories with landslide majorities in 1983 and 1987.
At the time of the 1979 general election, inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, having decreased under Callaghan, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983 (it continued to be under 7% until 1990).
Despite opposition from some traditionalists in the party, the emblem was adopted for the 1983 general election.
The summer of 1989 saw her fall behind Neil Kinnock's Labour in the opinion polls for the first time since 1986, and her party's fall in popularity continued into 1990.
The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped. Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories with landslide majorities in 1983 and 1987.
This election resulted in Johnson's Conservatives winning of a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons, a significant improvement on their 2017 result, and indeed the Party's largest majority since 1987, under Thatcher.
Many take inspiration from Thatcher's Bruges speech in 1988, in which she declared that "we have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain only to see them reimposed at a European level".
The summer of 1989 saw her fall behind Neil Kinnock's Labour in the opinion polls for the first time since 1986, and her party's fall in popularity continued into 1990.
In 1989, the party's director of communications, Brendan Bruce, decided to conduct some market research into the public reaction to the logo.
At the time of the 1979 general election, inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, having decreased under Callaghan, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983 (it continued to be under 7% until 1990).
The summer of 1989 saw her fall behind Neil Kinnock's Labour in the opinion polls for the first time since 1986, and her party's fall in popularity continued into 1990.
Socially conservative policies such as tax incentives for married couples and the belief that benefits for those out of work should be reduced may have played a role in the party's electoral decline in the 1990s and early 2000s, and so the party has attempted to seek a new direction.
Party leader David Cameron pushed the foundation of the ECR, which was launched in 2009, along with the Czech Civic Democratic Party and the Polish Law and Justice, before which the Conservative Party's MEPs sat in the European Democrats, which had become a subgroup of the European People's Party in the 1990s.
For example, John Major was the ostensibly "Thatcherite" candidate during the 1990 leadership election, but he consistently promoted One-Nation Conservatives to the higher reaches of his cabinet during his time as Prime Minister.
The pound sterling was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on 16 September 1992, a day thereafter referred to as Black Wednesday. Soon after, approximately one million householders faced repossession of their homes during a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, taking it close to 3,000,000 people.
For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for the Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, although polls gave the Conservatives a lead after October of that year and, by May 2008, with the UK's economy sliding into its first recession since 1992.
This was also the first general election since 1992 in which the Conservatives had won an overall majority, although the vote share of 36.9% was lower than the previous four Conservative majority governments under Thatcher and Major.
With the growing Euroscepticism within his party, John Major negotiated a British opt-out in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which enabled the UK to stay within the European Union without adopting the single currency.
Churchill: A Major New Reassessment of His Life in Peace and War (Oxford UP, 1992), 581 pp; 29 essays by scholars on specialized topics Blake, Robert.
The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship although the end of the recession was declared in April 1993 bringing economic recovery and a fall in unemployment. From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail, splitting it up into franchises to be run by the private sector.
The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship although the end of the recession was declared in April 1993 bringing economic recovery and a fall in unemployment. From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail, splitting it up into franchises to be run by the private sector.
Their support reached its lowest ebb in late 1994, after the sudden death of Labour Party leader John Smith and the election of Tony Blair as his successor, when Labour had up to 60% of the vote in opinion polls and had a lead of some 30 points ahead of the Conservatives.
The issue of the creation of a single European currency also inflamed tensions, and these would continue to dog the party until the early-2000s (decade)". Major also had to survive a leadership challenge in 1995 by the Secretary of State for Wales, the aforementioned John Redwood.
The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship although the end of the recession was declared in April 1993 bringing economic recovery and a fall in unemployment. From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail, splitting it up into franchises to be run by the private sector.
But as the 1997 general election loomed, despite their high-profile New Labour, New Danger campaign, it was still looking certain that Labour would win. An effective opposition campaign by the Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives in 1997 that was Labour's largest ever parliamentary victory and the worst defeat for the Conservatives since the 1906 general election 91 years earlier.
The 1997 general election left the Conservative Party as an England-only party, with all Scottish and Welsh seats having been lost, and not a single new seat having been gained anywhere. === Political wilderness (1997–2005) === ==== William Hague ==== John Major resigned as party leader after the Conservatives were heavily defeated in a landslide and was succeeded by William Hague.
However, the cause went unanswered during his turbulent premiership, and under Margaret Thatcher and John Major's leadership, the Conservatives vehemently opposed devolution, and campaigned against it in the 1997 devolution referendum.
From Crisis to Coalition: The Conservative Party, 1997–2010 (2011) Palgrave Macmillan.
The conservatives in crisis: the Tories after 1997 (1994) Green, E.
The Labour Government last conducted a review in 1998.
They supported the Belfast Agreement negotiated by the Blair government in 1998, and in 2009, negotiated an electoral pact with the declining Ulster Unionist Party, whom it had previously been allied to before 1973 and informally during the John Major's tenure as Prime Minister.
A Conservative MP can only be deselected at a special general meeting of the local Conservative association, which can only be organised if backed by a petition of more than fifty members. === Young Conservatives === From 1998 to 2015, the Conservative Party maintained a youth wing for members under 30 called Conservative Future, with branches at both universities and at parliamentary constituency level.
Rudd pledged specifically to review and address the uneven impact of Universal Credit implementation on economically disadvantaged women, which had been the subject of numerous reports by the Radio 4 You and Yours programme and others. Until 1999, Conservatives opposed the creation of a national minimum wage, as they believed it would cost jobs, and businesses would be reluctant to start business in the UK from fear of high labour costs.
Following the Scottish Parliament's establishment in 1999, they have vowed to support its continued existence, and along with Labour and the Liberal Democrats, they supported the Scotland Bill (2011), granting further devolution of power.
The Conservatives accepted Labour's policy in early 2000. Since returning to power, the 50% top rate of income tax was reduced to 45% by the Cameron-Clegg coalition.
Socially conservative policies such as tax incentives for married couples and the belief that benefits for those out of work should be reduced may have played a role in the party's electoral decline in the 1990s and early 2000s, and so the party has attempted to seek a new direction.
Shortly before the 2001 general election, Hague was much maligned for a speech in which he predicted that a re-elected Labour government would turn the UK into a "foreign land".
William Hague and Michael Howard campaigned on traditionalist grounds in the 2001 and 2005 general elections respectively, and 2001 also saw the election of traditionalist Iain Duncan Smith as party leader.
4 (December 2002), pp. 937–51 in JSTOR ===Historiography=== Crowson, N.
This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership. Michael Howard then stood for the leadership unopposed on 6 November 2003. Under Howard's leadership in the 2005 general election, the Conservative Party increased their total vote share by around 0.7% (up to 32.4%) and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats by 33 (up to 198 seats).
They have repeatedly criticised the former Labour Government for failing to equip British Forces adequately in the earlier days on the campaign—especially highlighting the shortage of helicopters for British Forces resulting from Gordon Brown's £1.4bn cut to the helicopter budget in 2004. ==== Strategic Defence and Security Review ==== The Conservative Party believes that in the 21st century defence and security are interlinked.
Since then, the DUP has generally supported Conservative legislation. The party opposed Labour's attempts to devolve power to the northern regions of England in 2004.
This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership. Michael Howard then stood for the leadership unopposed on 6 November 2003. Under Howard's leadership in the 2005 general election, the Conservative Party increased their total vote share by around 0.7% (up to 32.4%) and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats by 33 (up to 198 seats).
The day following the election, on 6 May, Howard announced that he did not feel it was right to continue as leader after defeat in the general election, also saying that he would be too old to lead the party into another campaign and would therefore step down after allowing time for the party to amend its leadership election rules. ===David Cameron (2005–2016)=== David Cameron won the 2005 leadership election.
William Hague and Michael Howard campaigned on traditionalist grounds in the 2001 and 2005 general elections respectively, and 2001 also saw the election of traditionalist Iain Duncan Smith as party leader.
It pledged to reform the procurement process, compile a Green Paper on Sovereignty Capability, and publish another Defence Industrial Strategy following on from the Defence Industrial Strategy in 2005.
Despite an initial boost shortly after David Cameron's election as leader in December 2005, membership resumed its decline in 2006 to a lower level than when he was elected.
For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for the Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, although polls gave the Conservatives a lead after October of that year and, by May 2008, with the UK's economy sliding into its first recession since 1992.
However, the Republican 2008 presidential candidate, John McCain, spoke at the 2006 Conservative Party Conference. The Conservatives have proposed a Pan-African Free Trade Area, which it says could help entrepreneurial dynamism of African people.
Despite an initial boost shortly after David Cameron's election as leader in December 2005, membership resumed its decline in 2006 to a lower level than when he was elected.
By 2006, the group had become the largest political organisation on British university campuses.
Using a design company headed by Michael Peters, an image of a hand carrying a torch was developed, which referenced the Statue of Liberty. In 2006, there was a rebranding exercise to emphasise the Conservatives' commitment to environmentalism; a project costing £40,000 resulted in a sketched silhouette of an oak tree, a national symbol, which was said to represent "strength, endurance, renewal and growth".
For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for the Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, although polls gave the Conservatives a lead after October of that year and, by May 2008, with the UK's economy sliding into its first recession since 1992.
In 2016 the Conservative government extended student loan access in England to postgraduate students to help improve access to education. Within the EU, the UK is one of the largest recipients of research funding in the European Union, receiving £7 billion between 2007 and 2015, which is invested in universities and research-intensive businesses.
A change from green to the traditional Conservative blue colour appeared in 2007, followed by a version with the Union Jack superimposed in 2010.
For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for the Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, although polls gave the Conservatives a lead after October of that year and, by May 2008, with the UK's economy sliding into its first recession since 1992.
The Conservatives gained control of the London mayoralty for the first time in May 2008 after Boris Johnson defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone. The Conservative lead in the opinion polls had been almost unbroken for nearly three years when Britain finally went to the polls on 6 May 2010, though since the turn of 2010 most polls had shown the Conservative lead as less than 10 points wide.
Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said in 2008 that state multiculturalism policies had created a "terrible" legacy of "cultural despair" and dislocation, which has encouraged support for "extremists" on both sides of the debate.
However, the Republican 2008 presidential candidate, John McCain, spoke at the 2006 Conservative Party Conference. The Conservatives have proposed a Pan-African Free Trade Area, which it says could help entrepreneurial dynamism of African people.
They met this pledge in 2014, when spending on aid reached 0.72% of GDP and the commitment was enshrined in UK law in 2015. David Cameron had sought to distance himself from former US President Bush and his neoconservative foreign policy, calling for a "rebalancing" of US-UK ties and met Barack Obama during his 2008 European tour.
Despite traditional links between the UK Conservatives and US Republicans, and between centre-left Labour and the Democrats, London Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative, endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 election.
Under current EU practices, the degree to which a Conservative Government could implement policy change regarding the EU would depend directly on the willingness of other EU member states to agree to such policies. In 2009 the Conservative Party actively campaigned against the Lisbon Treaty, which it believes would give away too much sovereignty to Brussels.
However, on 14 June 2009 the shadow Business Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, said in an interview to the BBC that the Conservative Party would not reopen negotiations on the Lisbon Treaty if the Irish backed it in a new referendum, which they did on 2 October 2009. The Conservative Party pledged an in-out referendum on membership of the European Union after a renegotiation.
They supported the Belfast Agreement negotiated by the Blair government in 1998, and in 2009, negotiated an electoral pact with the declining Ulster Unionist Party, whom it had previously been allied to before 1973 and informally during the John Major's tenure as Prime Minister.
Party leader David Cameron pushed the foundation of the ECR, which was launched in 2009, along with the Czech Civic Democratic Party and the Polish Law and Justice, before which the Conservative Party's MEPs sat in the European Democrats, which had become a subgroup of the European People's Party in the 1990s.
In June 2009, The Conservatives required a further four partners apart from the Polish and Czech supports to qualify for official fraction status in the parliament; the rules state that a European parliamentary caucus requires at least 25 MEPs from at least seven of the 27 EU member states.
Electing Our Masters: The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair (Oxford University Press, 2009) excerpt and text search McKenzie, R.
The Conservatives have been in government since 2010; as of 2019, they hold an overall majority in the House of Commons, with 365 Members of Parliament.
Its domination of British politics throughout the 20th century and its re-emergence in the 2010s has led to it being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, and Gibraltarian branches of the party are semi-autonomous.
The Conservatives gained control of the London mayoralty for the first time in May 2008 after Boris Johnson defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone. The Conservative lead in the opinion polls had been almost unbroken for nearly three years when Britain finally went to the polls on 6 May 2010, though since the turn of 2010 most polls had shown the Conservative lead as less than 10 points wide.
Alongside a reduction in tax and commitments to keep taxation low, the Conservative Party has significantly reduced government spending, through the austerity programme which commenced in 2010.
It will be a cross-departmental review that will begin with foreign policy priorities and will bring together all the levers of domestic national security policy with overseas interests and defence priorities. As well as an SDSR, the Conservative Party pledged in 2010 to undertake a fundamental and far-reaching review of the procurement process and how defence equipment is provided in Britain.
Since entering office in 2010, they have introduced the Health and Social Care Act, constituting the biggest reformation that the NHS has ever undertaken.
However, there has been much criticism and protest about the 2010 government's actions on the NHS, focussing on budget cuts and privatisation of services.
The government also introduced a policy to fund 15 hours a week of free education and childcare for 2-year-olds in England if parents are receiving certain state benefits or the child has a SEN statement or diagnosis, worth £2,500 a year per child. === Jobs and welfare policy === One of the Conservatives' key policy goals in 2010 was to reduce the number of people in the UK claiming state benefits, and increase the number of people in the workforce.
Between 2010 and 2014, all claimants of Incapacity Benefit were moved onto a new benefit scheme, Employment and Support Allowance, which was then subsumed into the Universal Credit system alongside other welfare benefits in 2018.
The party support, and have implemented, the restoration of the link between pensions and earnings, and seek to raise retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2028. === Energy and climate change policy === David Cameron brought several 'green' issues to the forefront of his 2010 campaign.
In 2010, the Conservative Party had about 177,000 members according to activist Tim Montgomerie, and in 2013 membership was estimated by the party itself at 134,000.
A change from green to the traditional Conservative blue colour appeared in 2007, followed by a version with the Union Jack superimposed in 2010.
British conservatism: the politics and philosophy of inequality (IB Tauris, 2010), Covers more than just political party. Ensor, R.
The National Minimum Wage in 2012 was £6.19 for over-21 year olds, so the proposed rises in National Living Wage by 2020 will represent a significantly higher pay for many.
The Conservatives pledged to increase aid spending to 0.7% of national income by 2013.
In 2010, the Conservative Party had about 177,000 members according to activist Tim Montgomerie, and in 2013 membership was estimated by the party itself at 134,000.
From April 2013 until the 2015 general election people could join Team2015 without being Party members, and take part in political campaigning for the party.
At the 2018 Conservative Spring Forum, Party Chairman Brandon Lewis announced that the party's membership stood at 124,000. In 2013 the Conservative Party lost an estimated 35-40% of its membership due to the Same Sex Marriage Bill. === Prospective parliamentary candidates === Associations select their constituency's candidates.
Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918–1945 (Oxford UP, 2013). Beer, Samuel.
"Margaret Thatcher's Impact on Historical Writing", in William Roger Louis, ed., Irrepressible Adventures with Britannia: Personalities, Politics, and Culture in Britain (London, 2013), 307–21. Kowol, Kit.
However, some argue that its social policy has become more liberal in recent decades, perhaps evidenced best by the legalisation of same-sex marriage by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2014.
Following the resignation of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party five days afterwards, David Cameron was named the country's new Prime Minister, and the Conservatives entered government in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats—the first postwar coalition government. In May 2014, the Conservatives were defeated in the European parliamentary elections, coming in third place behind the UK Independence Party and Labour.
The result was described by UKIP leader Nigel Farage as "disastrous" for Cameron, and the leaders of the other main parties. In September 2014, the Unionist side, championed by Labour as well as by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, won in the Scottish Independence referendum by 55% No to 45% Yes on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country".
They met this pledge in 2014, when spending on aid reached 0.72% of GDP and the commitment was enshrined in UK law in 2015. David Cameron had sought to distance himself from former US President Bush and his neoconservative foreign policy, calling for a "rebalancing" of US-UK ties and met Barack Obama during his 2008 European tour.
He stated in 2014 that there was 'no better place to start' in the Conservative mission of 'building society from the bottom up' than the family, which was responsible for individual welfare and well-being long before the welfare state came into play.
Between 2010 and 2014, all claimants of Incapacity Benefit were moved onto a new benefit scheme, Employment and Support Allowance, which was then subsumed into the Universal Credit system alongside other welfare benefits in 2018.
Since the 2014 European election, the ECR Group has been the third-largest group, with the largest members being the Conservatives (nineteen MEPs), Law and Justice (eighteen MEPs), the Liberal Conservative Reformers (five MEPs), and the Danish People's Party and New Flemish Alliance (four MEPs each).
Major's vigorous campaigning, notably his claim that the UK would have higher prices and higher taxes under a Labour government, was seen to have been crucial to his election win (in which he became the first—and as of 2015, only—Prime Minister to attract 14,000,000 votes in a general election), as was a high-profile campaign by the newspaper the Sun against Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who resigned in the aftermath of the election to be succeeded by John Smith.
This can be seen as a victory for British Unionism, a core part of traditional Conservative ideology, and also for David Cameron as the incumbent Prime Minister. At the 2015 general election, the Conservatives won a majority of seats in the House of Commons and formed a majority government under David Cameron.
They met this pledge in 2014, when spending on aid reached 0.72% of GDP and the commitment was enshrined in UK law in 2015. David Cameron had sought to distance himself from former US President Bush and his neoconservative foreign policy, calling for a "rebalancing" of US-UK ties and met Barack Obama during his 2008 European tour.
In 2016 the Conservative government extended student loan access in England to postgraduate students to help improve access to education. Within the EU, the UK is one of the largest recipients of research funding in the European Union, receiving £7 billion between 2007 and 2015, which is invested in universities and research-intensive businesses.
However the party have since pledged support and in the July 2015 budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced a National Living Wage of £9/hour, to be introduced by 2020, for those aged 25 and over.
The pact was abandoned for the 2015 general election, where the Northern Ireland Conservatives ran their own candidates. On 4 October 2016, the Democratic Unionist Party's leader Arlene Foster and MPs held a champagne reception at the Conservative Party conference, marking what some have described as an "informal coalition" or an "understanding" between the two parties to account for the Conservatives' narrow majority in the House of Commons.
From April 2013 until the 2015 general election people could join Team2015 without being Party members, and take part in political campaigning for the party.
A Conservative MP can only be deselected at a special general meeting of the local Conservative association, which can only be organised if backed by a petition of more than fifty members. === Young Conservatives === From 1998 to 2015, the Conservative Party maintained a youth wing for members under 30 called Conservative Future, with branches at both universities and at parliamentary constituency level.
The organisation was closed in 2015 after allegations that bullying by Mark Clarke had caused the suicide of Elliot Johnson, a 21-year-old party activist. ===Conferences=== The major annual party events are the Spring Forum and the Conservative Party Conference, which takes place in Autumn in alternately Manchester or Birmingham.
Leadsom subsequently withdrew from the contest on 11 July. ===Theresa May (2016–2019)=== On 11 July 2016, Theresa May became the leader of the Conservative Party with immediate effect following the withdrawal from the leadership election of her sole remaining opponent, Andrea Leadsom.
Appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 13 July 2016, May promised social reform and a more centrist political outlook for the Conservative Party and its government.
In 2016, Theresa May publicly rebutted statements made by US Secretary of State John Kerry over the composition of the Israeli government, which some commentators saw as a closer alignment to the stance of the incoming Trump administration.
In 2016 the Conservative government extended student loan access in England to postgraduate students to help improve access to education. Within the EU, the UK is one of the largest recipients of research funding in the European Union, receiving £7 billion between 2007 and 2015, which is invested in universities and research-intensive businesses.
The referendum took place on 23 June 2016, and resulted in a vote to leave the European Union – a policy commonly referred to as Brexit.
The pact was abandoned for the 2015 general election, where the Northern Ireland Conservatives ran their own candidates. On 4 October 2016, the Democratic Unionist Party's leader Arlene Foster and MPs held a champagne reception at the Conservative Party conference, marking what some have described as an "informal coalition" or an "understanding" between the two parties to account for the Conservatives' narrow majority in the House of Commons.
Nearly half of the first May ministry were women. In her first speech, May made a promise to combat the "burning injustice" in British society and create a union "between all of our citizens" and promising to be an advocate for the "ordinary working-class family" and not just for "privileged few" in the UK. In April 2017, the Cabinet agreed to hold a general election on 8 June.
This election resulted in Johnson's Conservatives winning of a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons, a significant improvement on their 2017 result, and indeed the Party's largest majority since 1987, under Thatcher.
Some Conservatives, particularly within the socially conservative Cornerstone Group, support the re-introduction of the death penalty. The Conservatives’ 2017 manifesto pledged to create a national infrastructure police force, subsuming the existing British Transport Police; Civil Nuclear Constabulary; and Ministry of Defence Police in order to “to improve the protection of critical infrastructure such as nuclear sites, railways and the strategic road network".
In 2018, the party pledged to proscribe all wings of the Lebanese-based militant group Hezbollah and this was adopted as a UK-wide policy in 2019.
Between 2010 and 2014, all claimants of Incapacity Benefit were moved onto a new benefit scheme, Employment and Support Allowance, which was then subsumed into the Universal Credit system alongside other welfare benefits in 2018.
At the 2018 Conservative Spring Forum, Party Chairman Brandon Lewis announced that the party's membership stood at 124,000. In 2013 the Conservative Party lost an estimated 35-40% of its membership due to the Same Sex Marriage Bill. === Prospective parliamentary candidates === Associations select their constituency's candidates.
The Conservatives have been in government since 2010; as of 2019, they hold an overall majority in the House of Commons, with 365 Members of Parliament.
hard-line anti-EU' MPs, and lack of concern from the Conservative party for the 'most vulnerable in society'. May announced her resignation from the leadership of the Conservative Party on 24 May 2019, intending to leave the role on 7 June.
However, she remained Prime Minister until a successor was elected by the party. Theresa May resigned as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019 after her successor, Boris Johnson, was elected on 23 July 2019.
She remained as the Member of Parliament for the Parliamentary Constituency of Maidenhead and won re-election for a further term as a backbencher in the December general election. ===Boris Johnson (2019–present)=== In July 2019, former Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London Boris Johnson defeated Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, with 66% of the vote in the final ballot of Conservative Party members, to become Leader of the Conservative Party.
He became Prime Minister the next day. Johnson lost his working majority in the House of Commons on 3 September 2019 when former Justice minister Phillip Lee crossed the floor during Johnson's speech to join the Liberal Democrats, later explaining that he believed the Conservative party had been "infected with the twin diseases of populism and English nationalism".
The Act required the Prime Minister to request a formal extension to Article 50 if a new withdrawal agreement had not been approved by Parliament by 19 October 2019.
The early parliamentary general election act was passed on 29 October 2019 and specified that a general election was to be held on 12 December 2019.
This program became increasing unpopular and as a result, during the 2019 election campaign, now incumbent Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled an end to austerity with promises to restore 20,000 police officers from those previously cut and increase public investment in the NHS, amongst other anti-austerity promises. === Social policy === Since the election of David Cameron as party leader, the Conservative Party has distanced itself from association with social conservatism.
In 2019, Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that the government would enact stricter immigration reforms by cracking down on illegal immigration and scrapping freedom of movement with the European Union following the completion of Brexit.
In 2018, the party pledged to proscribe all wings of the Lebanese-based militant group Hezbollah and this was adopted as a UK-wide policy in 2019.
On 3 September 2019 the Conservative group in the House of Commons withdrew its whip from twenty-one MPs who voted in favour of the so-called Benn-Burton Act, preventing the UK to leave the EU with no deal. In the 2019 general election the Conservative Party adopted a clear pro-Brexit platform.
However the party have since pledged support and in the July 2015 budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced a National Living Wage of £9/hour, to be introduced by 2020, for those aged 25 and over.
The National Minimum Wage in 2012 was £6.19 for over-21 year olds, so the proposed rises in National Living Wage by 2020 will represent a significantly higher pay for many.
Following the election, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act was passed; the United Kingdom finally withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020. === British Union policy === The Conservatives staunchly support the maintenance of the United Kingdom, and oppose the independence of any of the countries of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland from it.
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