Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. It is descended from the Tory Party and its members are still commonly referred to as Tories. It is a member of the International Democrat Union worldwide, and the European Democrats on the European level. In the European Parliament, its MEPs sit in the EPP-ED group. Its current leader is Michael Howard, who as Leader of the Opposition heads the Shadow Cabinet. Although Howard has formally resigned, he remains caretaker until his successor is appointed.

Conservative Party today

Since 1922, only the Conservative Party and Labour Party have been in government and official opposition. Since 1997, the Conservative Party has been in opposition to the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair. Although there are nine political parties represented in the House of Commons, three dominate the house. As of 7 May 2005, Labour holds a 66 member majority in the house with 356 Members of Parliament. The Conservatives come in second with 198 Members of Parliament and the Liberal Democrats follow with 62 Members of Parliament.

Related Topics:
House of Commons - 7 May - Members of Parliament - Liberal Democrats

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Conservative leaders since 1997 have faced difficulties in returning the party to being a serious contender for government. Major's successor, William Hague, resigned after a second landslide defeat in 2001. Iain Duncan Smith, the leader after 2001, was deposed in a vote of no confidence in 2003, to be followed by Michael Howard. Howard reduced the Labour majority at the 2005 general election but the day after the poll announced that he would resign "sooner rather than later", citing his age as the principal reason for his resignation. The party had only marginally increased its share of the vote to 32.3%.

Related Topics:
1997 - William Hague - 2001 - Iain Duncan Smith - 2003 - Michael Howard - 2005 general election

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The Party's current formal name, registered with the UK Electoral Commission but rarely used outside Scotland and Northern Ireland, is The Conservative and Unionist Party. The formal name is a vestige from the 1912 merger with the Liberal Unionist Party, and an echo of the party's defence (1886-1921) of the Union of Great Britain and Ireland and subsequent insistence on British sovereignty in Northern Ireland in opposition to Irish nationalist and republican aspirations. The electoral symbol of the Conservative party is a hand holding a torch.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Northern Ireland - 1912 - Liberal Unionist Party - Union of Great Britain and Ireland

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Policies

Conservative Party policies are generally supportive of reduced government intervention in the economic sphere (e.g. through tax cuts and privatisations) and increased government intervention in the social or cultural sphere (e.g. through the 'defence' of the traditional family and through restrictions on immigration).

Related Topics:
Privatisation - Immigration

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They are also noted for their Eurosceptic stance. Many commentators believe that their post-1997 failure in UK politics is partly the result of continued internal tension between Europhiles (such as Kenneth Clarke and Michael Heseltine) and Eurosceptics (such as John Redwood and William Hague). However, the Conservative party have in recent years come to terms with these issues, and even the archetypal pro-European, Kenneth Clarke, has reluctantly accepted the party line on Europe.

Related Topics:
Eurosceptic - Kenneth Clarke - Michael Heseltine - John Redwood - William Hague

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Conservatives are also generally opposed to devolution to the regions of the UK, prefering a unitary centralised state. They opposed the succesful devolutions to Wales, Scotland and London in 1999, as well as the unsuccesful devolution of power in the North of England in 2004.

Related Topics:
Devolution - Wales - Scotland - London

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Conservative image

Economic competence

During much of the twentieth century the Conservative Party was considered the "natural party of government", a position founded upon the party's reputation for pragmatism and economic competence. The contrast with Labour's perceived poor twentieth century record remained strong, even as the Conservative governments of the 1980s presided over mass unemployment (peaking at 11% in 1986) on a scale which had not been seen since the 1930s. The party's economic reputation was however dealt a fatal blow by the 1992 Black Wednesday debacle, in which billions of pounds were wasted trying to keep the pound within the European ERM system of exchange rates at an overvalued rate. Coming on the heels of the recession of the early 1990s, this laid the groundwork for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to claim from the Conservatives the mantle of economic competence. Many on both the left and right have since argued that New Labour's embrace of market forces and public sector modernisation amounted to little more than stealing the Conservative Party's economic clothes, and this has irked many Conservatives. As a result of the dominance of the Labour Party in debates over economic policy, recent Conservative election campaigns have focused much more on social or cultural issues such as crime, immigration and asylum. The party has even felt it necessary to commit to matching Labour spending plans - a reverse of the situation in 1997.

Related Topics:
1980s - Unemployment - 1986 - 1930s - 1992 - Black Wednesday - ERM - 1990s - Tony Blair - Gordon Brown - Left - Right - New Labour - Labour Party - Crime - Immigration - Asylum

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Social policy

The Conservative Party has historically been associated with social conservatism, views which have often been reflected in the party's social policies. One of the more infamous example of Conservative social conservatism was Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which outlawed "the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". This highly controversial piece of legislation was regarded by many as homophobic, and is seen to have driven many liberal-minded individuals away from the party (most notably former Conservative MP Shaun Woodward, who defected to Labour in 1999 after William Hague sacked him from the shadow cabinet for refusing to support Section 28 in a parliamentary vote).

Related Topics:
Social conservatism - Section 28 - Local Government Act 1988 - Homosexuality - Shaun Woodward - William Hague

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Many Conservative modernisers have claimed that the intolerant and authoritarian nature of past Conservative social policies have played a major part in the decline of the party in the 1990s and 2000s. For example, David Willets has criticised what he termed "the war on single parents", whilst former Conservative Party Chairman Brian Mawhinney observed that the party had "created the impression that if you weren't in a traditional nuclear family, then we weren't interested in you".

Related Topics:
David Willets - Single parents - Brian Mawhinney

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Since 1997, a debate has therefore raged within the party between modernisers such as Michael Portillo, who believe that the Conservatives should change their social views in line with 21st century Britain, and traditionalists such as William Hague and David Davis, who argue that the party should stick to its traditional conservative social agenda. The Conservative Party grassroots (predominantly white and elderly) have pushed in the latter direction, helping the right wing of the party win many of these political battles. This famously resulted in William Hague's and Michael Howard's pre-election swings to the right (in 2001 and 2005, respectively), and the election of the stop-Ken Clarke candidate Iain Duncan Smith in 2001. Theresa May famously remarked that the result of all this was that the Conservatives were perceived as "the nasty party".

Related Topics:
Michael Portillo - William Hague - David Davis - Ken Clarke - Iain Duncan Smith - Theresa May

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One area in which the battle for the soul of the party was visible, was the party's position over ID cards. At first it was hesitant to oppose a measure that some consider valuable in the fight against crime and terrorism. However before the 2005 election, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis decided to position himself against the introduction of ID cards. He followed Michael Howard's original line that they were a good idea, but showed caution in the House of Commons when they were debated. At the same time, he argued within the Shadow Cabinet that escalating cost estimates and the need to protect libertarian values meant the proposals should be opposed. Subsequently the party altered its line, first allowing a free vote on ID cards and then opposing them outright. This was viewed by some as a victory for Davis, and a useful means for him to attempt reach out to liberal Conservatives before the subsequent Conservative leadership election.

Related Topics:
ID cards - David Davis

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The 2005 election saw the first black Conservative MP, Adam Afriyie, elected in Windsor. This contrasts positively with the situation in Cheltenham thirteen years earlier, when the black Conservative candidate John Taylor was defeated defending a Conservative seat, allegedly due to the unwillingness of local Conservatives voters to support a non-white candidate. Conservative modernisers point to Afriyie's election as evidence that the party is changing, though opponents argue that the election of a single black MP doesn't count for much against the anti-immigration campaign fought by the Conservatives in 2005.

Related Topics:
Adam Afriyie - Windsor - Cheltenham - John Taylor - Anti-immigration

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Sleaze

A number of political scandals in the 1980s and 1990s created the impression of what is described in the British press as "sleaze": a perception that the Conservatives were associated with political corruption and hypocrisy. In particular the successful entrapment of Graham Riddick and David Tredinnick in the "cash for questions" scandal, the contemporaneous misconduct as a minister by Neil Hamilton (who lost a consequent libel action against The Guardian), and the convictions of former Cabinet member Jonathan Aitken and former party deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer for perjury in two separate cases leading to custodial sentences damaged the Conservatives' public reputation. Persistent unsubstantiated rumours about the activities of the party treasurer Michael Ashcroft did not help this impression.

Related Topics:
Political scandal - 1980s - 1990s - Political corruption - Hypocrisy - Graham Riddick - David Tredinnick - "cash for questions" scandal - Neil Hamilton - The Guardian - Jonathan Aitken - Jeffrey Archer - Perjury - Michael Ashcroft

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At the same time a series of revelations about the private lives of various Conservative politicians also grabbed the headlines and both the media and the party's opponents made little attempt to clarify the distinction between financial conduct and private lives.

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John Major's "Back to Basics" campaign back-fired because of media focus on its morality aspects, where they exposed "sleaze" within the Conservative Party and, most damagingly, within the Cabinet itself. A number of ministers were then revealed to have committed sexual indiscretions, and Major was forced by media pressure to dismiss them. In September 2002 it was revealed that, prior to his promotion to the cabinet, Major had himself had a longstanding extramarital affair with a fellow MP, Edwina Currie.

Related Topics:
John Major - September - 2002 - Edwina Currie

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