1. Actualités et faits de société
Lecture 8
The Tory Party

2. The oldest party in the UK
dates back to the 17th century
traditionally the party of the aristocracy
no real ideological line: a desire to ‘conserve’ the institutions of the past.
the Conservative Party
other name: the Tory Party

3. Benjamin Disraeli ( PM 1874-1880)
main idea: ‘one-nation’ Toryism: unite the ‘two nations’ living in the UK (the poor and the rich)
elevation of the condition of the people through reform and social policies
Public Health Act, 1875
Factory Act, 1874
Employers and Workmen Act, 1878

4. Postwar Period: Consensus Toryism
consensus politics to help Britain back on its feet after WW2: the Tory Party lost the election after the war, but still worked with the Labour Party
Welfare State
full employment
consultation with the trade unions
decolonisation

5. The Heath Experiment Ted Heath (PM, 1970-1974)
attempted to move away from « consensus politics »: reduce public spending, lower taxation, restrict the powers of trade unions
failed to do so: U-turn after the disastrous strikes of 1972 and 1974 (« Three-Day Week »)

6. Margaret Thatcher: The New Right in Power
Margaret Thatcher (PM, ) became party leader in 1975
an outsider in many ways:
a woman (no one saw her coming…), disliked by many Tories
quite unpopular until 1982 (the ‘milk-snatcher’)
strong-worded and outspoken against communism (the « Iron Lady » nickname, 1976)
influenced by new economic theories, totally and utterly in opposition to the Keynesian methods of « consensus Toryism ».

7. Economic policies under Thatcher
‘roll back the frontiers of the state’: break away from state interventionism, reduce the role of the state
staunch believer in the free market
classical neoliberalism
abandoning Keynesian principles: inflation, not unemployment, is the enemy

8. Privatisation
over 40 national industries were privatized under Thatcher:
British Telecom (1984)
British Gas (1986)
Rolls-Royce, British Airways (1987)
British Steel (1988)
BP ( )
They were divided into shares that everyone could buy, in line with the idea of « popular capitalism ».

9. From ‘dependency culture’ to ‘enterprise culture’
Thatcherism: break away from classical, paternalistic Toryism
entrepreunarial
upwardly mobile
middle class
private ethic
individualism (end of the ‘nanny state’)
‘There’s no such thing as society, only individuals and families’
belief in the idea of a ‘trickle-down effect’: the wealth of a few would benefit society as a whole

10. The war against the Trade Unions
deep hatred for the trade unions
she saw them as communist strongholds and thought they had far too much power in the British political life (fall of Callaghan, fall of Heath)
major miners’ strike in : 20 mines were closed by the government (industrial North, Wales; role of Arhur Scargill)
see the film Pride (2014)

12. Unemployment and inequalities
‘trickle-down effect’ didn’t really work: unemployment soared from 1.3 million in 1979 to 3.2 million in 1986, and fell down again to 1.7 million in 1989
inequalities:
1979: the highest paid 20% earned 37% of the national income; the lowest paid 20% earned 9% of the national income
1988: the highest paid 20% earned 44% of the national income; the lowest paid 20% earned 7% of the national income
In an ‘enterprise culture’, it is only natural that there should be winners and losers  a deeply divided society.

13. Anti-European campaign poster in the 1980s  in the end, Thatcher’s harsh Euroscepticism precipitated her downfall

14. John Major (PM 1990-1997): Back to basics
Margaret Thatcher ousted out of power by her own party: challenged internally as leader of the party in 1990
she had become intensely unpopular
one-sidedness on European questions
the forcing of the poll tax in Scotland (1989) and England (1990), resulting in massive demonstrations.
John Major wins the leadership and becomes PM: ‘a nation at ease with itself’, reconciliatory tone, emphasis on traditional values (family, deference to the institutions)

15. David Cameron (PM )
a revival of consensus politics and one-nation Toryism?
‘There is such a thing as society; it’s just not the same thing as the state’
Cameron’s big idea during the 2010 campaign: promoting ‘Big Society’
encouraging people to take action at the local level, through charities for instance (role of charities in the advent of Big Society)
talks about social exclusion (vs. Thatcher), adopted a more ‘caring’ image

16. David Cameron: another Tony Blair?
same electoral tactic: try and get as broad a base of voters as possible
similar political aims, in similar areas: NHS, education, social exclusion
adherance to a loose neo-liberal doctrine and global market economy
similar media persona: youngest PM since 1812, ‘man of the people’, travels by bike, likes indie rock music, more informal image  rejuvenate the Tory Party

17. Theresa May – a new Iron Lady?
Following the failure of the Brexit referendum, David Cameron forced to resign as Prime Minister
election of a new leader of the Tory Party: Theresa May, former Home Secretary
new Iron Lady? very strict on immigration questions …
… but still believes in the role of the State in reducing social inequalities
negotiation of a Brexit deal with the EU

18. Tory core beliefs
patriotism (Euroscepticism, Falklands War in 1982, and before that, the party in favour of upholding the Empire)
promoting and preserving private property
the party of the Establishment
opposed to constitutional reforms (New Labour’s reforms on devolution for example were dubbed ‘constitutional vandalism’)
freedom of the individual (similarity with the US Republican party)