The Conservative Party

The Conservative Party
15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Also known as the Tory party* "The Conservatives ..." "The Conservative party won the election in 1987" "John Major's Conservative government was deeply divided over the Maastricht treaty" "Conservative MPs yesterday voted ..." "The Tories* never trusted the unions" (*'Tory' and 'Tories' are generally used with a slightly familiar or even negative tone) 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Conservative party logo from conservatives.com 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

The Conservative Party: History
The Conservative party is the oldest party in Britain. It has proved remarkably successful in staying in power, accepting just enough change to avoid the risk of fundamental change. Conservatives believe in the "sanctity" of private property; they claim to be suspicious of ideology. They tend to side with the interests of business. They once claimed--plausibly at the time--to be the "natural party of government". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

The Conservatives began the 20th century badly: they lost a lot of support from "free traders" when they floated the idea of introducing protectionist tariffs in the very early years of the century. They lost a general election to the Liberals in 1906 and remained in the wilderness until after the First World War. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

After the war the Liberals declined as the Labour party gained strength, though Labour only held office briefly in 1924 and then for two unhappy years from 1929 to 1931. During most of the period between the wars the country was governed by the Conservatives. Neville Chamberlain, who became Prime Minister in 1937, will always be associated with the policy of "appeasement" he advocated with Hitler's Nazi Germany, and with the meeting at Munich at which he made concessions to Hitler in exchange for a promise of peace. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

In May 1940 Chamberlain was forced to resign in the face of criticisms that he was not pursuing the war with the necessary vigour. On 10 May 1940 Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, heading a coalition government with Labour and Liberal ministers. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

At the general election held in July 1945 Churchill was unexpectedly defeated. In opposition, Churchill focused most on foreign policy. In March 1946 he made his "Sinews of Peace" speech in Fulton, Missouri, introducing phrases such as the "iron curtain" and the "special relationship". He also advocated a "united Europe", though stating that Britain would be "in Europe but not of it". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Winston Churchill 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Churchill and the Conservatives returned to power in 1951. Con 321, Lab 295, Lib 6 Lab 48.8%, Con 48% Lib 14.7% The government accepted that the Welfare State and nationalisations enjoyed popular support, and did not seek radically to alter the new political landscape. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

The Conservatives did not massively denationalise, nor did they seek to dismantle the Welfare State. This acceptance of the overall political agenda was often referred to (in the 1980s) as the "post-war consensus". Recent studies suggest that this view was exaggerated, no doubt because it was seen from the vantage point of the sharply polarised politics in Britain after May The term "post-war settlement" is now more common. The press coined the term "Butskellism". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

"Butskellism": Hugh Gaitskell (Labour, centre-left) had been the last Labour chancellor before the 1951 election; R.A.B. Butler (Conservative, centre right) was the first Conservative Chancellor after that election. Their policies were sufficiently similar to justify the expression "Butskellism". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

There were however fundamental political differences. The Conservatives believed that the State should intervene as little as possible: they were for example against the maintenance of wartime planning and controls after the war. Churchill disapproved vigorously of the decision to grant independence to India and Pakistan in 1947. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Churchill's government succeeded in avoiding "rocking the boat" too much: the Conservatives were pragmatic. They continued to support a mixed economy. When Churchill finally resigned in April 1955 his deputy and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden succeeded him. Eden called a general election in May which increased the Conservative majority (Con 344, Lab 277, Lib 6) 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Eden wanted Britain to distance itself from the United States. In this he was no doubt more successful than he planned or wanted. He played a decisive role in mounting the Anglo-French (and Israeli) plan to retake the Suez Canal in He systematically refused accusations of collusion between the British and the French and Israelis. When the expedition had to be called off to avoid financial collapse and when the collusion was more or less established, Eden resigned (in January 1957). 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Anthony Eden 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Harold Macmillan was appointed Prime Minister. He is associated with growing prosperity ("You have never had it so good"). He is also associated with decolonisation. The first British colony to be granted independence in the 1950s was Ghana (1957). Macmillan famously told the South African parliament in 1960 that nationalist movements in Africa were a political reality which had to be accepted and that he found their policy of apartheid intolerable (the "Wind of Change" speech): 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Harold Macmillan 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

"The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and, whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it." (Cape Town, February 1960) 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Macmillan called a general election in October 1959 which further increased the Conservative majority (Con 365, Lab 258, Lib 6). Macmillan applied to join the EEC in 1961, but de Gaulle vetoed the application in He had a surprisingly close relationship with Kennedy. The early 1960s were marked by scandal involving Conservative ministers. He resigned in 1963 and was replaced by Sir Alec Douglas-Home. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Sir Alec Douglas-Home 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Douglas-Home was if anything even more out of touch than Macmillan. He lost the 1964 general election to Labour leader Harold Wilson who appeared much more modern. Douglas-Home's aristocratic background had clearly been a handicap. In 1965, in the Conservative party's first leadership elections (Conservative MPs), Edward Heath became leader. He was not an aristocrat, not a member of the "ruling classes" but the son of a craftsman. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Edward Heath 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Wilson unexpectedly lost the general election in (Con 330, Lab 287, Lib 6). Before the election, Heath had prepared a radical Conservative platform. He would not subsidise failing industries ("lame ducks"). He would reduce income tax. He would reduce the power of the unions, where Wilson had failed. He would reduce public spending. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

However the rising unemployment which resulted made him change his mind, and in 1972 he made a "U-turn", agreeing to subsidise a "lame duck" to avoid large-scale unemployment. He failed to tame the unions, and in a long miners' strike challenged the government. In 1974 he called a general election on the theme "Who governs Britain?". The result was indecisive. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Feb 1974: Lab 301, Con 297, Lib 14, PC 2, SNP 7, Ulster parties 12. Heath tried to form a pact with the Liberals but failed, so Wilson was appointed PM to lead a Labour government. Labour won the next election in October 1974 with a narrow majority Lab 319, Con 277, Lib 13, PC 3, SNP 11, NI parties 12. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Heath resigned and Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of the party in Her parents had been shopkeepers. She defined herself as "a conviction politician, not a consensus politician". She wanted to "roll back the frontiers of the state". She was determined to curb the power of the unions. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Margaret Thatcher US government archives 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

In May 1979, after the "Winter of Discontent" (long and debilitating series of public sector strikes), a general election was held. The Conservatives won a comfortable majority: Con 339, Lab 269, Lib 11, PC 2, SNP 2, NI parties 12. Con 43.9%, Lab 36.9%, Lib 13.8% 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/ 2001/uk_and_europe/ 1979_1990.stm 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Margaret Thatcher refused to subsidise lame ducks. Even when unemployment rose dramatically as a result (reaching 3 million), she refused to change her mind as Heath had done. "The lady", she said, "is not for turning" (Oct 1980). She called MPs who counselled moderation "wets" and gradually drove them out. "There is no alternative", she would say, earning her the nickname "TINA". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

She resisted calls to put an end to the IRA hunger strikes of 1981 (Bobby Sands and nine other IRA men starved themselves to death in protest against their internment). She earned the nickname "the Iron Lady". By 1981 she was deeply unpopular. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

In early 1982 the economy was perhaps beginning to recover. However the Spring was dominated by the Falklands war (April-June 1982). Her determination and resolution made her very popular. She began implementing the policy of selling off publicly-owned (nationalised) industries and council houses: privatisation. She (gradually, prudently) legislated to control the unions. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

She cut public spending in certain areas. She reduced the higher levels of income tax. She demanded a reduction in Britain's contribution to the EEC ("we want our money back!") and got it (1984). Meanwhile the Labour party entered a period of deep division. A "splinter" party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was founded by former Labour MPs. It formed an alliance with the Liberals. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

At the 1983 general election the Conservative majority was strengthened (partly because of division among the opposition): Con 397, Lab 209, Alliance 23 The Alliance had failed to "break the mould" but obtained a creditable share of the vote: Con 42.4%, Lab 27.6%, Alliance 25.4% 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Margaret Thatcher faced a serious challenge when the Miners went on strike in 1984 to protest against the planned closure of a large number of coal mines. There was violence as pickets tried to stop strikebreakers. She refused to give in, and after almost a year the Miners returned to work, bitter and defeated. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Her view of Europe changed, especially after the arrival of Jacques Delors. Nonetheless she signed the Single European Act in 1987. At a speech in Bruges delivered in Sept 1988 she rejected the goal of a federal Europe: 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

"We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them reimposed at a European level, with a European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels. Certainly we want to see Europe more united and with a greater sense of common purpose. But it must be in a way which preserves the different traditions, Parliamentary powers and sense of national pride in one's own country ..." 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

She fought hard against left-wing local councils: she abolished the Greater London Council and other Great Metropolitan Councils in 1986 she introduced a reform of the system of local taxation to ensure that every adult (voter) contributed: the Community Charge, better known as the "poll tax". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Her refusal to compromise over the "poll tax" and over Europe made the determination and resolution she had shown during the Falklands campaign look more like obstinacy and stubbornness. Conservative MPs began to fear she would lose them the next election, and when she was challenged for the leadership in 1990 she was forced to resign. John Major was appointed Prime Minister. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

John Major 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

John Major won the next general election in 1992. He had to fight a difficult struggle to ratify the Maastricht treaty, even, after he had negotiated an "opt-out" clause for the social chapter. Many Conservative MPs threatened to vote against the treaty, despite the firm "three-line whip". 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

He announced a return to ordinary, decent values, "back to basics", but the party was then involved in a number of scandals involving "sleaze". The Conservative party became increasingly affected by factional infighting. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

In 1997 the Conservatives suffered a resounding electoral defeat from which it is only now recovering. Lab 418 (43.2%), Con 165 (30.7%), LibDems 46 (16.8%). William Hague became leader after John Major resigned. He was an effective Parliamentary performer but failed to reverse the decline in the Conservative party's fortunes. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

William Hague 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

In 2001 the Labour party won another landslide victory. Lab 412, Con 166, LibDems 52 Lab 40.7%, Con 31.7%, LibDems 18.3% William Hague resigned and was replaced by "IDS", Iain Duncan-Smith. The Conservative party became increasingly associated with strident Euroscepticism. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Iain Duncan-Smith 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

IDS lost a vote of confidence at the Conservative party conference in 2003 and Michael Howard was elected leader. Howard at one stage looked as though he could revive the fortunes of the Conservative party, but despite Tony Blair's "problems" over Iraq, Labour won the 2005 general election. The new Conservative leader, David Cameron, elected in December 2005, is an able and popular leader, taking the Conservatives in new directions. 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Michael Howard 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

David Cameron 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Summary election results since 1979 bbc.co.uk This and following from: 15/11/2018 The Conservative Party

Summary election results since 1979 bbc.co.uk

Summary election results since 1979 bbc.co.uk 2005 general election

Summary election results since 1979 bbc.co.uk: turnout 2001

Euro election results July 2004

General election 2005: polls 5 April bbc.co.uk

Summary election results since 1979 bbc.co.uk 2005 general election

Conservatives' web site

The Conservative Party

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "The Conservative Party"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

The Conservative Party

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "The Conservative Party"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback