...Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and began to steer it towards what many have dubbed ÔThatcherismÕ. Margaret Thatcher believed in radical change, individuality, and a strong Government that enforces the law, rather than interfering in the economy. She was also opposed to the welfare state. In many ways, her ideology was broadly similar to classical liberalism, and many theorists see her ideology as neo-liberalism. Under her rule, the Conservatives were no longer truly conservative, as conservatives are usually opposed to too much individualism and liberty, and definitely do not want radical change. However, in terms of morality they remained staunchly conservative, believing strongly in the family and in law and order. It can be said then that the Conservative Party had become economically liberal but morally conservative. The Modern Conservative Party This Classical liberal ideology is still prevalent in todayÕs Conservative Party. Consecutive leaders after Thatcher have all stayed relatively true to her reforms of the party and its ideology, believing in economic classical liberalism. However, in recent times they have struggled to get their message across as supposedly they are liberals, and yet are often against homosexuality, drugs and immigration-ideas which are much more right wing and against the very principles of Liberalism. This has led to a decline in their support, as people do not know...
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...How far do you agree that the ability of the conservatives to remain in office between 1951 and 1964 was because of the Labour party’s weakness? Conservative governments between 1951 and 1964 have managed to achieve a lot and therefore gain the populations trust. But were the conservative candidates elected thanks to their achievements or due to the weakness of their main contender: the Labour party? We will therefore see in this essay what were their different achievements and weaknesses and their contenders own weaknesses. During the thirteen years the Conservatives were in power after 1951, there were four leaders who held office as prime minister. The first one was Winston Churchill (1951-1955). During his time, there were many developments. First, rationing was ended: British finances were disastrously poor after World War 2 and a lot of Britain’s food was imported and Britain didn’t have any foreign currency to pay for the imports. Britain simply couldn’t afford food from abroad and had to ration the little food they had. The rationing ended in 1954. Nationalisation continued during these years, only steel and iron were denationalised because of many serious problems at the time such as obsolescent plants, outdated technology, lack of capital investment funds and plants operating under capacity and therefore at low efficiency. Denationalisation was the best solution for the industries. The Conservative Party also committed itself to building 300.000 houses a year...
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...The Europan Conservative Party is a result of successful ideologies adopted from the US Republican Party and mainly the UK Conservative Party. Many of our key policies in foreign, defense, and economics, have closely have mirrored that of the UK Conservative Party from its emergence in the early 1800’s (Ball 2015). Our roots stem all the way to the Tory party, which was established somewhere in the seventeenth century (Ball 2015). The Europan Conservative Party policy has proved well; as on average ~40 percent of the popular vote is for our sole party. This surpasses any other party including rival liberals, who accumulate nearly only 35 percent of the vote. Our voter demographic includes the middle class and the older generation who have...
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...Conservatives one nation principles Conservatives after Macmillan haven't supported the growth of trade unions, citing Margaret Thatcher and the crushing of the Skargill strikes in 1984 is the best example that the modern Conservative party has not supported this aspect of one nation. They didn’t support it because strikes are genuinely unpopular, even if one supports the message behind the strike you are still not going to like the inconvenience it causes furthermore the Conservatives are funded by individuals and business and not by unions so it would be politically damaging to support increased union power. it could be argued that Thatcher didn't support Mixed Economy at all, as a neo-liberal she advocated the power of the free market and advocated privatisation something that continued with her successor, John Major e.g. Nationalisation of British Rail in 1994. However the current banking crisis and the admission of the Tories that nationalising banks was the right thing to do may indicate a certain support for a mixed economy at times. After WW2, an empire was simply not feasible, however the Conservatives have supported the maintenance of a certain number of colonies hence the reason we went to war over the Falklands in 1982. Reason? National outcry at Argentinian aggression, traditional sentiment over the empire days. I would argue that apart from Macmillan's drive to reluctantly support High Public Spending, his successors have all been against this, advocating...
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...To what extent have the modern Conservative Party abandoned their traditional policies? Conservatism is a state of mind or political movement which is natural adverse to excessive change and reform and generally supports the retention of traditional values and institutes. The current Conservative government however is more in the centre rather than further to the right, due to the new tradition that emerged in the 1790’s, under Margaret Thatcher called New Right conservatism, or Thatcherism. There is great debate as to whether the modern conservative party have retained any of their traditional, original policies. One way in which the modern Conservative party has abandoned its traditional policies is the role the state takes in the country. Traditionally the role of the state was limited, with little economic or social intervention, linking directly with the Conservative idea of change should be avoided, however the modern Conservative party has taken the view that the state places a key part in increasing opportunities and reducing poverty, with less regulation at a local level. This directly abandons the traditional policies as this policy aims for the state to help socially - through reducing poverty and economically - through acting more quickly on things. This can be seen as a good thing however, as people prefer to see the government taking a more involved effort, which is not what the traditional policies of the Conservative party believed the role of state should...
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...To What Extent has the Conservative Party Abandoned Thatcherism? Throughout Margaret Thatchers time as Prime Minister (1979-1990), a very aggressive way of governing the country. This style of leadership and the policies associated with it are known as Thatcherism. The main aim of Thatcherism was to create a 'small government' that is one in which the tole of the state is significantly reduced in matters such as public services and the economy, Thatcher desired a free market and a privatised economy. Thatcher was also a firm believer in independence and individualism, this lead to a desire for self-reliant people who provide for their family and are responsible for their own well being. Since this time Conservatism has changed, especially since the appointment of David Cameron MP as their leader and eventually Prime minister. The party has moved away from right wing and is instead now more centred on more liberal policies, This is down to the desire of Cameron for moderation. In this constantly changing society this modernisation is essential for any party that wishes to stay in power. Many policies remain intact from the Thatcher years such as the economy, but many have also changed like foreign policy and socially. Thatcherism demanded a market that was a a free and flexible as possible, a deregulated economy. In 1979 Thatcher shifted the country towards a speculative market economy rather than a manufacturing based economy. An economy in which utilities and industries...
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...The rise and Fall of the Conservative The election gave Harper's Conservatives the largest number of seats in the House, although not enough for a majority government, and shortly after midnight on January 24, Martin conceded defeat. Later that day, Martin informed Governor General Michaëlle Jean that he would resign as Prime Minister, and at 6:45 p.m. Jean asked Harper to form a government. Harper was sworn in as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister on February 6, 2006 Harper's Conservative Party won a stronger minority in the October 2008 federal election, showing a small increase in the percentage of the popular vote and increased representation in the Canadian House of Commons with 143 of 308 seats. The 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved in March 2011 after a no-confidence vote was passed by the opposition parties. On October 14, 2008, after a 5 week long campaign, the Conservative Party won a federal election and increased its number of seats in parliament to 143, up from 127 at the dissolution of the previous parliament; however, the actual popular vote among Canadians dropped slightly by 167,494 votes. As a result of the lowest voter turnout in Canadian electoral history, this represented only 22% of eligible Canadian voters, the lowest level of support of any winning party in Canadian history.[94] Meanwhile, the number of opposition Liberal MPs fell from 95 to 77 seats. It takes 155 MPs to form a majority government in Canada's 308 seat Parliament. 2008 Parliamentary dispute...
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...Has the Conservative Party abandoned ‘Thatcherism’? Thatcherism was the name given to the type of policies that were put in place, by the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The policies primarily involved the idea monetarism, privatization, and strong law and order. Thatcherism put emphasis on the government controlling the amount of money that was in circulation in Britain, so that inflation was kept at a steady level and so it was not a hindrance to economic growth. Moreover, it also involved getting the public sector opened up, so that the private sector could get involved in it. This was done in order to once again stimulate economic growth and create jobs, as private firms run more efficiently than public ones, which allows them to employ more people and so there is more money being spent in the economy. Lastly, Thatcher also put strong emphasis on strict law and order. She believed better law enforcement would therefore create a stronger country. However, when David Cameron came to power, unlike many previous leaders, he was quick to question many of the key ideas of Thatcherism; but it has been widely debated that although he was quick to dismiss them, these ideas of Thatcherism may still be present in the current conservative party. In terms of economic policies, there still seems to be an air of Thatcherism within David Cameron’s Conservative Party. The fact that Cameron has centred his economic policy around massively reducing public spending, and his wish to...
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...Did the Conservatives Loose or Labour Win the 1945 General Election? The 1945 election came quickly after the aftermath of World War Two and few knew how the election was going to turn out with party politics being pushed into the background during the six years of total war that Britain and her people experienced. This came to a surprise when Churchill’s war government was pushed out in favour of Labour instead and there is much debate surrounding this issue as to who lost and who won this election, or an evolution in voter attitudes? The most important factor in determining whether Labour won or the Conservatives lost was the change in voter attitudes that resulted from six years of total war. During the war, a definitive leftward shift had occurred in the electorate and this steady change can be seen through the work Labour had done in the War Coalition on the Home Front in extending state control where people now viewed Labour’s seemingly ‘radical’ policies as beneficial in helping those in poverty and need. This can be linked to the experiences of the middle classes during evacuation where the level of deprivation in urban areas was exposed and now it only can be seen as natural that the middle classes wanted these issues to be dealt with. As well as on the Home Front, the views of socialism had changed due to the help that Stalin’s Russia had in defeating the Germans and thus was seen in good light. So this trend to the left changed the attitude of many to Labour and can...
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...difference between the conservatives and labour party. The largest two parties in British politics; the Conservatives and Labour, are often considered the polar opposite to each other, however with a limited understanding, it can be seen that there is little difference in the ideology of modern day "Cameron's Compassionate Conservatism" and Miliband's "One Nation Labour", despite their aims to appeal to different classes and sectors. However they are considered now extremely similar due to their ideologies that can be taken from their manifestos in the 2005 General Election. A party's ideology is a set of promises or regulations that the party follows, this results in bills and policies being made that follow the party ideology to make the nation suit the electorate. Currently, the nation is run by the Conservatives under David Cameron, this involves uniting the people to lessen the amount of government influence over the people which is a departure from the original Thatcherism and One Nation Conservatism. A similarity between the Labour party and the Conservatives is their intentions to spread the wealth across the nation. The Labour party make it clear in Milliband’s 2010 manifesto that they would reform the system of how wages and wage brackets are organised and paid, the tax levels are also to be changed through reforms across different levels of income to accurately redistribute the levels of wealth for a more equal society. The conservatives intend to redistribute finances...
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...Were the Conservatives the natural party of government between 1951-2007? (45) There is abundant evidence to suggest the Conservatives were seen as the natural party throughout the initial era of 1951 to 1997. However, after Blair’s New Labour huge and resounding landslide victory in 1997, definitions of a “natural party” have become more complicated; and it being ascribed to the Conservatives far from being accurate. Agree: * Throughout 1951 to 1997, the Conservatives were in power for 35/46 years. No Labour government ever won two successive elections. * Conservatives dominated for long periods between 1951 to 1997, with 3 consecutive victories during 1951 to 1964, and 4 consecutive victories during 1979 to 1992. * The only landslides came from the Conservatives during 1951 to 1997, in the general elections of 1959, 1983 and 1987; they had a majority of over 100 seats during these administrations * Many commentators and books have described the 20th century as the “Conservative century/age”. * Conservatives certainly had the “appetite for power” during 1951 to 1997; their energy and direction was focused on winning general elections * Conservatives have never really been tied to a single ideology, Labour before 1997 focused wholly on socialism and derivatives of it. This meant the Conservatives were able to adapt more easily: Churchill accepted the welfare state, whilst Thatcher was able to reposition the Conservatives towards the right wing of...
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...TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY STILL COMMITTED TO ITS TRADITIONAL PRINCIPLES? Since 1979 the conservative party has undergone significant changes from the traditional conservative party which focused on ideas about human nature, order and pragmatism, first with new right conservatism under Thatcher then with the current conservative party. The current conservative party however, can be seen to still be committed to its traditional conservative principles such as Euro-scepticism and that they remain largely traditionalist. However there are many ways in which the conservative party has changed such as taxation, education and the welfare state. One way the conservative party has changed is through taxation. Traditionally, the conservative party was known as believing in low tax however the current conservative party, seems to have changed certain parts of their policies about this perhaps shifting to a more central position on taxation proposing a new tax scheme where people earning under ten thousand pounds a year pay no tax and there would be bigger and more severe crack downs on top earners in offshore bank accounts. This signifies a deviation from traditional conservative principles, perhaps due to the modernisation of the party since Cameron became leader. One way the party has stayed committed to its conservative principles is through continued euro-scepticism. Traditionally the party has been very euro-sceptic initially not wanting to join the EU and later...
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...what extent are the Conservatives committed to their traditional principles [25 marks] Since 1979 the conservative party has undergone significant changes from the traditional party which first focused on ideas about human nature, order and pragmatism with new right conservatism under Thatcher. The current conservative party however, can be seen to be retaining traditional conservative principles and that they remain largely traditionalist. However there are many ways in which the conservative party has changed such as taxation, education and the welfare state. One way in which the conservative party has changed is through taxation. Traditionally the conservative party was known for believing in lower taxation rates. However the current conservative party has changed some of their policies and perhaps become more centralist on taxation. An example of this is proposing a new taxation scheme where people who earn under ten thousand pounds a year are exempt from paying tax; also a bigger ‘crack down’ on people who earn a larger salary. Therefore this means that they would pay more tax. This signifies deviation from traditional conservative principles; this can probably be labelled as part of the modernization of the party since Cameron has become leader. Another way the party has deviated from traditional conservative principles is through education. In contrast with the traditional condescending view on education by the conservatives, under Cameron there...
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...How successful was Harold MacMillan as Conservative party leader? Harold MacMillan, a man who came from a middle class background studied at Eton. He became a Conservative MP in 1924, six years after serving on the front line during World War One. He held various positions in the Conservative party before becoming the leader. Such positions like: Minster for Housing and Local Government, Minister of Defence, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1957, Harold MacMillan became the leader of the Conservative party and became Prime Minister after Eden’s retirement. Some would deem MacMillan as a saviour for the Conservative party after the Suez Crisis. Even though he was a supporter of Eden and his plans for the Suez Canal, he somehow deflected the blame from the whole party and passed it to Eden, who was former leader and Prime Minister. This didn’t affect Eden too much as he had already resigned as leader of the Conservative party and Prime Minister. If MacMillan didn’t pass the blame, the party would have struggled to keep their majority vote in parliament. In regards to the Economy, Macmillan was lucky to be voted in during the age of affluence where 60% of the population made it into the middle class (due to the loss of working people during the World Wars). It was a time where, compared to the austerity of the war years, wage, exports and investments were all on the rise. For example wage rose by 72% which could mean the population could spend more money on...
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...Explain the divisions that exist within the conservative party over ideas and policies (10) One of the most notable divisions that exists within the Conservative party today is over the European Union. Many Conservative MPs and party members do not like the UK’s involvement with the EU to the extent that they wish to remove the UK from it altogether, or at least decrease Britain’s involvement. The main arguments against staying in the EU include the high cost of membership and worries about the volume of immigration into the UK from EU countries, more recently Romania and Bulgaria. There are, however, a significant number of Conservative MPs who wish to stay within the EU, with arguments such as around 50% of our trade is within the EU, and the single market brings between £30bn and £90bn a year into the UK economy, which is far more than the cost of membership. These differing opinions within the party have caused splits and divisions within the party. Another division which has occurred within the Conservative party is the argument over gay marriage. There is a clear difference of opinion within the party as some believe that homosexual couples should have the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples, whilst some disagree. David Cameron, leader of the party, has publicly voiced his support for gay marriage, however many Conservative MPs, for example David Burrowes, disagree with his opinion. The clash within the party came as traditionalists (opposed to same sex marriage)...
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