The Conservative Party

Traditional Conservatives and Origins of Conservative Party (2.2 Political Parties)

• Origins: 17th-century Tory Party — aristocratic, defended Crown & Church privileges

  1830s shift: Led by Sir Robert Peel → party defends property & traditional authority

  Key idea: Gradual reform to preserve institutions → name “Conservatives”

  Support base: Aristocracy + middle class → strong success in 19th–early 20th c.

One Nation Conservatives Historical Development (2.2 Political Parties)

• Development: Traditional Conservatism → One-Nation Conservatism (linked to Benjamin Disraeli)

  Core aim: Bridge class divide via paternalism — elites care for disadvantaged ↔ accept their right to rule

  Strategy: Social reform + patriotic foreign policy → boost national unity

  Peak (post-WW2): Accepted Attlee gov reforms (welfare state, NHS, full employment)
  → Mixed economy: free enterprise + state intervention

  Approach: Pragmatic, non-ideological; kept Labour policies largely intact

  Era name: Post-war consensus

Thatcherism and the New Right (2.2. Political Parties)

• 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes PM

  Shift: Moves away from One-Nation Conservatism → rise of New Right / Thatcherism

  Core aim: Reduce state intervention + restore order (limit trade unions)
  → Though NHS popularity limited full rollback

  Style: Conviction politics — radical, anti-compromise

  Success: 3 election wins

  Key themes:

  • Neoliberal economics: low spending, tax cuts, privatisation, free markets

  • Unions: restricted strike power

  • Law & order: tough stance

  • Foreign policy: assertive, strong USA ties, anti-Soviet Union

  • Euroscepticism: protect UK sovereignty

  Nickname: “Iron Lady”

John Major (2.2 Political Parties)

• Post-1990: Party struggled to find identity beyond Thatcher

  John Major (1990–97): Continued Thatcherism (e.g. privatisation of coal & rail) but less confrontational

  1992 GE: Narrow win → govt weakened by EU divisions, scandals, fatigue

  1997: Heavy defeat to Tony Blair (Labour)

  Europe split:

  • Eurosceptics → resist EU power

  • Pro-Europeans → keep UK influence in Europe

  Major’s stance: Moderate pro-European, failed to unite party

The Conservative Party during the Blair years (2.2 Political Parties)

• Leaders (1997–2005): William Hague, Ian Duncan Smith, Michael Howard

  Elections: Failed to defeat Tony Blair → Labour held centre ground (wins in 2001 & 2005)

  Key issue: Couldn’t move beyond Thatcherism or focus away from Europe, immigration, law & order

  Weakness: Ageing membership + outdated policies → poor appeal in a diverse society

How did Cameron ‘Detoxify’ The Conservative Party? (2.2 Political Parties)

• David Cameron (2005): New generation leader; respectful of Thatcher, but adapted to a changed Britain

  Strategy: Learned from Blair’s “New Labour” → aimed for wider appeal beyond core voters

  Ideology: “Liberal Conservatism” → more tolerant of minorities & lifestyles

  Focus:

  • Environment as key issue

  • Support for public services (NHS)

  Goal: Shift back toward moderate One-Nation Conservatism

  Premiership reality: Defined by

  • Austerity (major spending cuts)

  • Ongoing EU divisions

  Tension: One-Nation rhetoric vs policies that reduced state spending sharply

How did Cameron seek to move away from Thatcherism? (2.2 Political Parties)

• Cameron & May: Tried to rebrand Conservatives as standing with “ordinary people” vs the “nasty party” image

  Shift from Thatcher:

  • Thatcher → individualism & self-determination

  • Cameron/May → community, cooperation, social responsibility

  Big Society (Cameron): Emphasis on state + voluntary sector working together → modern One-Nation style conservatism

  Social change: Move away from moral authoritarianism → supported legalisation of same-sex marriage

Theresa May (2.2 Political Parties)

• Theresa May: Continued Cameron’s liberal / One-Nation approach + austerity

  Slogan: “Strong and stable” leadership → undermined by reality

  2017 election: Lost Conservative majority → weakened authority

  Key issue: Brexit divisions dominated premiership

  • Deep split inside party over EU withdrawal

  Outcome: Party chaos & internal conflict → support lost from Brexit wing

  End: Resigned and replaced by Boris Johnson after failing to unite party

Boris Johnson (2.2 Political Parties)

• oris Johnson: Hardline Brexiteer → won 2019 election with slogan “Get Brexit Done”

  Brexit: Delivered hard Brexit deal

  Premiership focus: Driven by events, especially

  • COVID-19 pandemic

  • “Partygate” scandal → major loss of trust → resignation

  Policy shift: Moved away from strict austerity

  • Introduced “Levelling Up” → investment in Northern England & regions

  • Large-scale COVID spending (e.g. furlough scheme)

  Ideology: Less clear-cut → more pragmatic / event-led governance than Thatcher-style doctrine

Liz Truss (2.2 Political Parties)

• iz Truss (2022): Attempted to revive Thatcherism during the cost-of-living crisis

  Goal: Boost economy through tax cuts + growth strategy

  Mini-budget (Kwasi Kwarteng):

  • Large tax cuts (corporation tax, top income tax rate, stamp duty)

  • Funded by increased borrowing

  Outcome: Market panic

  • Pound fell sharply

  • Bank of England raised interest rates

  Response: Reversed policies, replaced Kwarteng with Jeremy Hunt

  Result: Loss of confidence → resigned after 45 days

Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Rishi Sunak: Former Chancellor under Boris Johnson, replaced Liz Truss (2022) and reversed her mini-budget / Thatcherite-style reforms

  Main priorities (5 pledges):

  • Halve inflation → ✓ Achieved (fell to ~2.3% by April 2024)

  • Grow the economy → ✗ Not achieved (weak growth / recession in 2023)

  • Reduce debt → ✗ Not achieved (debt-to-GDP increased)

  • Cut NHS waiting lists → ✗ Not achieved (rose overall despite fluctuations)

  • Stop small boats → ✗ Not achieved (crossings continued, no Rwanda deportations)

  Overall: Pragmatic leadership focused on stability and economic management, but most targets unmet except inflation reduction

Economic Policy of the Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

• Thatcherism (Key Policies): Strong push for individualism + free markets

  Tax cuts:

  • Top income tax: 83% → 40%

  • Corporation tax: 52% → 34%

  Public spending:

  • Early cuts (~£1bn) across housing, energy, education, transport, subsidies, foreign aid

  • Protected: police + armed forces

  Privatisation: Reduced state role in economy

  • Major privatisations from 1981 (e.g. British Telecom)

  Housing policy: “Right to Buy” → council tenants could buy their homes

Law & Order Policy of the Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

• Described trade unions as the “enemy within”

• Reduced union power by making strikes harder and more regulated

• Used police force against striking workers

• Increased funding for police and armed forces

• Strong tough-on-crime approach despite wider spending cutsPolicies of the Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

Welfare Policy of the Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

• 1988 Education Reform Act:

  • Reduced local authority control over schools

  • Introduced self-governing schools

  • National curriculum set by central gov

  Public spending:

  • Cut budgets and some benefits across gov departments

  Limits:

  • Did not privatise the NHS due to strong public support

Foreign Policy of the Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

• Earned nickname “Iron Lady” for a strong, assertive stance abroad

• Defended British interests globally, including the Falklands War

• Strong alliance with US President Ronald Reagan (anti-USSR cooperation)

Europe:

• Eurosceptic → resisted deeper political integration in the EU

• Supported economic cooperation & free trade within Europe

Controversial positions:

• Opposed sanctions on apartheid South Africa

• Referred to Nelson Mandela as a “terrorist”

Other Policy of the Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

• Section 28 (Local Gov Act 1988): banned “promotion of homosexuality” in schools → widely seen as homophobic; justified as support for “traditional Christian values”

• Poll Tax: introduced late in premiership to replace council tax

  • Flat-rate tax: everyone paid the same amount regardless of property value

  • Highly controversial and widely opposed

Overall - Conservative Party under Thatcher (2.2 Political Parties)

• Major transformation of the Conservative Party and UK politics

• Rejected One-Nation Conservatism → favoured “conviction politics”

• Successfully implemented New Right / Thatcherite agenda

Legacy:

• Long-lasting influence on UK economic and political direction

• Remains a highly divisive figure in British politics today

Economic Policy of the Conservative Party under Cameron (2.2 Political Parties)

• Cameron’s priority was to reduce the budget deficit he inherited from Labour and introduce austerity to maintain the confidence of the financial markets and prevent Britain’s borrowing costs from rising

  • Budgets of gov departments were cut by up to 25%

• Blamed the 2008 Financial Crisis on Labour’s irresponsible overspending

• He didn’t increase taxes to raise more money though, instead cutting them in 2015

Law & Order Policy of the Conservative Party under Cameron (2.2 Political Parties)

• More liberal approach to young offenders → focus on understanding and prevention

• Balanced stance:

  • Tough sentencing for serious crime (e.g. after 2011 London riots)

  • Rehabilitation focus to reduce reoffending

Policy influence:

• Similar to Blair’s idea: “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”

• Emphasis on combining punishment + prevention

Welfare Policy of the Conservative Party under Cameron (2.2 Political Parties)

Coalition Government (2010–15) – Welfare & public services:

• Aim: reduce costs + promote self-reliance

• Framed policy around “strivers” (hard-working) vs “shirkers” (less deserving)

Welfare reform:

• Introduced Universal Credit → simplified benefits system

• Encouraged work over welfare dependency

NHS reform:

• Major restructuring allowing greater private sector competition with NHS services

• Increased role of market-style principles in healthcare

Foreign Policy of the Conservative Party under Cameron (2.2 Political Parties)

• Maintained “special relationship” with the USA (like Thatcher)

• Supported air strikes against ISIS in Syria & Iraq

• Took a pragmatic Eurosceptic stance

EU policy:

• Tried to renegotiate UK membership terms

• Held EU referendum (2016) → backed Remain

• Resigned after losing the referendum

Other Policy of the Conservative Party under Cameron (2.2 Political Parties)

• Cameron sought to strongly tackle climate change, saying his gov would be the ‘greenest gov ever’, prioritising green investment and introducing a carbon tax on fossil fuels

• Partly influenced by being in power with the Lib Dems in the coalition, Cameron sought to be a ‘liberal Conservative’ and importantly legalised same sex marriage in 2013

Overall - Conservative Party under Cameron (2.2 Political Parties)

• Sought to modernise & liberalise the party

  • Same-sex marriage legalised

  • “Rehabilitation revolution”
    → shift toward One-Nation Conservatism

Continuity with Thatcher:

• Austerity economics (spending cuts)

• Strong foreign policy stance

Summary: Blend of liberal social reform + Thatcherite economic approach

Economic Policy of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Focused on economic stability during cost-of-living crisis → halve inflation (✓), reduce debt (✗)

• Used tax rises + spending cuts, with limited success

• Raised National Living Wage (£9.50 → £10.40) to help with inflation

• Took hard line on strikes → limited pay rises despite falling real wages

Law & Order Policy of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Took a tough approach to crime, pledging 20,000 extra police officers and a 20% reduction in serious violence, homicide, and neighbourhood crime

• Introduced Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 → required minimum service levels in key public services and allowed dismissal of workers refusing to comply

• Pledged to “stop the small boats” through the Illegal Migration Act (2023) → made asylum claims inadmissible for most small boat arrivals, enabling detention and removal (including Rwanda policy)

Welfare Policy of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Promised to cut NHS waiting times, but failed to provide major funding increases (only £300m emergency funding vs NHS request of £7bn)

• Took a hard line against striking public sector workers (including nurses, ambulance staff and teachers)

• Introduced the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, requiring minimum staffing levels during strikes in key services

Foreign Policy of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Sunak’s government maintained a strong, assertive foreign policy

• Continued strong support for Ukraine in the war against Russia, in line with both Johnson and Starmer-era policy continuity

• Foreign Secretary James Cleverly emphasised a tougher stance on China, criticising its lack of adherence to international rules and norms

• Continued to support Brexit settlement and took a firm approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol issues

Other Policy of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Sunak reintroduced the ban on fracking that Liz Truss briefly lifted

Overall - the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak (2.2 Political Parties)

• Sunak moved away from Truss’s strong Thatcherite-style free-market agenda, instead focusing on fiscal stability and national finances

• His approach prioritised economic management over ideological reform

• However, his policies on immigration, law and order, foreign policy, and trade unions were more similar to Boris Johnson’s pragmatic, event-driven style of gov

What is neo-liberalism?

A form of non-interventionist capitalism

What is neo-conservatism?

A movement aiming to revive traditional values such as encouraging marriage and taking a tough approach to law and order

What is Euroscepticism?

Opposing the integration between UK and European Institutions, such as the EU

What is deregulation?

Reducing the influence of state regulation to increase the freedom of private companies

What do One-Nation (centrist) Conservatives believe?

• Support necessary economic and social intervention by the state and see gov as a tool for achieving fair and prosperous society

• Favour cooperation with international bodies such as the EU

• Inspired by Benjamin Disraeli’s 19th century gov and the post-war policies of Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan

What do Thatcherite (right wing) Conservatives believe?

• Supports a blend of neoliberal economic policy and neoconservative social policy

• Favour minimal state intervention in the economy, including low taxes and reduced public spending

• Foreign policy based on the UK’s national interest and generally Eurosceptic

• Inspired by Thatcherism, especially privatisation and deregulation

Boris Johnson One Nation Approach

• COVID-19 response: Johnson and Sunak committed over £70bn furlough scheme (state paid up to 80% of wages), temporarily increased welfare by £20 per week, and supported free school meals campaign with Marcus Rashford

• Net Zero: 2019 pledge to reach net zero by 2050, with increased investment in renewable energy and electric vehicles

• Levelling Up: targeted funding to disadvantaged UK regions to boost economic growth and opportunity

• Windfall tax (2022): introduced a 25% tax on energy company profits to help fund support for households facing rising bills

Johnson’s Thatcherite approach

• Welfare: payments were not fully linked to inflation, so their real value fell over time

• Immigration: supported Priti Patel’s Rwanda deportation plan for asylum seekers arriving illegally

• Foreign aid: cut spending from 0.7% to 0.5% of GDP during the pandemic

• Brexit: implemented a deal that took the UK out of the EU, single market, and customs union

Liz Truss pursued a radical Thatcherite approach

• Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng planned to cut the top income tax rate from 45% to 40%

• Intended to keep corporation tax at 19%, reversing the planned rise to 25%

• Pledged to reduce regulation on fracking

Rishi Sunak mostly pursued a Thatcherite approach

• Sunak’s gov blocked the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

• Took a tougher approach to law and order, including Public Order Act (2023), and continued Rwanda deportation plan under Home Secretary James Cleverly

• Not as radically Thatcherite as Truss:

  • Kept the 45% additional income tax rate

  • Chancellor Jeremy Hunt increased corporation tax from 19% to 25% for larger firms

• Also introduced more One-Nation-style policies, including state support for childcare costs

Kemi Badenoch context (2.2 Political Parties)

• Kemi Badenoch (2024): New Conservative leader → right-wing, “anti-woke”, direct style

• Appeals to party grassroots & Conservative right; critical of identity politics

• Believes Conservatives “talked right, governed left” → wants return to core conservative values

• Ideology:

  • Free markets, less state intervention

  • Opposes “progressive ideology”, excess regulation/spending

• Social views:

  • Gender-critical feminist, opposes self-ID policies

  • Strong stance in culture debates

• Reputation:

  • Seen as outspoken, combative, divisive

  • Supporters value her honesty & conviction

• Overall aim: Rebuild party identity and move away from centrist/One-Nation drift

Badenoch Policy Approach

• Has moved the Conservative Party further to the right

• Strong influence of:

  • Thatcherite economics (free market, low tax, small state)

  • New Right social policy (law and order, tough immigration, welfare restriction)

• Clear rejection of One Nation Conservatism (centrism/paternalism)

• Explicitly said centrist/One Nation ideas are “no longer wanted” in the Party

Kemi Badenoch Economic Policy

• Tax cuts + pro-business policies

• Reduce state role

• Growth via market incentives

  • Abolish stamp duty + cut business rates

  • Criticism of high taxes and state spending

• 👉 Interpretation:

• Thatcherite economics (strong evidence)

• BUT: still developing (not a fully detailed programme yet)

Kemi Badenoch Welfare

• “Bring the welfare bill under control”

• Plans to cut welfare spending significantly

This supports:

• Incentivising work

• Reducing dependency

But:

• Exact policies are still evolving (not fully implemented)

👉 Ideology:

• New Right (very clear)

Kemi Badenoch - Law & Order/immigration

• “Toughest reforms… to border laws”

• Plan to leave the ECHR to enable deportations

This supports:

• Strong state on law/order

• Tough immigration control

👉 Ideology:

• New Right authoritarian strand

Kemi Badenoch Environment

One of the clearest areas:

• Dropped support for net zero by 2050

• Calls it too expensive / unrealistic

• Wants cheaper energy + less regulation

👉 This strongly supports:

• Anti-regulation

• Growth over environmental constraints

Ideology:

• Thatcherite / New Right

Kemi Badenoch - Foreign Policy

Correction:

• There is less clear, detailed evidence on a full foreign policy doctrine

• Some speeches emphasise:

  • National strength

  • Realism
    (but not as developed as economic or welfare policy)

👉 So for A-level:

• Don’t overstate this area

• Just say: “less clearly defined but emphasises national interest”