conservative party

where does the conservative party originate from?

from the tory party in the 17th century

What did the old Tory party stand for in 17th century?

defenders of hierarchy, ruling elite, monarchy and Church Of England

Which leader was responsible for the growth of the Tory Party in the 19th century?

SIr Robert Peel who was PM from 1834-35 and 1841-45

wanted to protect traditional institutions

What were the 2 ideological sectors within the Conservative Party?

New Right

One Nation

What is the ideology of One Nation?

they believed in bridging the gap between the rich and poor to create a more united nation

through the use of social reform to remove need for revolution and create a united Britain

What was the Reform Act of 1867? Why was this Act implemented?

an act passed by Benjamin Disraeli

allowed more of the working class to have the right to vote if they owned a certain amount of property

this Act was implemented to expand political participation to broader population and prevent a socialist revolution

What are some of the characteristics of One Nation?

uses a pragmatic (practical) approach where free market economy alongside Labour policies of the state

How is One Nation similar to Labour?

they accepted Labour’s welfare reform e.g. NHS, Kenyesian economics (meaning markets managed by government to drive it towards full employment) and nationalised industry

What was the ideology of New Right?

combines economic liberalism and social conservatism

What are some of the characteristics for New Right?

free market economy - privatisation of public services e.g. British airways

lower taxes - to benefit the wealthy businessmen

opposition to “dependency culture” - where individuals become reliant on state rather contributing towards society through working, they want individualism

euroscepticism - they do not want to be a part of the EU, as they are viewed as threats to national sovereignty

strong law and order - tougher stance on crime and immigration control

What is Thatcherism?

a New Right political ideology related to Margaret Thatcher, who was PM from 1979 to 1990

How do Thatcherism and New Right differ?

New Right is more politically rigid, while Thatcherism was more pragmatic in some areas, an example of this is how she didn’t fully dismantle NHS, as it had strong public support

New Right is more global than Thatcherism which was only in the UK, and New Right was even incorporated in the US by Ronald Reagann

what are the 4 key principles of thatcherism

free market economy

reduction of state intervention

strong law and order

nationalism

Why was a free market economy a part of the Thatcherism ideology?

thatcher believed the government shouldn’t get too involved in the economy, as she believed in privatization of state-owned industries to allow businesses to run effectively

What were Thatcher’s views on state intervention?

she wanted to limit state intervention as much as possible as she believed in individualism

“there is no such thing as society” a famous quote by her

wanted to cut public spending and reduce control over sectors such as healthcare

What were Thatcher’s views on law and order?

believed in strong policing with harsh punishments, as she was tough on crime

wanted to maintain order within trade unions which she thought of as overtly powerful and disruptive

What was Thatcher’s view on nationalism?

promoted British interests abroad and took a firm stance on issues such as Falklands War in 1982

was a Eurosceptic - opposed EU

What was the impact of Thatcherism?

privatisation - reduced government role

trade union power was weakened - shown through the defeat of miners’ strike in 1984-85

promoted economic growth

rise in inequality, as rates of unemployment rose especially in areas of coal and steel, so only wealthy benefited from Thatcherism