Volume 23, Number 1, September 2013
Activity
Current divisions within the Conservative Party
Rowena Hammal
You can use this activity in conjunction with the article on p. 8 of this issue to improve your understanding.
Today’s Conservative Party is arguably as divided as it has ever been. The economic arguments between ‘New Right’ and ‘One Nation’ Conservatives have largely subsided. Indeed, there has been relatively little internal criticism of the Conservatives’ current economic policies. The battlegrounds today reflect Cameron’s efforts to ‘detoxify’ the party by modernising it and introducing socially liberal policies — a process that has been emphasised by coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives saw 91 MPs rebel over House of Lords Reform in 2012, and some 130 Conservative MPs voted against gay marriage in 2013. Europe remains as controversial as it was under Thatcher and Major and is perhaps even more of a threat, as the rise of UKIP threatens the Conservatives’ right flank (seethe UK update in this online issue: The 2013 local elections and the rise of UKIP).
The disagreements over policy have exposed considerable fault lines within the party’s structure. The Conservative leadership faces record postwar levels of rebelliousness from its backbenchers but also increasingly strident criticism from its grassroots. Conservative Party members are on average well into their sixties and tend to favour traditional right-wing policies. Many feel that Cameron has abandoned the party’s core principles and is failing to defend traditional families, national sovereignty, and Britain’s constitutional heritage.
Task
The task below examines some of the main divisions within the Conservative Party. Some weblinks to relevant articles have been provided, followed by several questions for you to answer. You could do this exercise at home to aid your revision, or your teacher might ask you to work individually through the exercise or perhaps divide the questions up between the class.
(1) Social liberals vs social ‘authoritarians’
a)What reasons do traditionalist Conservative MPs give for opposing gay marriage?
b)What reasons do modernising Conservative MPs give for supporting gay marriage?
c)How does each side justify their position in terms of electoral success?
(2) Modernisers vs traditionalists
(a)What reasons did Conservative rebels give for opposing Lords reform?
(b)How did coalition cause this backbench rebellion?
(c)How did the Liberal Democrats respond to David Cameron’s decision to abandon Lords reform?
(3) Eurosceptics vs europhiles
(a)For each of the Conservatives below, write a short paragraph from their perspective to explain the reasons for their attitude towards the EU:
i.Conservatives who want to leave the EU
ii.Conservatives who want to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU
iii.Conservatives who are pro-European
(b)How big is each of the three groups above?
(c)What is meant by the ‘Fresh Start group’ and the ‘Better Off Out group’?
(4) Grass roots vs political elite
(a)What is meant by ‘swivel-eyed loons’?
(b)What issues do the party leadership and the grassroots disagree over?
(c)Why might age be an important factor in the conflict between the party leadership and the grassroots?
(d)Why are the Conservative grassroots more vocal in their criticism of the party leadership than ever before?
(e)Why might Cameron’s failure to win a majority be a cause of dissent?
Rowena Hammal teaches politics at The Portsmouth Grammar School, and isonline editor of POLITICS REVIEW
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