The conservative party has been in existence since the 1670s and was first called the ‘Tories’, a term used by the Scottish and Irish to describe a robber. This party is a right- wing party which believed in conserving the tradition and the king, as the name entails. David Cameron, the current party leader became the leader in 2005. He is also the present prime minister of Great Britain and he has made a lot of changes since he became the leader of the party. In this essay, I will talk about the history of the party, looking into detail at their gradual changes or transition in ideology and the various changes that David Cameron has made to the party’s image and beliefs.
As previously mentioned, the conservative party dates back to the late seventeenth century, when the British parliament was established and there were independence from the British Monarchy. The Tories of that century wanted as much preservation of the ‘Old ways’ which basically included the hierarchy, social class difference and most importantly, the preservation of the power of the king. They generally wanted the conservation of their old constitution as the members of the party were the royalists (Conservatives.com).
In the year 1832, the time of the Great Reform Bill, the name ‘conservative party’ became the official name of the party. Conservative leaders like Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli did not refuse all changes because they knew that change was good for progress. The post war consensus was between the year 1945-1979 and it was established immediately after the year 1945 by Attlee (Labour party). The conservatives were in power for 17 years out of the 34 years under the leadership of Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas ...
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...n government between David Cameron and Nick Clegg has definitely made an impact in history because there has been no coalition since 1945. Even though many compromises have been made, the parties are still getting along well.
In conclusion, before David Cameron came into power, the Conservatives were in the right side of politics were Thatcher left them. He brought the party closer to the centre. He changed people’s perception about the Conservative party because he changes a lot of things leaving few things unchanged. David Cameron definitely moved the party to the centre of politics.
Works Cited
Holmes, P, Introducing Politics for AS Level, London: Polity Press, 2008. [Chapter 8, sections 5, 6 & 7]
Kelly, R., ‘Conservatism under Cameron,’ Politics Review17, 3 February 2008.
The Conservative Party website. [access at: http://www.conservatives.com ]
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