Conservative Party GapFill

The modern Conservative Party emerged in the 1830s as the successor to the much older Tory Party, which dated back to the 1600s. Traditional Conservatism was the defining ideology of the party. This branch of Conservatism favoured the maintenance of  gradual progresscapitalismdemocracytraditional society and opposed reform. It was inspired by the writing of Edmund Burke, who was opposed to the French Revolution and the way it destroyed traditions. Some of the defining features of Conservatism were established at this point, such as a commitment to  social reformthe free marketwelfareprivate property and a concern around  foreign affairsbusinesstransportlaw and order.

Two later factions have emerged in British Conservative thought. The first,  Radical ConservatismLibertarianismOne-nation ConservatismThe New Right, was established by Benjamin Disraeli during his premiership in the 1870s. It broke with Traditional Conservatism by favouring a larger state that would maintain order though offering greater protection to the poor in society. This tendency was dominant in the post-war era, between 1945 and 1979. The second faction,   One-nation ConservatismThe New RightRadical ConservatismNational Conservatism, was established by the premiership of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. This faction strongly favoured the market, and believed it should be used to resolve most social and political issues as it is more efficient and effective than the state. Both of these factions favour  reformordertraditiongovernment to a greater extent than Traditional Conservatism.

In recent years these two tendencies have fought for supremacy in the Conservative Party, and it is difficult to decide which has been more influential. The main debates have been regarding the extent to which the state should intervene in   the judiciarythe economythe NHSdemocracy, as well as membership of  the European Unionthe United Kingdomthe World Bankthe United Nations. The result of the 2016 referendum on this issue and its aftermath have brought down two Conservative Prime Ministers: David Cameron and Theresa May. In 2019, Boris Johnson won the leadership of the Conservative Party through a membership vote, and became Prime Minister. His comfortable victory in the 2019 general election saw the party win a parliamentary majority of   60508040, though after a series of  scandalsBrexit delaysvisits to Russiaby-elections victories he was replaced in September 2022 by  Jeremy HuntRishi SunakPenny MordauntLiz Truss, who pursued a libertarian economic policy along with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and ultimately resigned having lost support in the party.