Suchergebnisse

The Conservative Party is Britain's most successful political party. For large parts of modern British history it has been the dominant party, though it has always suffered from internal division and periods of defeat. This colourful account of the Party's history since the late 18th century takes the reader on a voyage of discovery

Since 2001, the Conservative party has found itself in turbulent times. Yet the party has survived similarly difficult periods in the past, eventually recovering its strength and returning to power. Can it do so again? The problems for today's party exist along four key dimensions: leadership, policy, organisation and political circumstances. How grave are contemporary difficulties in each of these areas in comparison to past experience? To what extent is the party now in uncharted waters? Where are there valid historical parallels? The article offers a brief sketch of the lessons that the party needs to learn to recover its election winning formula ‐ an appetite for power and an impressive ability to adapt to changed circumstances. Today's problems are not insurmountable, but the party still has a huge mountain to climb if it is to return to government.

Does the Coalition government represent a real and lasting realignment of the centre‐right in British politics, or is it just the product of political expedience? Could a pact bind the two parties together for electoral success? In his book, Which Way is Up?, Nick Boles MP argues that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats share a common ground of values on which the Coalition government is built, a foundation that is about much more than parliamentary arithmetic. He sets out a liberal conservative policy agenda which goes beyond the Coalition Agreement, addressing the major policy challenges facing the UK.We asked two political commentators with an in‐depth knowledge of the Coalition parties to respond to Boles' vision for the future of British centre‐right politics. Below, Mark Pack and Peter Snowdon offer contrasting perspectives on the prospects for a lasting union.