Baldwin and Chamberlain: Welfare without Socialism
After a period of turmoil following its 1906 election defeat, the Party rediscovered its talent for successful change from 1923 onwards.
The tradition of social reform was continued under Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain - and the measures passed in this period, including the first comprehensive pensions scheme and unemployment benefit, pointed the way to a Tory welfare state in which socialism would play no part.
In 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister of a coalition government dedicated to achieving victory over Hitler's Germany.
Churchill to Heath: The Post-War Consensus
The Party's landslide defeat at the 1945 election led to a reappraisal of policy, which concluded that support for individual freedom should be combined with a larger role for the state in the economy and public services.
During the post-war consensus of 1951-64, the Conservatives were in government under Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home, and the Party's new approach made Britain more prosperous than ever:
- The standard of living rose by 50%
- Home ownership rose 20%
- 7,000 new schools were built
- The first motorways were opened
From 1965 until 1975 the Party was led by Edward Heath, who will forever be remembered for taking Britain into the European Economic Community as Prime Minister.
Margaret Thatcher: Radical Means to Conservative Ends
In the 1970s, Britain was engulfed by severe economic problems - and the Party signalled that a new direction was essential at the 1979 election.
When in office, Margaret Thatcher implemented more radical policies for change than had ever previously been seen:
- Economic policy was completely recast: pay and price controls were swept away, tax rates slashed, major public companies privatized, and trade union law reformed
- The public services were reformed
- The property-owning democracy was achieved, with six million families buying homes
This change continued under John Major, with privatisation proceeding apace and more reforms introduced in the public services.
Changing for a Successful Future
After the 1997 election defeat, the Party faced up to the need for fundamental internal change.
Under William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard, a new concern for social justice showed an expansion of policy interests, and when David Cameron became leader in 2005, the need for change became his main theme.
He began to set out an ambitious programme for government that focused on strengthening families and counteracting social breakdown. At the same time, he modernised the Party itself by increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities in the Parliamentary party.
Those changes are helping to rebuild Conservative support in places like the inner cities and the great northern constituencies, places which must be as important to the Party of one nation as any others.
This history of the Conservatives is an edited version of Alistair Cooke's book, 'A Party of Change'. For a more comprehensive account of the Party's history, download a full version of Alistair's book or order a hard copy, at £5, from the Conservative Party Shop.