The Conservative Party

The Conservatives are back - but what took them so long? Why did the world's oldest and most successful political party dump Margaret Thatcher only to commit electoral suicide under John Major? Just as importantly, what stopped the Tories getting their act together until David Cameron came along? And what did Cameron do that William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard couldn't or wouldn't? Has the Tory leader changed his party as much as he claims? Or has his leadership involved more compromise - and more Conservatism - than we realise? The answers, as this accessible and gripping book shows, are as intriguing and provocative as the questions. Based on in-depth research and interviews with the key players, Tim Bale explains how and why the Tories got themselves into so much trouble - and how and why they were eventually able to rediscover their winning ways. The answer, he suggests, lies in the people, the power structures, the ideas, and the very different interests of those involved. The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand what makes the Tories tick.

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"A simply brilliant book; his judgments are spot-on." Edwina Currie, The Times "[An] exhaustive and authoritative account." London Review of Books "A hugely impressive achievement - and required reading for anyone who wants to understand the party most likely to run Britain in the new decade." Sunday Business Post "For a contemporary history of British politics, deliciously free of the jargon which usually masks the failure of academics to understand their subject, you will read nothing better than this." Tribune "In his new, rather good book, the academic Tim Bale provides a history of the Tories in the 15 years that preceded Mr Cameron's ascent. Read it and it isn't hard to work out the party's problem." Daniel Finkelstein, The Times "A brilliant analysis of why the party found it so hard to accept that election defeats suggested that it was doing something wrong, rather than that the electorate had made a terrible mistake ... It is the Labour Party that needs to read this book and ask itself how it can get ahead." The Independent "Tim Bale's study of the Conservative Party since 1990 is like a guidebook to a haunted house. Party officials roamed Westminster seeking exorcism from the ghosts of Thatcher ... His narrative is masterly and his judgments sound." Simon Jenkins, The Guardian "A mountain of insights about the tiny amount of space in which political leaders make their moves." Independent Arts and Books Supplement "A detailed yet splendidly readable study." British Politics "A wonderful insightful account of the Conservative party from the denouement of Margaret Thatcher's leadership in 1989/90 through to the ascent of David Cameron." Party Politics "A highly insightful, and often very funny, commentary on the party's dysfunctionality in the post-Thatcher era. In this election year, if you are going to read one book about the party that may shortly once again govern our nearest neighbour, read this one." Irish Times "Excellent ... a very useful first account of how the oldest and most successful political party in the western world lost its electoral advantage and then, finally, took years to find its way again." Total Politics "A solid, meticulous account." Financial Times "There haven't been a lot of good books published about the Conservative Party in recent years, but Tim Bale has written one that fills the gap ... he tells the story well, combining breezy prose with academic rigour and anecdotes from the key participants." Andrew Sparrow, Guardian.co.uk "It's hard to think of anyone with an interest in British politics who will not enjoy, and profit from, Tim Bales outstanding book. His chapters on the Hague and Duncan Smith years in particular - the latter a man for whom the word 'hapless' could almost have been invented - form a kind of 'how not to do it' manual for any political party in opposition. I suspect Messrs Miliband and Balls have already ordered theirs." Waterstones Booksellers "Contains the best account so far of the 'decontamination' strategy pursued by Cameron after his surprise win in the leadership contest of 2005." Progress "Very detailed and convincing." Times of Malta "Bale provides a well-researched and very readable account of [his] thesis." Times Higher Education "Bale's book is useful reminder of the chronology of the main political events, often stormy, which have taken place over the past 20 years." House Magazine "An incisive book." Orange Standard "Tim Bale's book firmly avoids 'big picture' explanantions focused on single issues like 'sleaze' or Europe, and instead offers a detailed analytical narrative of the party leadership from the fall of Thatcher to the rise of Cameron. Bale in essence updates the old approach of Hi

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Tim Bale is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at University of Sussex

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1 Solving the puzzle: an introduction. 2 Losing the plot: Thatcher to Major, 1989-1997. 3 Tactics over strategy: William Hague, 1997-2001. 4 'Simply not up to it': Iain Duncan Smith, 2001-2003. 5 Like moths to a flame: Michael Howard, 2003-2005. 6 'Cometh the hour, cometh the Dave': the long leadership contest, May- December 2005. 7 'The politics of and': David Cameron, 2005- . 8 Getting the message: a conclusion.

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