New Perspectives on the Right – serie

The right and the recession considers the ways in which conservative activists, groupings, parties and interests in the US and Britain responded to the financial crisis and the 'Great Recession' that followed in its wake. The book looks at the tensions and stresses between different ideas, interests and institutions and the ways in which they shaped the character of political outcomes. In Britain, these processes opened the way for leading Conservatives to redefine their commitment to fiscal retrenchment and austerity. Whereas public expenditure reductions had been portrayed as a necessary response to earlier overspending they were increasingly represented as a way of securing a permanently 'leaner' state. The book assesses the character of this shift in thinking as well as the viability of these efforts to shrink the state and the parallel attempts in the US to cut federal government spending through mechanisms such as the budget sequester.

David Cameron was leader of the Conservative Party (2005-16) and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-16). His legacy may be one of the most significant of any post-war British prime minister. But did he have a distinctive political strategy, and if so how should we characterise it? This book provides a new and distinctive interpretation of ‘Cameronism’, focusing on the twin themes of modernisation and manipulation.Heppell identifies three core aspects of Cameron’s modernisation strategy: his attempts to detoxify the image of the Conservative Party; his efforts to delegitimise the Labour Party by blaming it for the financial crisis and austerity; and Cameron’s use of the ‘Big Society’ narrative as a means of reducing the perceived responsibilities of the state. Manipulation is explored in relation to the Coalition Government and the exploitation of the Liberal Democrats, on policies such as austerity, tuition fees and electoral reform. Finally, the book examines Cameronism in relation to current challenges to the existing political order: Brexit, Scottish independence, and the rise of populism. This timely book is essential reading to those interested in British party politics and Prime Ministerial leadership.

How do leading Conservative politicians strive to communicate with and influence the electorate? Why have some been more effective than others in advancing their personal positions and ideological agendas? How do they seek to connect with their audience in different settings, such as the party conference, House of Commons, and through the media? This book draws analytical inspiration from the Aristotelian modes of persuasion to shine new and insightful light upon the articulation of British conservatism, examining the oratory and rhetoric of twelve key figures from Conservative Party politics. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field and explores how its subject attempted to use oratory to advance their agenda within the party and beyond. This is the first book to analyse Conservative Party politics in this way, and marks an important new departure in the analysis of British politics.

This book re-examines the claim of the Conservative Party to be the ‘national party’ and in its politics to express the enduring ‘national interest’. It explores the historical character of the Conservative Party, in particular the significance of the nation in its self-understanding. It addresses the political culture of the modern party, one which proclaims a Unionist vocation but rests mainly on English support, and considers how the Englishness of the party is reconciled with the politics of British statecraft. It considers the constitutional challenges which the Conservative Party faces in managing a changing Union, in negotiating a changing Europe and in defining a changing national interest. The book is essential reading not only for students and scholars of the Conservative Party but also for those who want to make sense of the transformations taking place in modern British politics.

The relationship between the Conservative Party and the organised working class is fundamental to the making of modern British politics. Industrialisation and urbanisation saw the emergence of democracy and class politics, symbolised, by the development of trade unions, which assumed growing political significance. The organised working class, though always a minority, was perceived by Conservatives as a challenge; condemned as threatening property, and as harbingers of socialism. Many trade union members dismissed the Conservatives as the bosses’ party, ever-ready to restrict the unions’ freedom in the interests of profit.However, at the book’s core is a puzzle: why, throughout its history, was the Conservative Party seemingly accommodating towards the organised working class that it ideology, social composition, and the preferences of most Conservatives would seem to permit? And why, in the space of a relatively few years in the 1970s and 1980s, did it abandon this heritage? Taylor argues that throughout its history, the Conservative Party has faced a broad strategic choice with respect to the organised working class: either inclusion or exclusion.The portrayal of the character on the front cover encapsulates the concept of the ‘bloody-minded’ British worker - an attitude that encapsulates a determinedly ‘conservative’ attitude to defending rights and influence gained during the twentieth century and which led to the reaction against ‘union power’ in the 1960s and 70s.

This is the first book to examine the relationship between English nationalism, Brexit and ‘the Anglosphere’ – a politically-contested term used to denote English-speaking countries sharing cultural and historical roots with the UK. In the aftermath of the UK’s EU referendum some pointed to a ‘revolt’ of those ‘left behind’ by globalisation. Ben Wellings argues instead that Brexit was and is an elite project, firmly situated within the tradition of an expansive English nationalism. Far from being parochial ‘Little Englanders’, elite Brexiteers sought to replace the European Union with trade and security alliances between ‘true friends’ and ‘traditional allies’ in the Anglosphere. Brexit was thus reassuringly presented as a giant leap into the known. As the UK’s future relationship with the rest of the world is negotiated, the need to understand this ‘English moment’ has never been more pressing.

This is the first book to examine the relationship between English nationalism, Brexit and ‘the Anglosphere’ – a politically-contested term used to denote English-speaking countries sharing cultural and historical roots with the UK. In the aftermath of the UK’s EU referendum some pointed to a ‘revolt’ of those ‘left behind’ by globalisation. Ben Wellings argues instead that Brexit was and is an elite project, firmly situated within the tradition of an expansive English nationalism. Far from being parochial ‘Little Englanders’, elite Brexiteers sought to replace the European Union with trade and security alliances between ‘true friends’ and ‘traditional allies’ in the Anglosphere. Brexit was thus reassuringly presented as a giant leap into the known. As the UK’s future relationship with the rest of the world is negotiated, the need to understand this ‘English moment’ has never been more pressing.

The making of Thatcherism examines the Conservative Party’s period in opposition between 1974 and 1979, focusing on the development of key policy on issues from the economy, to immigration and Scottish Devolution. Offering a detailed analysis of Conservative Party policy during this period, from the point at which it had last been in government to the point at which it subsequently regained power, this book helps us to understand the significance of the Conservative victory in 1979: What exactly did more than 13 million Britons vote for in May of that year?This period is typically viewed as one of dramatic change within the Conservative Party; however, Philip Begley argues that policy changes were more modest and complex than has been previously considered. Focusing on the short-term political context, Begley contends that though the roots of Thatcherism were beginning to emerge in the party, Thatcherism does not appear to have been inevitable in policy terms by 1979. Providing an overview of the intellectual, economic, and social contexts, this book examines the range of factors driving the Conservative Party’s development of policy.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) are now established as one of the larger groups in the European Parliament and from 2014 to 2019 had more MEPs than the Liberals, Greens or radical left and right-wing factions. Despite this, ECR has so far been largely dismissed by political scientists, journalists and Brussels policy-makers as merely another Euro-sceptic faction. Representing the first major study of the political activities of ECR and its ‘Euro-realist’ agenda, this book argues that ECR ought to be recognised as the main voice for Conservatism in Strasbourg, promoting ‘Anglosphere’ free market values and the role of NATO in international relations.The book begins with an examination of the origins and early development of ECR, when British Conservative leader David Cameron established the group in a Euro-sceptic gesture to his party. Cameron failed, however, to see the isolating long-term consequences of withdrawing his MEPs from the powerful European People’s Party (EPP).Other chapters examine the role of ECR member parties in its development and profile – including Law and Justice (PiS) from Poland, the Czech Civic Democrats (ODS), the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and the Danish People’s Party (DF). Drawing on interviews with MEPs and other key figures, the book concludes with an analysis of the leadership and policy activities of ECR politicians in Brussels and Strasbourg in an attempt to measure influence.

Providing fresh insights from the archival record, Who governs Britain? revisits the 1970-74 Conservative government to explain why the Party tried – and failed – to reform the system of industrial relations. Designed to tackle Britain’s strike problem and perceived disorder in collective bargaining, the Industrial Relations Act 1971 established a formal legal framework to counteract trade union power. As the state attempted to disengage from and ‘depoliticise’ collective bargaining practices, trade union leaders and employers were instructed to discipline industry. In just three-and-a-half years, the Act contributed to a crisis of the British state as industrial unrest engulfed industry and risked undermining the rule of law. Warner explores the power dynamics, strategic errors and industrial battles that destroyed this attempt to tame trade unions and ultimately brought down a government, and that shape Conservative attitudes towards trade unions to this day.

This book about the Thatcher government and the City of London tells the compelling human story of the people and processes that made Britain’s 1980s financial revolution. Fusing insider testimony with new archival discoveries, it examines high stakes and networked solutions, and uncovers new objectives that drove reforms. In so doing it demystifies a major shift in capitalism. This has implications for our understandings of government and capitalism, from the way we think about the origins of subsequent financial crises to today’s growing inequalities.Survival Capitalism offers new insights into the last major restructuring of the City, disrupts myths surrounding the logics of the market, and pays attention to people and processes at a time when the City of London again faces major change as Britain seeks to find its place outside the European Union in the wake of Brexit.

Conservatism, Christian Democracy, and the Dynamics of Transformation compares the centre-right political traditions of Britain, the Nordic countries, France, West Germany, and Austria and looks for evidence of political cooperation and influence across borders during the period 1945-90. The book explores howa variety of intellectuals, politicians, and political parties transformed their politics in response to major economic, social, and political challenges and seeks to explain why conservatives and Christian democrats came to feel that they belonged to a wider centre-right political family by the end of this period. It also examines why these political traditions found it difficult to cooperate with each other after the Second World War and why they decided to invest more political capital in inter-party relations and wider transnational projects from the 1960s. As the book shows, these developments resulted in two new centre-right internationals: the European Democrat Union and the International Democrat Union.

The Conservative Party and the Constitution examines the profound influence on Britain’s constitutional framework over nearly two centuries. Through rigorous analysis, it traces how Tory leaders navigated parliamentary reform, devolution, and Brexit, balancing tradition with pragmatic adaptation. Drawing on exclusive interviews, archival records, and historical sources, the book reveals the Party’s statecraft and offers fresh insights into the Conservatives’ role in shaping modern governance. Essential for historians, political scientists, and those engaged with British politics, this study illuminates the dynamic interplay of power, ideology, and constitutional change, making it a vital contribution to understanding Britain’s constitutional history.

Rethinking Right-Wing Women explores the institutional structures for and the representations, mobilisation, and the political careers of women in the British Conservative Party since the late 19th century. From the Primrose League (est.1883) to Women2Win (est.2005), the party has exploited women’s political commitment and their social power from the grass-roots to the heights of the establishment. Yet, although it is the party that extended the equal franchise, had the first woman MP to sit Parliament, and produced the first two women Prime Ministers, the UK Conservative Party has developed political roles for women that jar with feminist and progressive agendas. Conservative women have tended to be more concerned about the fulfilment of women’s duties than the realisation of women’s rights. This book tackles the ambivalences between women’s politicisation and women’s emancipation in the history of Britain’s most electorally successful and hegemonic political party.

This book about the Thatcher government and the City of London tells the compelling human story of the people and processes that made Britain’s 1980s financial revolution. Fusing insider testimony with new archival discoveries, it examines high stakes and networked solutions, and uncovers new objectives that drove reforms. In so doing it demystifies a major shift in capitalism. This has implications for our understandings of government and capitalism, from the way we think about the origins of subsequent financial crises to today’s growing inequalities.Survival Capitalism offers new insights into the last major restructuring of the City, disrupts myths surrounding the logics of the market, and pays attention to people and processes at a time when the City of London again faces major change as Britain seeks to find its place outside the European Union in the wake of Brexit.

How did the territorial Conservative Party adapt to devolution? This detailed analysis of the Scottish and Welsh Conservative Parties explains how they moved from campaigning against devolution to sitting in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Tracing the processes of party change in both parties this study explains why the Welsh Conservatives unexpectedly embraced devolution while the Scottish Conservatives took much longer to accept that Westminster was no longer the priority. This book will be of interest to students of British, Scottish and Welsh politics and anyone who is interested in the Conservative Party. It also speaks to wider debates about the nature of devolution, party change and multi-level governance.

This book explores the process of rebuilding the Conservative Party under David Cameron's leadership since 2005. It traces the different elements of the renewal strategy - ideological reconstruction policy reappraisal and enhanced electoral appeal - and identifies constraints from different sections of the Party, including the parliamentary party and the grassroots membership. It also explores the extent to which long-standing intra-party divisions exacerbated difficulties for the exercise of leadership. The process of renewal has been through a number of stages and its progress has been indirect rather than linear. Although the project has been relatively successful in some respects the extent to which it has created a new Conservative Party remains contested. This book provides essential background and analysis, and will be of interest to students and scholars of British politics and government.

Why did it take the Conservative Party so long to recover power? After the landslide defeat in 1997, why was it so slow to adapt, reposition itself and rebuild its support? How did the party leadership seek to reconstruct Conservatism and modernise its electoral appeal? Of vital interest to anyone interested in British politics, this highly readable book addresses these questions through a contextualised assessment of Conservative Party politics between 1997 and 2010. It traces debates over strategy amongst the party elite and scrutinises the actions of the leadership. It also considers four particular dilemmas for contemporary Conservatism: European integration; national identity and the ‘English Question’; social liberalism versus social authoritarianism; and the problems posed by a neo-liberal political economy. The book argues that the ideological legacy of Thatcherism played a central role in framing and shaping these intraparty debates, and that an appreciation of this is vital for explaining the nature and limits of the Conservatives’ renewal under Cameron.