Social Policy
The Conservative Party and Public Spending
Nick Ellison
School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Leeds
This paper sets out to answer one central question: how has the Conservative Party really managed public spending should play in the UK since 1945? Through an examination of Conservative ideas about public spending and the Party’s record in government, the paper will argue that there is a core ambivalence towards the state and public spending within UK Conservatism. To further this analysis, the paper will focus on the interplay of ‘rhetoric’ and (political, social, economic) ‘reality’ in Conservative thought and political practice. On the one hand, what is usually taken to be a core feature of Conservative ideology – a clear anti-state rhetoric, characterised by the mantra of ‘low tax, low public spending’ – is in fact rather less consistent than is often recognised. On the other hand, the realities of government have often tempered ambitions to reduce public spending in ways that have seen Conservative governments failing to cut spending to the extent so frequently promised in election manifestoes.
Whether or not the Cameron Conservative Party has succeeded in developing a more coherent understanding of the role of public spending is not yet clear. To explore this question more closely, the final sections of the paper will assess the nature of current Conservative thinking, using examples from the policy contributions of the Centre for Social Justice and recent pronouncements on the Party’s approach to financial governance, to provide an indication of ‘progress’ – and, beyond that, of what may lie ahead should the Conservatives win power.
Any paper that attempts to assess how a particular political party understands a specific aspect of public policy – in this case ‘public spending’, no less – has to proceed with caution. The definition of a ‘political party’ (in this case the UK Conservative Party) is itself problematic
Nick Ellison
School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Leeds
This paper sets out to answer one central question: how has the Conservative Party really managed public spending should play in the UK since 1945? Through an examination of Conservative ideas about public spending and the Party’s record in government, the paper will argue that there is a core ambivalence towards the state and public spending within UK Conservatism. To further this analysis, the paper will focus on the interplay of ‘rhetoric’ and (political, social, economic) ‘reality’ in Conservative thought and political practice. On the one hand, what is usually taken to be a core feature of Conservative ideology – a clear anti-state rhetoric, characterised by the mantra of ‘low tax, low public spending’ – is in fact rather less consistent than is often recognised. On the other hand, the realities of government have often tempered ambitions to reduce public spending in ways that have seen Conservative governments failing to cut spending to the extent so frequently promised in election manifestoes.
Whether or not the Cameron Conservative Party has succeeded in developing a more coherent understanding of the role of public spending is not yet clear. To explore this question more closely, the final sections of the paper will assess the nature of current Conservative thinking, using examples from the policy contributions of the Centre for Social Justice and recent pronouncements on the Party’s approach to financial governance, to provide an indication of ‘progress’ – and, beyond that, of what may lie ahead should the Conservatives win power.
Any paper that attempts to assess how a particular political party understands a specific aspect of public policy – in this case ‘public spending’, no less – has to proceed with caution. The definition of a ‘political party’ (in this case the UK Conservative Party) is itself problematic
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