The Conservative Party: Embracing the Philosophies of Conservatism and British Unionism
Politics essay.
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and colloquially referred to as the Tory Party or the Tories, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that states that it espouses the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. As of 2013 it is the largest single party in the House of Commons with 303 MPs, governing in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, with David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in local government with 8,628 councillors.[citation needed]
The Conservative Party was founded in 1834, and was one of two dominant parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party. It changed its name to the Conservative and Unionist Party in 1912 after merging with the Liberal Unionist Party, although that name is rarely used and it is generally referred to as simply the Conservative Party.
In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives' main rivals. Conservative prime ministers led governments for 57 years of the 20th century, including Winston Churchill (1940–45, 1951–55) and Margaret Thatcher (1979–90). Thatcher's tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation and saw the Conservatives become the most eurosceptic of the three major parties. The party was returned to government in coalition, having failed to win a majority, in 2010 under the more liberal leadership of David Cameron.[12][13][14]
As of 2013 the Conservatives were the largest British party in the European Parliament, with 25 MEPs, who sit with the soft eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) parliamentary group, while the party itself was a member of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) Europarty. The party was the third-largest in the Scottish Parliament and second-largest in the Welsh Assembly. They had been formally allied to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) as part of the
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and colloquially referred to as the Tory Party or the Tories, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that states that it espouses the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. As of 2013 it is the largest single party in the House of Commons with 303 MPs, governing in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, with David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in local government with 8,628 councillors.[citation needed]
The Conservative Party was founded in 1834, and was one of two dominant parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party. It changed its name to the Conservative and Unionist Party in 1912 after merging with the Liberal Unionist Party, although that name is rarely used and it is generally referred to as simply the Conservative Party.
In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives' main rivals. Conservative prime ministers led governments for 57 years of the 20th century, including Winston Churchill (1940–45, 1951–55) and Margaret Thatcher (1979–90). Thatcher's tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation and saw the Conservatives become the most eurosceptic of the three major parties. The party was returned to government in coalition, having failed to win a majority, in 2010 under the more liberal leadership of David Cameron.[12][13][14]
As of 2013 the Conservatives were the largest British party in the European Parliament, with 25 MEPs, who sit with the soft eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) parliamentary group, while the party itself was a member of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) Europarty. The party was the third-largest in the Scottish Parliament and second-largest in the Welsh Assembly. They had been formally allied to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) as part of the