Abstract
This paper reviews current Conservative Party thinking in relation to four policy areas: urban and regional policy; housing policy; labour market and welfare policy; and the third sector. It seeks to explore aspects of continuity and change, both with the current New Labour government and the Conservative government of 1979-1997. A remarkable degree of continuity is revealed, reflecting the shift in British politics away from traditional left-right divisions and towards a neo-liberal orthodoxy. Nonetheless, divisions remain, particularly around the diagnosis of policy problems, with the Conservative critique of New Labour focusing on the failings of the state and, by association, its failure to address dependency. There is also emerging evidence that the financial crisis and recession could prove to be an important point of divergence between the priorities and public spending plans of the current New Labour government and a future Conservative administration.
Highlights
David Cameron has declared that the Conservatives are Britain’s 'true champions of progressive ideals' (Cameron, 2008)
Policy Review: Continuity or Change: what a future Conservative government might mean for regional, housing and welfare policies fruit
Faced with the distinct possibility of an incoming Conservative administration in the not too distant future, this paper considers the extent to which a Conservative government led by David Cameron would represent a break with the past or provide continuity with the rationales and priorities, with either the Conservative administration of 1979-1997 or the New Labour administration since 1997
Summary
David Cameron has declared that the Conservatives are Britain’s 'true champions of progressive ideals' (Cameron, 2008). In a similar way to the recasting of the Labour Party in the 1990s, the Conservatives have sought to distance their policy positions from those of previous Conservative governments and those of more recent and unsuccessful party leaders This has required a careful balancing act, involving the repositioning of the Party in a bid to capture the political agenda of the centre ground, whilst securing the trust of the right-wing national press and the Conservative membership (Bale, 2008; Reeves, 2008; Gamble and Wright, 2008a; 2008b; Hefferman, 2008). Analysis of these realms sheds light on the degree of continuity and change that a Conservative election victory would presage
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