Conservative Party Members Research Articles

One Man's Damage: The Consequences of Boris Johnson's Assault on the British Political System

AbstractThe disgraced British prime minister, Boris Johnson, was forced to resign by his own backbench MPs on 7 July 2022 (effective from 6 September) in complete denial that he had done anything wrong. Optimists might argue that this shows the strength of the British political system; that a way was found to throw out a proven rascal, thus providing the opportunity for a restoration of ‘normal politics’. In my view, this optimism is misplaced. Boris Johnson's behaviour, mirroring that of his populist role model, Donald Trump, has raised a number of serious questions about the continued successful functioning of the UK's unwritten constitution.The article reviews the character of Johnson's constitutional violations during his period as prime minister. Using data from a recent survey of UK voters, it then explores the damaging effect that his period in office has had on UK public opinion. Despite his removal from office, Johnson retains a hard core of support across the wider electorate and, in particular, among grassroots Conservative supporters and party members. These supporters remain largely unaware of Johnson's constitutional crimes, and where they do know about them, they forgive them. This creates the real danger either that Johnson may at some future date return to office to repeat his offences, or that a similarly populist successor might deploy the same anti‐democratic devices that Johnson himself used in his desperate attempts to cling to power.

“If big brother England votes to leave the EU … we will be treated like upstart children”: Irony and a United Kingdom family of nations metaphor in Scottish nationalist discourse

This study explores the inter-play between metaphor and irony in the communication of contrasting UK “family of nations” (UK-FON) metaphor variants by Conservative and Scottish National Party members of the UK Parliament. The study proposes: first, that debates surrounding the intertwined issues of Scottish independence and Brexit triggered an increase in the deployment of the UK-FON metaphor, particularly by Scottish nationalist speakers; second, that competition for control over the metaphor’s meaning has produced two competing variants (i.e. an initial Conservative aspirational/positive one framing the UK-FON as unified, equal, beneficent, expansive, and historically-rooted, followed by an ironic SNP hypocritical/abusive variant framing it as unequal, coercive, and disrespectful); and; lastly, that the SNP communication of the ironically reinterpreted hypocritical/abusive variant contributes rhetorical weight to the expression of Scottish nationalist grievances, objectives, and perspectives on belonging in the UK and Europe.

National interests and the paradox of foreign aid under austerity: Conservative governments and the domestic politics of international development since 2010

Since 2010, successive Conservative‐led Coalition and Conservative governments in the UK have imposed domestic austerity while maintaining foreign aid commitments. They have done so in the teeth of considerable hostility from influential sections of the media, many Conservative MPs and party members, and large sections of the voting public. This paper explains this apparently paradoxical position by analysing these governments’ increasingly explicit stance that aid serves ‘the national interest’ in a variety of ways. While not a new message from donors, post‐2010 Conservative governments have significantly powered up this narrative. The post‐Brexit referendum government is less committed to foreign aid, and it may well institute cuts following changes in legislation. In the meantime, however, it too has focused on shifting discourse and substance towards a more insistent articulation and pursuit of ‘the national interest’.

‘All mouth and no trousers?’ How many Conservative Party members voted for UKIP in 2015 – and why did they do so?

A survey of ordinary members of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party carried out in 2013 revealed that nearly 30% of them would seriously consider voting for the country’s radical right wing populist party (United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP)). However, we show that at the general election in 2015, only a very small proportion of them – around 5% of Tory grassroots members – actually did so, driven it seems mainly by alienation from the leadership and David Cameron in particular, as well as, perhaps, by concerns about the Conservative-led government’s austerity policies. However, those party members who did eventually vote for UKIP were still much more likely to have expressed a propensity to vote for it in 2013 than those who did not. Since the Conservative Party has not experienced the same increase in membership as some of its competitors, and since members are an important part of parties’ electoral campaigning, they should avoid alienating those members they do have – something of which Theresa May appears to be aware.

The legislative consequences of internal conflict and inter-party divisions

Governments must respond quickly to pressing economic and societal problems. However, institutional rules, public opinion and unanticipated world events often delay the legislative process. Building on theories of legislative decision-making and intra-party politics, this paper shows that the speed at which bills pass is also driven by the governing party’s internal cohesiveness and its ideological distance to the opposition. Governing parties that are internally divided have greater difficulty in forming the legislative majorities necessary to pass laws quickly, especially if their preferences are further away from the opposition. I test these hypotheses using a novel collection of laws passed in the UK Parliament and conference speeches given by Labour and Conservative party members over a 10-year period. I use automated text classification techniques to determine the relative location of actors’ preferences and the level of intra-party disagreement. I then predict the duration of lawmaking based on the...

Not as Bad as We Feared or Even Worse Than We Imagined? Assessing and Explaining Conservative Party Members’ Views on Coalition

Although often treated as such, political parties are not unitary actors. Presumably, therefore, their leaders have to take at least some account of the views of their followers – not least when deciding whether or not to enter a coalition with other parties. Hitherto there has been relatively little research into those views. This article uses a survey of members of the UK’s Conservative Party in order to elicit and explain their thinking on the coalition the party formed with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, on the performance of the government since then, and on the prospects of a similar arrangement after the next general election. It finds that, although they largely approve of the government’s record, grassroots Tories regret the decision to go into coalition in the first place. However, they would sanction a continuation of the arrangement as the price of hanging on to power after the next election. Different members, of course, have different views, and these are best explained by ideological rather than demographic variables, as well as by members’ views on their party leader and – at least in part – their levels of activism.

Why Do Tories Defect to UKIP? Conservative Party Members and the Temptations of the Populist Radical Right

This research note draws on a new survey to reveal a widespread willingness among current Conservative Party members in Britain to countenance voting for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) at future general elections. Those most likely to do so are cultural conservatives, but they are not overly right-wing on the distributional dimension of politics. They are particularly concerned about immigration and the European Union, do not feel valued or respected by their own leadership and even regard David Cameron — their own party leader and the country's prime mnister — as ideologically more remote from them than UKIP. This serves to illustrate some of the strategic dilemmas facing centre-right parties confronted by populist right challengers.

So what do the « swivel-eyed loons » really think ? The Tory grassroots and their views on the coalition

Introduction Political Scientists know relatively little about party members – and even less about their views on the coalitions that their leaders take them into. We therefore decided to do something to begin to shine a light on this question. Between 31 May and 11 June 2013 with the help of web-based pollsters You Gov and the McDougall Trust, we surveyed 852 Conservative Party members – a figure is sufficient for a 95 per cent confidence level and a 4 per cent confidence interval. Our ke...

Political brand identity: An examination of the complexities of Conservative brand and internal market engagement during the 2010 UK General Election campaign

This paper seeks to build an understanding of the importance of internal communications when building a strong political brand. Using Kapferer's brand prism as a conceptual framework, the paper explores UK Conservative Party members' attitudes towards the development of the Conservative brand as personified by David Cameron. There are clear implications for political strategists as the findings suggest that it is crucial to engage the internal market in the co-creation of the marketing communications strategy for as brand evangelists they interpret the brand promise at the local level.

Members Only: Views of the Conservative Party's Rank-and-File

Stereotypes of Conservative Party members abound. But in a detailed survey of Tory rank-and-file, Tim Bale and Paul Webb found some surprising results: most are open to limited immigration, are wary of NHS cuts and would sanction another coalition with the Lib Dems.

Wets and Dries Resurgent? Intra-Party Alignments Among Contemporary Conservative Party Members

This article maps new survey data to show that there are three main ideological tendencies among Conservative Party members today and that they differ significantly on a range of contemporary political issues. The Liberal conservatives are the youngest, most male, claim to be the most active of these tendencies, and are distinguished by being the least hostile to Europe and immigration, to environmentalism or to feminist values, but the Traditionalist Toriesthe largest, most working class and most female of the intra-party tendenciesare surprisingly progressive on a number of specific proposals and issues, including taxation and public spending, gender issues and the institutional reform of politics. Thatcherites support cuts in tax and spending, but are hostile to environmentalism, European integration, immigration and gender-related reforms. Overall, this suggests that, in so far as David Cameron has sought to push the party in a generally more `centrist and progressive direction since 2005, he has often gone with the grain of grassroots opinion; the Traditionalist Tories in particular would appear to endorse the thrust of much of his strategy. That said, there is clear scope for intra-party tension over the government's agenda of cuts in public expenditure. This points to a potential revival of the old conflicts between `wets and `dries of the 1980s.

While unison is at it, why not outlaw the tories as well?

I read with interest your piece about Unison's campaign to outlaw nurse's rights to belong to the BNP (news April 29) I suggest they go one step further and implement a ban on Conservative party members.

Modelling the Decision to Donate by Individual Party Members

Models of political participation frequently treat financial donations in the same way as other forms of political activity. This article argues that they should be examined in a different way since they may be regarded for some as the antithesis of conventional participation. Using data from the studies of Labour and Conservative party members, it tests the hypothesis that donations are a means of contracting out of other forms of participation. The model works well in the case of Labour party members and partially in the case of the Conservatives.

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: The True Law of Kingship. Concepts of Monarchy in Early Modern Scotland. By J. H. Burns. Law‐Making and Society in Late Elizabethan England. The Parliament of England, 1584–1601. By David Dean. The Right to be King. The Succession to the Crown of England, 2603–1714. By Howard Nenner. A Taste for Empire and Glory. Studies in British Overseas Expansion, 1660–1800. By Philip Lawson. Officials of the Royal Household, 1660–1837. Part 1: Department of the Lord Chamberlain and Associated Offices. Compiled by J. C. Sainty and R. O. Bucholz. From Patriots to Unionists. Dublin Politics and Irish Protestant Patriotism, 1660–1840. By Jacqueline Hill. Government and Community in the English Provinces, 1700–1870. By David Eastwood. ‘Scotland's Ruine’. Lockhart of Camwath's Memoirs of the Union. Edited by Daniel Szechi. Parties, Patriots and Undertakers. Parliamentary Politics in Early Hanoverian Ireland. By Patrick McNally. Illusory Consensus. Bolingbroke and the Polemical Response to Walpole 1730–1737. By Alexander Pettit. Edmund Burke. A Life in Caricature. By Nicholas K. Robinson. The Younger Pitt. The Consuming Stmale. By John Ehrman. Thomas Erskine and Trial by Jury. By John Hostettler. Party, State and Society. Electoral Behaviour in Britain since 1820. Edited by Jon Lawrence and Miles Taylor. Education Act Forster. A Political Biography of W. E. Forster (1818–1886). By Patrick Jackson. The Transformation of British Politics, 1860–1995. By Brian Hamson. The Rise of Socialism in Britain, c.1881–1951. By Keith Laybourn. A History of the British Labour Party. By Andrew Thorpe. Generating Socialism. Recollections of L in the Labour Party. By Daniel Weinbren. The Boundaries of the State in Modern Britain. Edited by S. J. D. Green and R. C. Whiting. Jennie Lee. A Life. By Patricia Hollis. Remaking the Labour Party From Gaitskell to Blair. By Tudor Jones. The Labour Party. ‘Socialism’ and Society Since 1951. By Steven Fielding. ideas and Policies under Labour 1945–1951. By Martin Francis. Labour and conservative Party Members, 1990–92. Social Charactetistics, Political Attitudes and Activities. By Patrick Seyd, Paul Whiteley and Jon Parry. How Scotland Votes. Scottish Parties and Elections. By Lynn Bennie, Jack Brand and James Mitchell.

Labour and conservative party members, 1990-92: social characteristics, political attitudes and activities

Partisanship social class market research grading subjective class completion of education annual income employment sector economic sector trade union membership gender, age, religion, tenure.

Rhetoric and the Spread of the Discourse of Thatcherism

This paper puts forward a model of processes of discourse and rhetoric as a way of understanding the attempt of Thatcherism to create a new common sense in British society. The theoretical model is first presented. This includes a notion of the role of a special type of rhetoric (consisting of key words and formulaic phrases) in discursive processes and a notion of the active part played by language users in reproducing and transforming discourses. The aim is to draw a link between macro-processes of social and cultural change and micro-processes of everyday language use. The roots of the rhetoric in the genre of the everyday world facilitate take-up by the mass media and the public and thus the penetration of the discourse of Thatcherism into the language of individual language users. The empirical study which is then presented focuses on the role of one key word, choice, in reproducing and restructuring the discourse of Thatcherism in different sociopolitical domains: official Conservative Party texts and official Labour Party texts (speeches by Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members to the Annual Party Conferences in 1991), print and broadcast news media (news coverage of the Conferences), the arguments of grass-roots Labour Party members (1991) and grass-roots Conservative Party members (1991 and 1992). It was found that in all the domains studied, the discourse of Thatcherism was reproduced and transformed through the selective use by language users of choice in collocation with other rhetorical terms. A degree of resistance to the discourse was also found. The paper concludes with a short account of the fate of Thatcherist discourse in the UK since the time of the study.

Labour and Conservative Party Members:Change Over Time

Labour and Conservative Party Members:Change Over Time

Rational Choice and Political Participation — Evaluating the Debate

This paper evaluates rational choice models of political participation both at the theoretical and empirical levels. The theoretical discussion is con cerned with evaluating attempts which have been made to circumvent the paradox of participation-the proposition introduced by Mancur Olson that rational actors will not get involved in collective action in order to achieve common goals. The analysis suggests that the paradox is more of an intrac table problem for rational choice theory than is commonly recognized. The empirical section of the paper uses data from the first national survey of Conservative party members in Britain to model the determinants of political activism. It tests rational actor models against an alternative "general incen tives" theory of participation which includes variables that are not consis tent with rational choice theory. The conclusion is that while a rational choice model gives great insights into political participation, it provides an in complete account of participation, and by implication this may be true of such models in other areas of political science.

Thatcherism and the Conservative Party

Neither spatial models of party competition nor the ‘Westminster’ model of British politics explain the phenomenon of Thatcherism. One explanation of its success, examined by Crewe and Searing, suggests that Mrs Thatcher sought to convert the Conservative party and the wider electorate to her distinctive brand of liberal Whiggism and traditional Toryism. They found little evidence of the success of this, however, among the British electorate as a whole. In this paper, data from the first national survey of Conservative party members demonstrates that she had little success in converting the Conservative party to these ideas either, although she did have a secure ideological base within the party. The results also suggest that her successor, John Major, has a rather different support base within the party from that of Mrs Thatcher. The implications of these findings for spatial models of party competition and the Westminster model of British politics are discussed.

Explaining Party Activism: The Case of the British Conservative Party

In common with most other mass democratic parties the Conservative party has a large group of active members who sustain the party over time. A model is developed to explain variations in activism within the party, which takes account of the ‘paradox of participation’. The results, based on the first national random sample survey of Conservative party members, show that activism is motivated by three classes of factors. Activism is motivated, firstly, by a variety of selective incentives, such as ambitions for elective office. It is motivated, secondly, by a desire for the party to achieve policy goals. These are ‘collective goods’, which are subject to the problem of free-riding. However, since activists can influence policy outcomes, via their contacts with party leaders, they have high levels of personal efficacy and a direct incentive to participate, which can override the paradox of participation. Finally, activism is motivated by expressive concerns, as measured by the strength of the respondent's partisanship, a motivation for involvement which lies outside a narrowly cast rational choice model of political participation.