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.
Table of Content
Prelude
1 Conservatism and the party
2 Conservatism and the nation
3 Conservative nation revisited
4 Conservatives: class and nation
5 Conservatives and the British question
6 Conservatives and the English question
7 Conservatives and the European question
Postscript: Conservatism confounded
References
Index
About the author
Richard Hayton is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Leeds
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