The Conservative Party 1997 - 2007: The Lost Decade
- Created by: yazmintaylorx
- Created on: 06-05-18 12:50
View mindmap
- The Conservative party 1997 - 2007
- Michael Howard (2003-2005)
- on the right of the party, Micheal Howard was seen as more charismatic than Smith
- he made immigration his main focus of the 2005 election
- Lab. 356 (-17); Cons. 198 (+33) & Libs. 62 (+11)
- 3% swing to Cons.
- November 2005 - another new leader
- 5th Cons. leader in 9 years
- Cameron tried to re-invent his party
- Just as Blair distanced Lab. from the TUs, Cameron distanced himself from Thatcherism
- repositioning the party
- Cameron moved away from traditional Cons. focus on tax cuts, Europe & immigration
- he chose to change focus on: same-sex marriage, green issues & state funding of NHS
- he rebranded the party with a new logo, image, tone, style etc.
- he did not solve issues such as Europe which still divides the Cons. today
- issues that divided the Cons. 1997-2007
- divisions between those who felt the party needed change (mods) & those who resisted this (rockers)
- divisions over Thatcherism
- divisions over Europe
- divisions over social conservatism
- modernisers e.g. Cameron & Osbonre refused to follow the party line
- but, Howard brought stability to the party
- e.g. despite the fact he was socially conservative, he promoted Mods in his cabinet
- he was supported by both mods & rockers
- Cameron unified the party by & large with exceptions such as Tebbit who criticised the 'rejection of Thatcherism'
- Iain Duncan Smith (2001-2003)
- 'the Quiet Man'
- in 2002 Cons. leader Iain Duncan Smith told his party conference that he was the 'quiet man' of politics
- his approach failed to make any impact on the party
- 1997 Cons. wipe out
- Lab. won a landslide majority of 178 seats
- Cons. lost all seats in Scotland & Wales
- William Hague's 'Fresh Approach'
- in 1997 a new leader William Hague suggested a new approach
- keep Thatcher's economic principles
- oppose British membership to the Euro
- extend tolerance to gays, single-parent families & ethnic minorities
- the 2001 election
- Hague made anti-Eurpoeanism the central strategy of his 2001 election campaign
- this failed to inspire voters
- Blair won another term
- Cons. won 166 seats - only one more than 1997
- Hague resigned as party leader
- why did successive leaders fail to restore the party's popularity?
- divisions in the party
- lack of charismatic leadership
- needed to be rebranded
- Blair's effective election machine & overall popularity
- Michael Howard (2003-2005)
Similar History resources:
Teacher recommended
Comments
No comments have yet been made