Britain's Conservative Party: A Tragic Tale of Decline
When examining the modern European political system, the obvious conclusion in respect of party structures and dominance may seem that nothing significant has changed during the last fifty-five years. But look again, and you will find one drastic political shift in progress. The demise of Britain's Conservative Party is rapidly advancing.
As one of the most enduring forces in the Parliamentary system, the Tories are the direct philosophical descendants of Edmund Burke, William Pitt the Elder and the Younger, Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill, Stanley Baldwin, Harold Macmillan, Lord Hailsham, Edward Heath, and Margaret Thatcher. With that distinct legacy, why does the party seem at the brink of complete collapse now?
This is not the first round of extended opposition for the Tories, but it is the most divisive. When the rivalry was between Tories and Liberals, the Conservatives were usually able to profit from the arguable fallacies of Liberal policies. For example, the classic charge against the Liberal leader Gladstone was: How dare the prime minister of the world's most influential country make such public show of sermonizing to known prostitutes!
The balance of power shifted rather respectably often from Liberal to Conservative governments during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Liberals held their longest single stretch of power from 1905 to 1922 during the Asquith and Lloyd George governments. During part of that time the Liberals accepted a wartime national government. During that same era the Labour Party increased its electoral gains to become a national political force. Labour brought the Tories and Liberals into an alliance of convenience. After the end of the first - and very short-lived - Labour government under Ramsay Macdonald, the Conservatives regained power during the late 1920s and shared power in the Lib-Lab-Tory national government of the early 1930s. In 1935 the national government ended, and a Conservative government replaced it. The Tories again accepted a national government during the second world war. A Labour government with a strong majority replaced the national government in 1945.
The 1950s through the mid-1960s were a time of Tory rule. The next fifteen years were power-sharing years. Then came the Thatcher era. Then came the Conservatives' rapid decline.
The decline inevitably is attributable to rampant Tory sleaze that began during John Major's time as Conservative Party leader. "Another day, another scandal" seemed to be the trend of things. When the Major government launched its "Back to Basics" campaign coincident to the Nolan Commission's findings of unethical ministerial practices and improper financial disclosure, it was a sure sign of a long time of future Labour government.
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