View source for Conservative Party (UK)

{{Pp-move}}
{{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}{{Infobox political party
| name = Conservative and Unionist Party
| logo = Conservatives logo.svg
| logo_size = 250px
| colorcode = {{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| leader1_title = [[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|Leader]]
| leader1_name = [[Kemi Badenoch]]
| leader2_title = [[Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords|Lords Leader]]
| leader2_name = [[The Lord True]]
| leader3_title = [[Chief Whip of the Conservative Party|Chief Whips]]
| leader3_name = {{ublist
 | [[Rebecca Harris]] ([[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|Commons]])
 | [[Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford|The Baroness Williams of Trafford]] ([[House of Lords of the United Kingdom|Lords]])
}}
| leader4_title = [[Chairman of the Conservative Party|Chairman]]
| leader4_name = [[Kevin Hollinrake]]
| leader5_title = Chief Executive
| leader5_name = [[Mark McInnes, Baron McInnes of Kilwinning|The Lord McInnes of Kilwinning]]
| founded = {{ubl|{{start date and age|1834}}<br/>(original form)|{{start date and age|1912|5|9|df=y}}<br/>(current form)}}
| merger = {{ublist
 | Conservative Party
 | [[Liberal Unionist Party]]
}}
| predecessor = [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]]
| headquarters = [[Conservative Campaign Headquarters]]<br />
4 Matthew Parker Street, London SW1H 9HQ
| youth_wing = [[Young Conservatives (UK)|Young Conservatives]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/news/93688/conservatives-re-launch-youth-wing-bid-take|title=Conservatives re-launch youth wing in a bid to take on Labour|last=Wilkins|first=Jessica|date=17 March 2018|website=PoliticsHome.com|access-date=9 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709125701/https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/news/93688/conservatives-re-launch-youth-wing-bid-take|archive-date=9 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
| womens_wing = [[Conservative Women's Organisation]]
| wing1_title = Overseas wing
| wing1 = [[Conservatives Abroad]]
| wing2_title = [[LGBT wing]]
| wing2 = [[LGBT+ Conservatives]]
| membership_year = July 2025
| membership = 123,000<ref name="Membership report, July 2025">{{cite news |last= Holl-Allen |first= Genevieve |date= 23 July 2025 |title= Tory membership falls under Badenoch |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/07/23/tory-membership-falls-under-badenoch/ |work= The Daily Telegraph |access-date= 25 July 2025 |quote= At the time of the leadership election last year, the Tories had 131,000 members but this has since fallen to 123,000. |archive-date= 23 July 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250723194221/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/07/23/tory-membership-falls-under-badenoch/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
| ideology = {{ublist|class=nowrap|
 | [[British unionism]]{{refn|<ref>David Dutton, "Unionist Politics and the aftermath of the General Election of 1906: A Reassessment". Historical Journal 22#4 (1979): 861–76.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=McConnel |first1=James |title=Irish Home Rule: An imagined future |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/home_rule_movement_01.shtml |date=17 February 2011 |access-date=5 November 2021 |work=[[BBC History]] |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804152216/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/home_rule_movement_01.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
 | [[Conservatism]] ([[Conservatism in the United Kingdom|British]]){{refn|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.conservatives.com/plan/welfareimmigration |title=Capping welfare and working to control immigration |publisher=Conservative and Unionist Party |access-date=1 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609044424/https://www.conservatives.com/Plan/WelfareImmigration |archive-date=9 June 2016}}</ref>}}
 | [[Economic liberalism]]{{refn|<ref>Bale, Tim (2011). ''The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron''. p. 145.</ref>}}
}}
| position = {{Nowrap|[[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]] to [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]}}
| european = [[European Conservatives, Patriots & Affiliates]]
| international = [[International Democracy Union]]
| slogan = "Renew and Rebuild" (2024)<ref>{{cite news|title=Tory party conference is a peculiar affair|first=Adam|last=Boulton|url=https://reaction.life/tory-party-conference-is-a-peculiar-affair/|access-date=18 October 2024|publisher=Reaction|date=1 October 2024|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002193750/https://reaction.life/tory-party-conference-is-a-peculiar-affair/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='I thought I'd see lots of sad Tories at the Conservative conference – only the weather was miserable'|first=Joseph|last=Timan|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=18 October 2024|date=2 October 2024|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/i-thought-id-see-lots-30055636|archive-date=3 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003125603/https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/i-thought-id-see-lots-30055636|url-status=live}}</ref>
| symbol = 
| colours = {{colour box|{{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Sky blue]]
| seats1_title = [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]<ref>{{Cite web | title=State of the parties | url=https://members.parliament.uk/parties/commons | website=UK Parliament | access-date=24 August 2025 | archive-date=28 May 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528191216/https://members.parliament.uk/parties/commons | url-status=live }}</ref>
| seats1 = {{composition bar|116|650|hex={{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats2_title = [[House of Lords]]
| seats2 = {{composition bar|{{HOL|CON}}|{{HOL|TOTAL}}|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats3_title = [[Scottish Parliament]]<ref>{{Cite web | title=Current party balance | url=https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-party-balance | website=Scottish Parliament | access-date=26 October 2021 | archive-date=23 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023030000/https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-party-balance | url-status=live }}</ref>
| seats3 = {{composition bar|12|129|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats4_title = [[Senedd]]
| seats4 = {{composition bar|7|96|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats5_title = [[London Assembly]]
| seats5 = {{composition bar|7|25|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats6_title = [[Directly elected mayors in England#Mayoralties covering more than one local authority (strategic authority mayors)|Directly elected strategic authority mayors in England]]
| seats6 = {{composition bar|2|14|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats7_title = [[Directly elected mayors in England#Mayoralties covering a single local authority|Directly elected single authority mayors in England]]
| seats7 = {{composition bar|2|13|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats8_title = [[Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom|Councillors]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Conservative and Unionist (Latest) |url=http://opencouncildata.co.uk/councillors.php?p=74&y=0 |website=opencouncildata.co.uk |access-date=2 May 2025 |archive-date=26 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426174732/https://opencouncildata.co.uk/councillors.php?p=74&y=0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Open Council Data UK (Councillors Breakdown by Party Latest) |url=https://opencouncildata.co.uk/councillors2.php?y=0 |website=opencouncildata.co.uk |access-date=2 May 2025 |archive-date=4 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250504203548/https://opencouncildata.co.uk/councillors2.php?y=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| seats8 = {{composition bar|3849|18645|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats9_title = [[Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom|Councils led]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Open Council Data UK |url=http://opencouncildata.co.uk/ |website=opencouncildata.co.uk |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430183531/http://opencouncildata.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| seats9 = {{Composition bar|60|369|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats10_title = [[Police and crime commissioner|PCCs and PFCCs]]
| seats10 = {{composition bar|16|37|hex={{party colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| blank1_title = [[Governing body]]
| blank1 = [[Conservative Party Board]]
| blank2_title = [[Devolution in the United Kingdom|Devolved or semi-autonomous branches]]
| blank2 = {{ublist
 | [[London Conservatives]]
 | [[Scottish Conservatives]]
 | [[Welsh Conservatives]]
 | [[Northern Ireland Conservatives]]
 | [[Gibraltar Conservatives]]
}}
| blank3_title = [[Parliamentary party]]
| blank3 = [[1922 Committee]]
| website = {{URL|https://conservatives.com}}
| country = the United Kingdom
| affiliation1 = {{ublist
 | [[Ulster Unionist Party]]<br>(1922–1972; 2009–2012)
 | [[Irish Unionist Alliance]]<br>(1891–1922)
 | [[Irish Conservative Party]]<br>(1834–1891)
 | [[Ulster Unionist Party]] (as [[Ulster Conservatives and Unionists]]) (2009–2012)
}}
| affiliation1_title = Irish affiliation
| flag = 
}}

The '''Conservative and Unionist Party''', commonly the '''Conservative Party''' and colloquially the '''Tories''',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Buchan |first1=Lizzy |title=What does Tory mean and where does this term come from? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-definition-what-is-conservative-party-values-whig-history-uk-britain-a8622246.html |website=The Independent |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709124148/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-definition-what-is-conservative-party-values-whig-history-uk-britain-a8622246.html |archive-date=9 July 2022 |language=en |date=12 November 2018}}</ref> is a [[List of political parties in the United Kingdom|political party]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. It sits on the [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]]{{refn|name=inac|Multiple sources:
* {{Cite journal |last=Bale |first=Tim |date=2018 |title=Who leads and who follows? The symbiotic relationship between UKIP and the Conservatives – and populism and Euroscepticism |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263395718754718 |journal=Politics |language=en |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=263–277 |doi=10.1177/0263395718754718 |issn=0263-3957 |quote=This article makes clear that UKIP's achievement cannot be understood without taking into account both the populist interventions and the internal politics of its mainstream centre-right competitor. We cannot, in other words, understand populist Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom unless we appreciate that, as this article has shown, the Conservatives, not UKIP, were the United Kingdom's first populist Eurosceptic party... |url-access=subscription |archive-date=12 November 2024 |access-date=12 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112141823/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263395718754718 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Webb |first1=Paul |last2=Bale |first2=Tim |date=2014 |title=Why Do Tories Defect to UKIP? Conservative Party Members and the Temptations of the Populist Radical Right |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9248.12130 |journal=Political Studies |language=en |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=961–970 |doi=10.1111/1467-9248.12130 |issn=0032-3217 |quote=For one thing, as we have already suggested, the problems posed by UKIP for the Conservatives are akin to those posed to other European centre-right parties by populist radical right challengers: there is no prima facie reason to think that if large numbers of the Tory rank-and-file are considering switching their vote to UKIP that the same does not apply to, say, members of the ÖVP in Austria (who might switch to the FPÖ), or of the Dutch VVD and CDA (who might vote for the PVV), or of Denmark's Venstre (who might cast their ballot for the DF), or of KOK in Finland (who might be tempted by the Finns Party), or even of the French UMP (who might plump for Marine Le Pen's FN). |archive-date=12 November 2024 |access-date=12 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112135830/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9248.12130 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Ford |first1=Robert |last2=Goodwin |first2=Matthew J. |last3=Cutts |first3=David |date=2012 |title=Strategic Eurosceptics and Polite Xenophobes: Support for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in the 2009 European Parliament Elections |url=https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.01994.x |journal=European Journal of Political Research |language=en |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=204–234 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.01994.x |issn=0304-4130 |quote=The more strident Euroscepticism of the Conservative Party under David Cameron, who has withdrawn the party from the pro-integration European People's Party, appointed the strongly Eurosceptic William Hague as foreign secretary and at the 2010 general election ﬁelded the most Eurosceptic slate of Westminster candidates in recent history, suggest the centre-right Tories have recognised the discontent among strategic UKIP supporters and are attempting to win them back. |url-access=subscription |archive-date=12 November 2024 |access-date=12 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112135847/https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.01994.x |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Carter |first1=Neil |last2=Pearson |first2=Mitya |date=2022-11-22 |title=From green crap to net zero: Conservative climate policy 2015–2022 |journal=British Politics |volume=19 |pages=154–174 |language=en |doi=10.1057/s41293-022-00222-x |issn=1746-918X |pmc=9684876 |pmid=38625241 |quote=European centre-right parties often face common strategic challenges, such as competition from the radical right, but the UK Conservative Party case study shows that responding to these challenges does not necessarily demand the abandonment of climate commitments.}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Geoffrey |last2=de Geus |first2=Roosmarijn |last3=Green |first3=Jane |date=2023 |title=Boris Johnson to the Rescue? How the Conservatives Won the Radical-Right Vote in the 2019 General Election |journal=Political Studies |language=en |volume=71 |issue=4  |pages=984–1005 |doi=10.1177/00323217211051191 |issn=0032-3217 |quote=...By the 2019 election, however, support for UKIP and its successor anti-EU party, the Brexit Party, was effectively ended, at least for the time being. The primary beneficiaries of this electoral elimination were the Conservative Party – the mainstream centre–right party.|doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Abou-Chadi |first1=Tarik |last2=Cohen |first2=Denis |last3=Wagner |first3=Markus |date=2021 |title=The centre-right versus the radical right: the role of migration issues and economic grievances |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=366–384 |doi=10.1080/1369183X.2020.1853903 |quote=Specifically, the centre-right contains Christian Democratic parties such as the German CDU, Conservative parties such as the British Tories or the French Gaullists, and classically Liberal parties such as Venstre in Denmark or the VVD in the Netherlands.}}}} to [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]{{refn|name=accu|Multiple sources:
* {{cite book |last1=Keating |first1=Michael |editor-first1=Javier |editor-first2=Cristina |editor-last1=Cremades |editor-last2=Hermida |author-link=Michael Keating (political scientist) |chapter=Scotland's Constitutional Odyssey |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Constitutionalism |date=2024 |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |location=London; Berlin |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-31739-7 |isbn=978-3-319-31739-7 |quote=It was also, like the Labour Party at the same time, able to play the European center-left against the dominant rightwing Conservative Party. |url=https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-31739-7 |archive-date=13 November 2024 |access-date=12 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113140344/https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-31739-7 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Turnbull-Dugarte |first1=Stuart J. |title=Do Opportunistic Snap Elections Affect Political Trust? Evidence from a Natural Experiment |quote=H2a assumes right-leaning voters are congruent with the incumbent right-wing Conservative party|journal=[[European Journal of Political Research]]|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]|location=New York/Oxford|date=February 2023 |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=308–325 |doi=10.1111/1475-6765.12531|doi-access=free }}
* <ref name=Ba23>{{cite book|last1=Bale|first1=Tim|author-link=Tim Bale|title=The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation|date=March 2023|publisher=[[Polity (publisher)|Polity]]|pages=3–8, 291, ''[[et passim]]''|location=Cambridge|quote=[...] rather than the installation of a supposedly more 'technocratic' cabinet halting and even reversing any transformation on the part of the Conservative Party from a mainstream centre-right formation into an ersatz radical right-wing populist outfit, it could just as easily accelerate and accentuate it. Of course, radical right-wing populist parties are about more than migration and, indeed, culture wars more generally. Typically, they also put a premium on charismatic leadership and, if in office, on the rights of the executive over other branches of government and any intermediate institutions. And this is exactly what we have seen from the Conservative Party since 2019|isbn=9781509546015|access-date=12 September 2023|url=https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-conservative-party-after-brexit-turmoil-and-transformation--9781509546015|archive-date=14 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914194203/https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-conservative-party-after-brexit-turmoil-and-transformation--9781509546015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* <ref name=deGSh22>{{cite book |last1=de Geus |first1=Roosmarijn A. |last2=Shorrocks |first2=Rosalind |title=Sell-Outs or Warriors for Change? A Comparative Look at Conservative Women in Politics in Democracies |date=2022 |chapter=Where Do Female Conservatives Stand? A Cross-National Analysis of the Issue Positions and Ideological Placement of Female Right-Wing Candidates |editor-last1=Och |editor-last2=Shames |editor-last3=Cooperman |editor-first1=Malliga |editor-first2=Shauna |editor-first3=Rosalyn |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon/New York |isbn=9781032346571 |pages=1–29 |quote=[R]ight-wing parties are also increasing the presence of women within their ranks. Prominent female European leaders include Theresa May (until recently) and Angela Merkel, from the right-wing Conservative Party in the UK and the Christian Democratic Party in Germany respectively. |url=https://www.routledge.com/Sell-Outs-or-Warriors-for-Change-A-Comparative-Look-at-Conservative-W/Cooperman-Och-Shames/p/book/9781032346571 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220319/https://www.routledge.com/Sell-Outs-or-Warriors-for-Change-A-Comparative-Look-at-Conservative-W/Cooperman-Och-Shames/p/book/9781032346571 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{cite journal |last1=Alonso |first1=José M. |last2=Andrews |first2=Rhys |title=Political Ideology and Social Services Contracting: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design |journal=[[Public Administration Review]] |date=September 2020 |location=Hoboken |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |volume=80 |issue=5 |pages=743–754 |doi=10.1111/puar.13177 |s2cid=214198195 |url=https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/129657/1/Politics%20of%20contracting%20RDD%20-%20Alonso%20and%20Andrews.pdf |quote=In particular, there is a clear partisan division between the main left-wing party (Labour) and political parties with pronounced pro-market preferences, such as the right-wing Conservative Party |archive-date=14 October 2023 |access-date=6 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014093122/https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/129657/1/Politics%20of%20contracting%20RDD%20-%20Alonso%20and%20Andrews.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Alzuabi |first1=Raslan |last2=Brown |first2=Sarah |last3=Taylor |first3=Karl |title=Charitable behaviour and political affiliation: Evidence for the UK |journal=[[Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics]]|location=Amsterdam|publisher=[[Elsevier]]|doi-access=free|quote=...alignment to the Liberal Democrats (centre to left wing) and the Green Party (left wing) are positively associated with charitable behaviour at both the extensive and intensive margins, relative to being aligned with the right wing Conservative Party.|date=October 2022 |volume=100 |article-number=101917 |doi=10.1016/j.socec.2022.101917}}}}<!-- This order has been arrived at by a request for comment ('Request for comment on order of spectrum position') on this article's talk page. Do not change it without attaining agreement on the talk page. --> of the [[left–right political spectrum]]. Following its defeat by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] at the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], it is currently the second-largest party by the number of votes cast and number of seats in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]; as such it has the formal parliamentary role of [[His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition]]. It encompasses various ideological factions including [[One-nation conservatism|one-nation conservatives]], [[Thatcherism|Thatcherites]] and [[Traditionalist conservatism|traditionalist conservatives]]. There have been 20 Conservative [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime ministers]]. The party meets annually during autumn, for the [[Conservative Party Conference]].

The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the [[Tories (British political party)|Tory Party]] and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19th century, along with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]]. Under [[Benjamin Disraeli]] it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of the [[British Empire]]. In 1912, the [[Liberal Unionist Party]] merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party. Its rivalry with the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] has shaped modern British politics for the last century. [[David Cameron]] sought to modernise the party after [[2005 Conservative Party leadership election|his election as leader in 2005]], and the party governed from 2010 to 2024 under five prime ministers, latterly [[Rishi Sunak]].

The party has generally adopted [[Economic liberalism|liberal economic policies]] favouring [[free market]]s since the 1980s, although historically it advocated [[protectionism]]. The party is [[Unionism in the United Kingdom|British unionist]], opposing a [[united Ireland]] as well as [[English independence|English]], [[Ulster nationalism|Northern Irish]], [[Scottish independence|Scottish]] and [[Welsh independence]], and has been critical of [[Devolution in the United Kingdom|devolution]]. Historically the party supported the continuance and maintenance of the British Empire. The party has taken various approaches towards the [[European Union]] (EU), with [[Euroscepticism|Eurosceptic]] and, to a decreasing extent, [[Pro-Europeanism|pro-European]] factions within it. Historically the party took a [[Social conservatism|socially conservative]] approach.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hartley-Brewer |first1=Julia |date=25 July 2000 |title=Section 28 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jul/25/qanda.rostaylor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211025708/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jul/25/qanda.rostaylor |archive-date=11 February 2021 |access-date=19 January 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=12 June 2020 |title=Keep Sunday Special: Why Sunday trading regulations need to stay |language=en |department=Keep Sunday Special |newspaper=Conservative Home |url=https://www.conservativehome.com/sponsored/2020/06/keep-sunday-special-why-sunday-trading-regulations-need-to-stay.html |url-status=live |access-date=3 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205151130/https://www.conservativehome.com/sponsored/2020/06/keep-sunday-special-why-sunday-trading-regulations-need-to-stay.html |archive-date=5 December 2020}}</ref> In defence policy it supports an [[Trident (UK nuclear programme)|independent nuclear weapons programme]] and commitment to [[NATO]] membership.

For much of modern British political history the United Kingdom exhibited a wide [[urban–rural political divide]];<ref>{{cite web |date=16 August 2021 |title=Europe-wide political divide emerging between cities and countryside – study |url=https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/urban-rural-divide/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428200055/https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/urban-rural-divide/ |archive-date=28 April 2022 |access-date=2 June 2022 |publisher=Bennett Institute for Public Policy |language=en-GB}}</ref> the party's voting and financial [[Voting bloc|support base]] has historically consisted primarily of business-owners, farmers, homeowners, [[middle class|middle-class]] voters and real-estate-developers, especially in rural and suburban areas of [[England]].<ref>{{cite web |date=10 December 2019 |title=Why the UK has no clear party of business |url=https://theconversation.com/why-the-uk-has-no-clear-party-of-business-128437 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602051802/https://theconversation.com/amp/why-the-uk-has-no-clear-party-of-business-128437 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |access-date=2 June 2022 |website=theconversation.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=12 May 2021 |title=How Tory dominance is built on home ownership |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2021/05/how-tory-dominance-built-home-ownership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511173724/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2021/05/how-tory-dominance-built-home-ownership |archive-date=11 May 2022 |access-date=2 June 2022 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |title=Tories have unhealthy financial reliance on property developers, says report {{!}} Housing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/12/tories-have-unhealthy-financial-reliance-on-property-developers-says-report |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602051800/https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/12/tories-have-unhealthy-financial-reliance-on-property-developers-says-report |archive-date=2 June 2022 |access-date=2 June 2022 |website=The Guardian |date=11 July 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=30 July 2021 |title=Conservatives 'receive donations worth £17,500 a day from developers' |language=en |website=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservative-donations-developers-angela-rayner-b1893724.html |url-status=live |access-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602051800/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservative-donations-developers-angela-rayner-b1893724.html |archive-date=2 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=25 May 2022 |title=Why some farmers are turning away from the Tories |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-61443452 |access-date=25 October 2022 |archive-date=25 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025155238/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-61443452 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|the EU membership referendum in 2016]] the Conservatives have targeted [[working class|working-class]] voters from traditional Labour strongholds.<ref name="The Independent">{{cite news |date=17 December 2019 |title=Tories won more working class votes than Labour amid stark generation gap at general election, poll suggests |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-results-working-class-age-tories-labour-boris-johnson-yougov-a9249936.html |url-status=live |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816084901/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-results-working-class-age-tories-labour-boris-johnson-yougov-a9249936.html |archive-date=16 August 2020}}</ref><ref name="Mueller">{{cite news |last=Mueller |first=Benjamin |date=13 December 2019 |title=How Labour's Working-Class Vote Crumbled and Its Nemesis Won the North |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/world/europe/uk-election-labour-redwall.html |url-status=live |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928043756/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/world/europe/uk-election-labour-redwall.html |archive-date=28 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Garcha |first=Ciara |date=3 April 2021 |title=The Conservatives' attack on the ECHR: A Long Time Coming |url=https://www.cherwell.org/2021/04/03/the-conservatives-attack-on-the-echr-a-long-time-coming/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223104944/https://cherwell.org/2021/04/03/the-conservatives-attack-on-the-echr-a-long-time-coming/ |archive-date=23 December 2021 |access-date=31 May 2022 |website=Cherwell |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=22 October 2021 |title=How the Tories became the party of the working class |language=en |website=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/johnson-conservatives-party-working-class-b1841422.html |url-status=live |access-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602051804/https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/johnson-conservatives-party-working-class-b1841422.html |archive-date=2 June 2022}}</ref> The party's domination of British politics throughout the 20th century made it one of the most electorally successful political parties in history,<ref>{{cite web |author=Steve Coulter |date=10 April 2011 |title=Book Review: The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron |url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/book-review-the-conservative-party-from-thatcher-to-cameron/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815212248/http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/book-review-the-conservative-party-from-thatcher-to-cameron/ |archive-date=15 August 2016 |access-date=8 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Philip Johnston |date=19 April 2016 |title=The Conservative Party may be destroyed by this European madness |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/19/the-conservative-party-may-be-destroyed-by-this-european-madness/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623063607/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/19/the-conservative-party-may-be-destroyed-by-this-european-madness/ |archive-date=23 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Andrew Gimson |date=15 May 2017 |title=Why the Tories keep winning |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/elections/2017/05/why-tories-keep-winning |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018071809/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/elections/2017/05/why-tories-keep-winning |archive-date=18 October 2017 |access-date=18 October 2017 |work=New Statesman}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Earle |first=Samuel |date=23 February 2021 |title=The Sordid Story of the Most Successful Political Party in the World |magazine=The New Republic |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/161328/successful-political-party-world-tories-conservatives-britain-boris-johnson |access-date=21 September 2023 |issn=0028-6583 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220321/https://newrepublic.com/article/161328/successful-political-party-world-tories-conservatives-britain-boris-johnson |url-status=live }}</ref> although the party’s support has declined in recent years,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eaton |first=George |date=2025-05-15 |title=Are the Tories doomed this time? |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2025/05/are-the-tories-doomed-this-time |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US |archive-date=7 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251007033330/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2025/05/are-the-tories-doomed-this-time |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-02 |title=Britain’s battered Tories ask if they still have further to fall |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-local-elections-tory-reform-nigel-farage-kemi-badenoch/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB |archive-date=13 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260113162728/https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-local-elections-tory-reform-nigel-farage-kemi-badenoch/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Greening |first=Justine |date=2025-05-05 |title=Let’s be clear: this Conservative party is dead. Those who killed it should own up so we can move on |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/05/conservative-party-is-dead-local-elections-reform |access-date=2026-01-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> reaching its lowest vote share ever in the 2024 election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Britain’s Tory Party Has Suffered Its Worst-Ever Defeat |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/07/uk-elections-tory-party-conservatives-defeat-labour |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=Jacobin |language=en-US |archive-date=16 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316184417/https://jacobin.com/2024/07/uk-elections-tory-party-conservatives-defeat-labour |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{TOC limit|3}}

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Conservative Party (UK)}}
<!--This section is meant to be just a summary. Please do not add too much detail&nbsp;– the "History of the Conservative Party (UK)" article is intended for detailed additions-->
[[File:Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Bt by Henry William Pickersgill-detail.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Robert Peel]], twice [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] and founder of the Conservative Party]]

=== Origins ===
Some writers trace the party's origins to the [[Tories (British political party)|Tory Party]], which it soon replaced. Other historians point to a faction, rooted in the 18th-century [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig Party]], that coalesced around [[William Pitt the Younger]] in the 1780s. They were known as "Independent Whigs", "[[Tories (British political party)#Friends of Mr Pitt|Friends of Mr Pitt]]" or "Pittites", and never used terms such as "Tory" or "Conservative". From about 1812 the name "Tory" was commonly used for a new party that, according to the historian Robert Blake, "are the ancestors of Conservatism". Blake adds that Pitt's successors after 1812 "were not in any sense standard-bearers of 'true Toryism'".<ref>Robert Blake, ''The Conservative Party from Peel to Major'' (1997) p. 4</ref>

''Tory'' was an insult that entered [[Politics of England|English politics]] during the [[Exclusion Crisis|Exclusion Bill]] crisis of 1678–1681, which derived from the [[Middle Irish]] word {{lang|mga|tóraidhe}} (modern [[Irish language|Irish]]: {{lang|ga|tóraí}}) meaning ''[[outlaw]]'' or ''robber'', which in turn derived from the Irish word {{lang|ga|tóir}}, meaning ''pursuit'', since outlaws were "pursued men".<ref>{{citation|contribution=Tory|last=Webster|title=New World Dictionary & Thesaurus|edition=2.0 for PC|year=1998}}</ref><ref>{{citation|contribution=Tory|title=Answers|url=http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=Tory&gwp=16|access-date=3 January 2024|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923174521/http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=Tory&gwp=16|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The term "[[Conservative]]" was suggested as a title for the party in an article by [[John Wilson Croker|J. Wilson Croker]] published in the ''[[Quarterly Review]]'' in 1830.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Safire|first1=William|title=Safire's Political Dictionary|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195343342|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&pg=PA144|access-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330130525/https://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&pg=PA144|archive-date=30 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The name immediately caught on and was formally adopted under the aegis of [[Robert Peel]] around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the [[Tamworth Manifesto]]. The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845.<ref>Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, ''The Growth of the British Party System Volume I: 1640–1923'' (1965) pp. 66–81</ref><ref>David Paterson, ''Liberalism and Conservatism, 1846–1905'' (2001) p. 5</ref>

=== 1867–1914: Conservatives and Unionists ===
The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced the Conservative Party to popularise its approach under [[Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby]], and [[Benjamin Disraeli]], who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the [[Reform Act 1867]]. The party was initially opposed to further expansion of the electorate but eventually allowed passage of [[William Ewart Gladstone]]'s [[Representation of the People Act 1884]]. In 1886 the party formed an alliance with [[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire|Spencer Cavendish]]'s and [[Joseph Chamberlain]]'s new [[Liberal Unionist Party]] and, under the statesmen [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Robert Gascoyne-Cecil]] and [[Arthur Balfour]], held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in [[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906]], when it split over the issue of [[free trade]].

Young [[Winston Churchill]] denounced Chamberlain's attack on free trade, and helped to organise the opposition inside the Unionist/Conservative Party. Nevertheless, Balfour, as party leader, introduced protectionist legislation.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Peter |last=Fraser |title=Unionism and Tariff Reform: The Crisis of 1906 |journal=Historical Journal |volume=5 |issue=2 |year=1962 |pages=149–166|doi=10.1017/S0018246X00000170 |s2cid=155026903 }}</ref> Churchill crossed the floor and formally joined the Liberal Party (he rejoined the Conservatives in 1925). In December, Balfour lost control of his party, as the defections multiplied. He was replaced by Liberal Prime Minister [[Henry Campbell-Bannerman]] who called [[1906 United Kingdom general election|an election in January 1906]], which produced a massive Liberal victory. Liberal Prime Minister [[H. H. Asquith]] enacted a great deal of reform legislation, but the Unionists worked hard at grassroots organizing. Two general elections were held in 1910, [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|in January]] and [[December 1910 United Kingdom general election|in December]]. The two main parties were now almost dead equal in seats, but the Liberals kept control with a coalition with the [[Irish Parliamentary Party]].<ref>{{cite book |first=R. C. K. |last=Ensor |title=England, 1870–1914 |pages=373–428 |url=https://www.questia.com/library/1401979/england-1870-1914 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408081229/https://www.questia.com/library/1401979/england-1870-1914 |archive-date=8 April 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Blewett|first=Neal|author-link=Neal Blewett|title=The Peers, the Parties and the People: The British General Elections of 1910|year=1972|location=Toronto and Buffalo|publisher=University of Toronto Press|url=https://archive.org/details/peerspartiespeop0000blew/page/n5/mode/2up|url-access=registration|isbn=0-8020-1838-6}}</ref>

In 1912 the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party. In Ireland the [[Irish Unionist Alliance]] had been formed in 1891 which merged Unionists who were opposed to [[Irish Home Rule movement|Irish Home Rule]] into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative [[Whip (politics)#United Kingdom|whip]] at Westminster, essentially forming the Irish wing of the party until 1922. In Britain the Conservative Party was known as the Unionist Party because of its opposition to home rule.<ref>{{cite web |first=Leala |last=Padmanabhan |date=8 April 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30899534 |title='Conservative' or 'Tory': What's in a name? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220003436/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30899534 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=The [[Conservative Party Archive]] Trust |url=https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/94891/CPA-guide-high-res-version.pdf |title=Guide to the Conservative Party Archive |publisher=[[Bodleian Library]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009073843/http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/94891/CPA-guide-high-res-version.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2016 |year=2009}}</ref> Under [[Bonar Law]]'s leadership in 1911–1914, the party morale improved, the "radical right" wing was contained, and the party machinery strengthened. It made some progress toward developing constructive social policies.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Graham D. |last=Goodlad |title=The 'Crisis' of Edwardian Conservatism |journal=Modern History Review |year=1998 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=10–13}}</ref>

=== First World War ===
{{Further|History of the United Kingdom during the First World War}}
While the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]] were mostly against the [[First World War]] until the invasion of Belgium, Conservative leaders were strongly in favour of aiding [[French Third Republic|France]] and stopping [[German Empire|Germany]]. The Liberal party was in full control of the government until its mismanagement of the war effort under the [[Shell Crisis of 1915|Shell Crisis]] badly hurt its reputation. An all-party coalition government was formed in May 1915. In late 1916 the Liberal [[David Lloyd George]] became prime minister, but the Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their [[1918 United Kingdom general election|landslide in the 1918 election]]. The Liberal party never recovered, but the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] gained strength after 1920.<ref>J. A. R. Marriott, ''Modern England, 1885–1945'' (4th ed. 1949) pp 375–432 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.54679 online free]</ref>

Nigel Keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914 but the war pulled the party together, allowing it to emphasise patriotism as it found new leadership and worked out its positions on the Irish question, socialism, electoral reform, and the issue of intervention in the economy. The fresh emphasis on [[anti-socialism]] was its response to the growing strength of the Labour Party. When electoral reform was an issue, it worked to protect their base in rural England.<ref>{{cite book|first=Nigel|last=Keohane|title=The Party of Patriotism: The Conservative Party and the First World War|publisher=Ashgate|year=2010}}</ref> It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes.<ref>{{cite journal |first=David|last=Jarvis |title=Mrs. Maggs and Betty: The Conservative Appeal to Women Voters in the 1920s|journal=Twentieth Century British History|year=1992|volume=5|issue=2|pages=129–52|doi=10.1093/tcbh/5.2.129 }}</ref>

=== 1920–1945 ===
{{Main|Interwar Britain}}

[[File:Sir Winston Churchill - 19086236948.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Sir Winston Churchill]], who was Prime Minister during World War II and in the 1950s]]
In 1922 Bonar Law and [[Stanley Baldwin]] led the breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by [[Ramsay MacDonald]] came to power. The Conservatives regained power in 1924 but were defeated in 1929 as a minority Labour government took office. In 1931, following the collapse of the Labour minority government, it entered another coalition, which was dominated by the Conservatives with some support from factions of both the Liberal Party and the Labour Party ([[National Labour Organisation|National Labour]] and [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberals]]).<ref name="Vernon Bogdanor, Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution">{{cite book|first=Vernon|last=Bogdanor|title=Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution|year=1983|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> In May 1940, during the [[Second World War]], a more balanced coalition was formed<ref name="Vernon Bogdanor, Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution" />—the [[National Government (United Kingdom)|National Government]]—which, under the leadership of [[Sir Winston Churchill]], saw the United Kingdom through the Second World War. However, the party lost the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]] in a landslide to the resurgent Labour Party.<ref>Marriott, ''Modern England, 1885–1945'' (4th ed. 1949) pp 504–66. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.54679 online free]</ref><ref>Alfred F. Havighurst, ''Modern England, 1901–1984'' (2nd ed. 1987) [https://archive.org/details/modernengland19000havi online free to borrow]</ref>

The concept of the "property-owning democracy" was coined by [[Noel Skelton]] in 1923 and became a core principle of the party.<ref name="Matthew Francis 2011">Matthew Francis, "A Crusade to Enfranchise the Many': Thatcherism and the 'Property-Owning Democracy". ''Twentieth Century British History'' (2011)</ref>

=== 1945–1975: Post-war consensus ===
{{Main|Post-war consensus|Post-war Britain (1945–1979)}}

==== Popular dissatisfaction ====
While serving in Opposition during the late 1940s, the Conservative Party exploited and incited growing public anger at [[Rationing in the United Kingdom|food rationing]], scarcity, controls, [[austerity]] and government bureaucracy. It used the dissatisfaction with the [[socialist]] and [[egalitarian]] policies of the Labour Party to rally middle-class supporters and build a political comeback that won them the [[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951 general election]].<ref>Zweiniger-Bargileowska, Ina. "Rationing, austerity and the Conservative party recovery after 1945". ''Historical Journal'' (1994) 37#1 pp. 173–97.</ref>

==== Modernising the party ====
[[File:Harold Macmillan.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Harold Macmillan]] is closely associated with the post-war settlement.]]
In 1947 the party published its [[Industrial Charter]] which marked its acceptance of the "[[post-war consensus]]" on the [[mixed economy]] and [[labour rights]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Kynaston, David |author-link = David Kynaston|year=2007 |title=Austerity Britain: 1945–1951 |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-7475-7985-4 |pages=238–41}}</ref> [[David Maxwell Fyfe]] chaired a committee into Conservative Party organisation that resulted in the Maxwell Fyfe Report (1948–49). The report required the party to do more fundraising, by forbidding constituency associations from demanding large donations from candidates, with the intention of broadening the [[diversity (politics)|diversity]] of MPs. In practice it may have had the effect of lending more power to [[United Kingdom constituencies|constituency]] parties and making candidates more uniform.<ref>Dutton, D. J. (2004). "[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33301 Fyfe, David Patrick Maxwell, Earl of Kilmuir (1900–1967)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206011849/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33301 |date=6 February 2016 }}", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 August 2007 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> [[Winston Churchill]], the party leader, brought in a [[Chairman of the Conservative Party|party chairman]] to modernise the party: [[Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton]], rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money, and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues.<ref>Blake, Robert. ''The Conservative Party from Peel to Major'' (1997) pp. 260–64.</ref>

With a narrow victory at the [[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951 general election]], despite losing the popular vote, Churchill was back in power. Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the [[welfare state]] enacted by Labour was accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as [[Butskellism]] and that lasted until the 1970s.<ref>[[Toye, Richard]]. "From 'Consensus' to 'Common Ground': The Rhetoric of the Postwar Settlement and its Collapse", ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (2013) 48#1 pp. 3–23.</ref><ref>''The Economist'', 'Mr Butskell's Dilemma', 13 February 1954.</ref> The Conservatives were conciliatory towards [[Trade unions in the United Kingdom|trade unions]], but they did privatise the steel and road haulage industries in 1953.<ref>{{cite book |author=Morgan, Kenneth O. |author-link=Kenneth O. Morgan |title=Britain Since 1945: The People's Peace: The People's Peace |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKwGaWWKzNAC&pg=PA114 |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford UP |pages=114–15 |isbn=9780191587993 |access-date=25 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101200045/https://books.google.com/books?id=tKwGaWWKzNAC&pg=PA114 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the Conservatives' thirteen-year tenure in office, pensions went up by 49% in real terms, sickness and unemployment benefits by 76% in real terms, and supplementary benefits by 46% in real terms. However, family allowances fell by 15% in real terms.<ref>The Labour Party in Crisis by Paul Whiteley</ref> "Thirteen Wasted Years" was a popular slogan attacking the Conservative record, primarily from Labour. In addition, there were attacks by the right wing of the Conservative Party itself for its tolerance of socialist policies and reluctance to curb the legal powers of labour unions.

The Conservatives were re-elected [[1955 United Kingdom general election|in 1955]] and [[1959 United Kingdom general election|in 1959]] with larger majorities. The Conservative prime ministers Churchill, [[Anthony Eden]], [[Harold Macmillan]] and [[Alec Douglas-Home]] promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. The [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956 was a humiliating defeat for Eden, but his successor, Macmillan, minimised the damage and focused attention on domestic issues and prosperity. Following controversy over the selections of Macmillan and Douglas-Home via a process of consultation known as the 'Magic Circle',<ref>Thorpe, D.R. (2010). ''Supermac''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/alec-douglas-home|title=History of Sir Alec Douglas|publisher=Inside Government|access-date=18 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108014311/https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/alec-douglas-home|archive-date=8 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> a formal election process was created and [[1965 Conservative Party leadership election|the first leadership election]] was held in 1965, won by [[Edward Heath]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/27/newsid_2956000/2956082.stm|title=On This Day 1965: Heath is new Tory leader|work=BBC News|date=27 July 1996|access-date=18 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127031248/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/27/newsid_2956000/2956082.stm|archive-date=27 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1965–1975: Edward Heath ====
[[Heath ministry|Heath's 1970–74 government]] was known for taking the UK into the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC), although the right wing of the party objected to his failure to control the trade unions at a time when a declining British industry saw many strikes, as well as the [[1973–75 recession]]. Since accession to the EEC, which developed into the European Union, British membership has been a source of heated debate within the party.

Heath had come to power in [[1970 United Kingdom general election|June 1970]] and the last possible date for the next general election was not until mid-1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393297.stm|work=BBC News|title=1970: Heath's surprise victory|date=5 April 2005|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422054124/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393297.stm|archive-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> However, a general election was held in [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974]] in a bid to win public support during [[Three-day week|a national emergency]] caused by the miners' strike. Heath's attempt to win a second term at this "snap" election failed, as a deadlock result [[hung parliament|left no party with an overall majority]]. Heath resigned within days, after failing to gain [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] support to form a coalition government. Labour won the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974 election]] with an overall majority of three seats.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393307.stm|work=BBC News|title=1974&nbsp;Oct&nbsp;: Wilson makes it four|date=5 April 2005|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422042401/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393307.stm|archive-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1975–1990: Margaret Thatcher===
{{Further|Premiership of Margaret Thatcher}}
[[File:Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Margaret Thatcher]] is the first woman to be Prime Minister and the [[List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure|longest-serving]] of the 20th century.]]
Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and [[Margaret Thatcher]] deposed him at the [[1975 Conservative Party leadership election|1975 leadership election]]. Thatcher led her party to victory at the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]] with a manifesto which concentrated on the party's philosophy.<ref>[[David Butler (psephologist)|David Butler]] and Dennis Kavanagh, "The British General Election of 1979", Macmillan, 1979, p. 154.</ref>

As prime minister, Thatcher focused on rejecting the mild liberalism of the [[post-war consensus]] that tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong labour unions, heavy regulation, and high taxes.<ref>David Dutton, ''British Politics Since 1945: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Consensus'' (2nd ed. Blackwell, 1997).</ref> She did not challenge the [[National Health Service]], and supported the [[Cold War]] policies of the consensus, but otherwise tried to dismantle and delegitimise it. She built a right-wing political ideology that became known as [[Thatcherism]], based on social and economic ideas from British and American intellectuals such as [[Friedrich Hayek]] and [[Milton Friedman]]. Thatcher believed that too much socially democratic-oriented government policy was leading to a long-term decline in the British economy. As a result, her government pursued a programme of [[economic liberalism]], adopting a free-market approach to public services based on the sale of publicly owned industries and utilities, as well as a reduction in trade union power.

One of Thatcher's largest and most successful policies assisted council house tenants in public housing to purchase their homes at favourable rates. The "Right to Buy" had emerged in the late 1940s but was too great a challenge to the post-war consensus to win Conservative endorsement. Thatcher favoured the idea because it would lead to a "property-owning democracy", an important idea that had emerged in the 1920s.<ref name="Matthew Francis 2011"/> Some local Conservative-run councils enacted profitable local sales schemes during the late 1960s. By the 1970s many working-class people could afford to buy homes, and eagerly adopted Thatcher's invitation to purchase their homes at a sizeable discount. The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped.<ref>Aled Davies, "'Right to Buy': The Development of a Conservative Housing Policy, 1945–1980". ''Contemporary British History'' 27.4 (2013): 421–44.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283171436 |title=Stephen Farrall, et al. "Thatcherite Ideology, Housing Tenure, and Crime: The Socio-Spatial Consequences of the Right to Buy for Domestic Property Crime". ''British Journal of Criminology'' (2015) |access-date=3 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104002256/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Will_Jennings2/publication/283171436_Thatcherite_Ideology_Housing_Tenure_and_Crime_The_Socio-Spatial_Consequences_of_the_Right_to_Buy_for_Domestic_Property_Crime/links/5643f42008aef646e6ca1355.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories [[1983 United Kingdom general election|in 1983]] and [[1987 United Kingdom general election|in 1987]]. She was deeply unpopular in certain sections of society due to high unemployment and her response to the [[UK miners' strike (1984–1985)|miners' strike]]. Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's [[monetarist]] battle against inflation.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393313.stm|work=BBC News|title=1983: Thatcher triumphs again|date=5 April 2005|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422033837/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393313.stm|archive-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Stephanie Flanders|title=Were 364 economists all wrong?|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4803858.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=13 January 2015|author-link=Stephanie Flanders|archive-date=29 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929054132/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4803858.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]] inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983.<ref>{{cite web|title=Consumer Price Indices – RPI annual percentage change: 1948 to 2014|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/data-selector.html?cdid=CZBI&dataset=mm23&table-id=2.2|author=Office for National Statistics|publisher=UK Government|date=13 January 2015|access-date=13 January 2015|author-link=Office for National Statistics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213013820/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/data-selector.html?cdid=CZBI&dataset=mm23&table-id=2.2|archive-date=13 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The period of unpopularity of the Conservatives in the early 1980s coincided with a crisis in the Labour Party, which then formed the main opposition. Victory in the [[Falklands War]] in June 1982, along with the recovering British economy, saw the Conservatives returning quickly to the top of the opinion polls and winning the 1983 general election with a landslide majority, due to a split opposition vote.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk" /> By the time of the general election in June 1987, the economy was stronger, with lower inflation and falling unemployment and Thatcher secured her third successive electoral victory.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393315.stm|work=BBC News|title=1987: Thatcher's third victory|date=5 April 2005|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422033842/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393315.stm|archive-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

The introduction of the [[Community Charge]] (known by its opponents as the ''poll tax'') in 1989 is often cited as contributing to her political downfall. Internal party tensions led to a leadership challenge by the Conservative MP [[Michael Heseltine]] and she resigned on 28 November 1990.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2549000/2549189.stm |work=BBC News |title=On This Day 1990: Thatcher quits as prime minister |date=22 November 1990 |access-date=1 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307114202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2549000/2549189.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1990–1997: John Major===
[[File:John Major 1996.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[John Major]] succeeded Thatcher and led the Conservative government for seven years.]]
[[John Major]] won the party leadership election on 27 November 1990, and his appointment led to an almost immediate boost in Conservative Party fortunes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/27/newsid_2528000/2528847.stm |title=1990: Tories choose Major for Number 10 |publisher=BBC On This Day |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307114011/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/27/newsid_2528000/2528847.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[1992 United Kingdom general election|election]] was held on 9 April 1992 and the Conservatives won a fourth successive electoral victory, contrary to predictions from opinion polls.<ref name="1992GE">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393317.stm|work=BBC News|title=1992: Tories win again against odds|date=5 April 2005|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422045259/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393317.stm|archive-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/exclusive-how-did-labour-lose-in-92-the-most-authoritative-study-of-the-last-general-election-is-published-tomorrow-here-its-authors-present-their-conclusions-and-explode-the-myths-about-the-greatest-upset-since-1945-1439286.html |title=Exclusive: How did Labour lose in '92?: The most authoritative study of the last general election is published tomorrow. Here, its authors present their conclusions and explode the myths about the greatest upset since 1945 |author=Anthony Heath, Roger Jowell and John Curtice |work=The Independent |date=29 May 1994 |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=14 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914014804/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/exclusive-how-did-labour-lose-in-92-the-most-authoritative-study-of-the-last-general-election-is-published-tomorrow-here-its-authors-present-their-conclusions-and-explode-the-myths-about-the-greatest-upset-since-1945-1439286.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Conservatives became the first party to attract 14 million votes in a general election.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/92keyiss.htm |title=Key Issues in the 1992 Campaign |publisher=BBC News |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=14 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914194203/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/92keyiss.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-information-office/m13.pdf |title=General Election Results, 9 April 1992 (PDF) |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114185026/https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-information-office/m13.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 16 September 1992 the Government suspended Britain's membership of the [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism]] (ERM), after the pound fell lower than its minimum level in the ERM, a day thereafter referred to as [[Black Wednesday]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/16/newsid_2519000/2519013.stm |title=1992: UK crashes out of ERM |publisher=BBC On This Day |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613130202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/16/newsid_2519000/2519013.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Soon after, approximately one million householders faced repossession of their homes during a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, taking it close to 3 million people.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=22 April 1993 |title=Mr Major's Comments on the Economy (I) – 22 April 1993 – The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH |url=https://johnmajorarchive.org.uk/1993/04/22/mr-majors-comments-on-the-economy-i-22-april-1993/ |access-date=21 September 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship. The end of the recession was declared in April 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/26/newsid_2503000/2503271.stm|work=BBC News|title=1993: Recession over&nbsp;– it's official|date=26 April 1993|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916043238/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/26/newsid_2503000/2503271.stm|archive-date=16 September 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> From 1994 to 1997 Major [[privatisation of British Rail|privatised British Rail]].

The party was plagued by internal division and infighting, mainly over the UK's role in the [[European Union]]. The party's [[Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom|Eurosceptic]] wing, represented by MPs such as [[John Redwood]], opposed further EU integration, whilst the party's pro-European wing, represented by those such as Chancellor of the Exchequer [[Kenneth Clarke]], was broadly supportive. The issue of the creation of a single European currency also inflamed tensions.<ref>{{cite web|last=W|first=Tony Blair, Cameron, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, John Redwood, Kenneth Clarke, Diana, Princess of Wales, George|title=Lecture 5 The Blair Revolution ppt download|url=https://slideplayer.com/slide/14043750/|access-date=25 February 2021|website=slideplayer.com|archive-date=8 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140520/https://slideplayer.com/slide/14043750/|url-status=live}}</ref> Major survived a leadership challenge in 1995 by Redwood, but Redwood received 89 votes, further undermining Major's influence.<ref>The Conservative Party – From Thatcher to Cameron</ref>

The Conservative government was increasingly accused in the media of "[[Political scandals in the United Kingdom|sleaze]]". Their support reached its lowest ebb in late 1994. Over the next two years the Conservatives gained some credit for the strong economic recovery and fall in unemployment.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8280050.stm|work=BBC News|title=Poll tracker: Interactive guide to the opinion polls|date=29 September 2009|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217050955/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8280050.stm|archive-date=17 December 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> But an effective opposition campaign by the Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives [[1997 United Kingdom general election|in 1997]], their worst defeat since the [[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906 general election]]. The 1997 election left the Conservative Party as an England-only party, with all Scottish and Welsh seats having been lost, and not a single new seat having been gained anywhere.

=== 1997–2010: Political wilderness ===

Major resigned as party leader and was succeeded by [[William Hague]].<ref name="1997OTD">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/2/newsid_2480000/2480505.stm |title=1997: Labour routs Tories in historic election |publisher=BBC – On This Day |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/2/newsid_2480000/2480505.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]] resulted in a net gain of one seat for the Conservative Party and returned a mostly unscathed Labour Party back to government.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/default.stm |title=BBC Vote 2001 – Results & Constituencies |publisher=BBC News |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407095626/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/default.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> This all occurred months after the [[Fuel protests in the United Kingdom|fuel protests of September 2000]] had seen the Conservatives briefly take a narrow lead over Labour in the opinion polls.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk_politics/2000/conferences/conservatives/951134.stm |title=Hague: All to play for |author=Nick Assinder |publisher=BBC News |date=1 October 2000 |access-date=16 August 2023 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816144009/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk_politics/2000/conferences/conservatives/951134.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2001 [[Iain Duncan Smith]] was [[2001 Conservative Party leadership election|elected leader of the party]].<ref name="1997OTD"/> Although Duncan Smith was a strong [[Eurosceptic]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1534417.stm |title=Rebel's rise to the top |author=Nyta Mann |publisher=BBC News |date=13 September 2001 |access-date=16 August 2023 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816144007/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1534417.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> during his tenure, Europe ceased to be an issue of division in the party as it united behind calls for a referendum on the proposed [[European Union Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Parliamentary Conservative Party: The leadership elections of William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/40039718.pdf |journal=University of Huddersfield |access-date=20 January 2024 |archive-date=1 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301070230/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/40039718.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> However, before he could lead the party into a general election, Duncan Smith lost the vote on a [[motion of no confidence]] by MPs.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3225127.stm |title=Tory leader ousted |publisher=BBC News |date=29 October 2003 |access-date=16 August 2023 |archive-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822141536/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3225127.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership.<ref name="autogenerated2" />

[[Michael Howard]] then [[2003 Conservative Party leadership election|stood for the leadership unopposed]] on 6 November 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/06/conservatives.uk2 |title=Howard wins Tory leadership by default |author=Matthew Tempest |work=The Guardian |date=6 November 2003 |access-date=15 August 2023}}</ref> Under Howard's leadership at the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]], the Conservative Party increased their total vote share and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats, reducing Labour's majority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukpolitical.info/2005.htm|title=2005 General election results summary|work=UK Political Info|access-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223235535/http://www.ukpolitical.info/2005.htm|archive-date=23 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The day following the election, Howard resigned.

[[David Cameron]] won the [[2005 Conservative Party leadership election|2005 leadership election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/06/toryleadership2005.conservatives2 |title=Tories crown Cameron their new leader |author=Matthew Tempest |work=The Guardian |date=6 December 2005 |access-date=15 August 2023}}</ref> He then announced his intention to reform and realign the Conservatives.<ref name="Cameron-speech">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/06/toryleadership2005.conservatives3 |title=Full text of David Cameron's victory speech |access-date=20 April 2007 |date=12 June 2005 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112141018/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/06/toryleadership2005.conservatives3 |archive-date=12 January 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8131792.stm |work=BBC News |title=Minister in Tory homophobia claim |first=Brian |last=Wheeler |date=3 July 2009 |access-date=7 July 2009 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140640/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8131792.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for the Conservatives.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/voting-intention/labcon-forced-choice/| title = Conservative or Labour preference ("forced choice")| access-date = 20 April 2007| work = UK Polling Report| publisher = YouGov| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070502110345/http://www.ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/voting-intention/labcon-forced-choice/| archive-date = 2 May 2007| url-status = live}}</ref> Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of [[Gordon Brown]] as prime minister. The Conservatives gained control of the [[Mayor of London|London mayoralty]] for the first time in 2008 after [[Boris Johnson]] defeated the Labour incumbent, [[Ken Livingstone]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=144004 |title= Boris is the new Mayor of London |date=3 May 2008 |publisher=Conservative Party |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080506110344/http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=144004 |archive-date= 6 May 2008}}</ref>

=== 2010–2024: Austerity, Brexit, and the pandemic ===
The Conservative Party came to government in May 2010, first under [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|a coalition]] with the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] and later as a series of majority and minority governments. During this period there were five Conservative Prime Ministers: Cameron, [[Theresa May]], Johnson, [[Liz Truss]] and [[Rishi Sunak]].

The initial period of this time, primarily during [[Premiership of David Cameron|Cameron's premiership]], was marked by the ongoing effects of the [[2008 financial crisis]] and the implementation of [[United Kingdom government austerity programme|austerity measures]] in response. From 2015 the predominant political event was the [[Brexit]] referendum and the process to implement the decision to leave the trade bloc. Subsequent to the EU referendum vote, and through the premierships of May, Johnson and their successors, the party shifted right on the political spectrum.<ref name="accu" />

The Conservatives' time in office was marked by several controversies. The presence of [[Islamophobia in the UK Conservative Party|Islamophobia in the Conservative Party]], including allegations against its policies, fringes, and structure, was often in the public eye. These include allegations against senior politicians such as Johnson, [[Michael Gove]], May and [[Zac Goldsmith]]. During the period of the Cameron<ref name="Cowburn 2017 x541">{{cite web | last=Cowburn | first=Ashley | title=Tory MPs blocked bid to sign up to code stopping sexual harassment | website=The Independent | date=2017-10-30 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mps-code-of-conduct-sexual-harassment-david-cameron-staff-protect-westminster-parliament-john-bercow-theresa-may-commons-a8027691.html | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232440/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mps-code-of-conduct-sexual-harassment-david-cameron-staff-protect-westminster-parliament-john-bercow-theresa-may-commons-a8027691.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Cohen 2017 r220">{{cite web | last=Cohen | first=Tamara | title=Tory MPs Daniel Kawczynski, Dan Poulter and Stephen Crabb investigated | website=Sky News | date=2017-11-05 | url=https://news.sky.com/story/tory-mps-dan-poulter-and-stephen-crabb-investigated-by-party-11114470 | access-date=2023-11-15 | archive-date=15 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115220042/https://news.sky.com/story/tory-mps-dan-poulter-and-stephen-crabb-investigated-by-party-11114470 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Watts 2017 y333">{{cite web | last=Watts | first=Joe | title=Member of David Cameron's team accused of groping woman's breast at No 10 | website=The Independent | date=2017-11-14 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-team-groping-accusation-daisy-goodwin-downing-street-official-a8053081.html | access-date=2023-11-15 | archive-date=15 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115220042/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-team-groping-accusation-daisy-goodwin-downing-street-official-a8053081.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and Johnson governments,<ref name="Halliday 2022 r197">{{cite web | last=Halliday | first=Josh | title=Scandal after scandal: timeline of Tory sleaze under Boris Johnson | website=The Guardian | date=2022-07-01 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/01/scandal-timeline-tory-sleaze-boris-johnson | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> a number of Conservative MPs were accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, with cases including the consumption of pornography in parliament, rape, groping and sexual harassment.<ref name="Savage Helm 2017 o437">{{cite web | last1=Savage | first1=Michael | last2=Helm | first2=Toby | title=Why a tide of sexual allegations has swept through Westminster | website=the Guardian | date=2017-11-04 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/04/sexual-allegations-westminster-scandal | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref><ref name="ITV News 2022 f647">{{cite web | title=All the Tories embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations since 2019 | website=ITV News | date=2022-07-04 | url=https://www.itv.com/news/2022-07-01/all-the-tories-embroiled-in-sexual-misconduct-allegations-since-2019 | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232434/https://www.itv.com/news/2022-07-01/all-the-tories-embroiled-in-sexual-misconduct-allegations-since-2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Samuelson 2022 z079">{{cite web | last=Samuelson | first=Kate | title=Have the Conservatives got a sexual harassment problem? | website=The Week | date=2022-04-04 | url=https://theweek.com/news/politics/956321/have-conservatives-got-sexual-harassment-problem | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232715/https://theweek.com/news/politics/956321/have-conservatives-got-sexual-harassment-problem | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017 a list of 36 sitting Conservative MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour was leaked. The list is believed to have been compiled by party staff.<ref name="Simpson 2017 f842">{{cite web | last=Simpson | first=Fiona | title=36 MPs named in Tory sexual misconduct 'spreadsheet of shame' | website=Evening Standard | date=2017-10-30 | url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/leaked-spreadsheet-reveals-sexual-harassment-claims-against-36-mps-a3670961.html | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232439/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/leaked-spreadsheet-reveals-sexual-harassment-claims-against-36-mps-a3670961.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Following accusations of multiple cases of rape against an unnamed Conservative MP in 2023<ref name="Blewitt 2023 c778">{{cite web | last=Blewitt | first=Sam | title=Anyone with information on Tory 'serial rapist' claims, must report them to police, says Sunak | website=Independent.ie | date=2023-11-07 | url=https://www.independent.ie/world-news/britain/anyone-with-information-on-tory-serial-rapist-claims-must-report-them-to-police-says-sunak/a1927628403.html | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232433/https://www.independent.ie/world-news/britain/anyone-with-information-on-tory-serial-rapist-claims-must-report-them-to-police-says-sunak/a1927628403.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and allegations of a cover-up,<ref name="BBC News 2023 s403">{{cite web | title=Deputy PM Oliver Dowden denies cover-up over MP rape allegations | website=BBC News | date=2023-11-05 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67325120 | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232433/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67325120 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Crerar 2023 t116">{{cite web | last=Crerar | first=Pippa | title=Rape claims against Tory MP were not covered up, says deputy PM | website=The Guardian | date=2023-11-05 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/05/rape-claims-against-tory-mp-were-not-covered-up-says-deputy-pm | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> [[Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi|Baroness Warsi]], who has served as the party's co-chairman under Cameron, stated that the Conservative Party has had a problem handling complaints of sexual misconducts against members appropriately.<ref name="Wright 2023 i317">{{cite web | last=Wright | first=Oliver | title=Tories 'have mishandled bullying and sexual misconduct claims for years' | website=The Times & The Sunday Times | date=2023-11-07 | url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/url-tory-party-bullying-sexual-misconduct-rape-allegations-mpg0jvdhl | access-date=2023-11-14 | archive-date=14 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232433/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/url-tory-party-bullying-sexual-misconduct-rape-allegations-mpg0jvdhl | url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 2010–2016: David Cameron ====
{{Main article|Premiership of David Cameron}}

[[File:Prime Minister David Cameron - official photograph (8947770804).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[David Cameron]] implemented [[United Kingdom government austerity programme|austerity programme]] after the financial crisis.]]The election in May 2010 resulted in a [[hung parliament]] with the Conservatives having the most seats but short of an overall majority.<ref name="2010GEresults">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8677552.stm |title=Election 2010 Timeline: How coalition was agreed |publisher=BBC News |date=13 May 2010 |access-date=14 August 2023 |archive-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906140456/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8677552.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the resignation of [[Gordon Brown]], Cameron was named prime minister, and the Conservatives [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|entered government in a coalition]] with the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]—the first postwar [[coalition government]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-10109774 |title=Election 2010: David Cameron becomes new UK Prime Minister |author=Robin Brant |publisher=BBC News |date=12 May 2010 |access-date=14 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814120214/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-10109774 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-01-07/timeline-coalition-tensions-since-may-2010/ |title=Top Tory admits Govt 'broken' |publisher=ITV |date=7 January 2013 |access-date=14 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814120215/https://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-01-07/timeline-coalition-tensions-since-may-2010/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Cameron's premiership was marked by the effects of the [[2008 financial crisis]]; these involved a large deficit in government finances that his government sought to reduce through controversial [[United Kingdom government austerity programme|austerity measures]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/63304224 |title=What is austerity and where could 'eye-watering' cuts fall now? |publisher=BBC News |date=17 November 2022 |access-date=4 August 2023 |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804095005/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/63304224 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43254809 |title=David Cameron and George Osborne hail plan after UK deficit target met |publisher=BBC News |date=2 March 2018 |access-date=4 August 2023 |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804095003/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43254809 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2014 the Unionist side, championed by Labour as well as by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, won in the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|Scottish Independence referendum]] by 55% No to 45% Yes on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16503307 |title=Cameron and Miliband unite to oppose Scots independence |publisher=BBC News |date=11 January 2012 |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815114900/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16503307 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results |title=Scottish independence referendum Results |publisher=BBC News |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918212409/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]] the Conservatives formed a majority government under Cameron.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/db4d60b2-f574-11e4-bc6d-00144feab7de.html#axzz4ACNy4msM | title=It is 1992 all over again for David Cameron's Conservatives | publisher=[[The Nikkei|Nikkei]] | work=[[Financial Times]] | date=8 May 2015 | access-date=31 May 2016 | author=Parker, George | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625075156/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/db4d60b2-f574-11e4-bc6d-00144feab7de.html#axzz4ACNy4msM | archive-date=25 June 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref> After speculation of a referendum on the UK's EU membership throughout his premiership, a vote was announced for June 2016 in which Cameron campaigned to remain in the EU.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-19741561 |title=David Cameron considers a referendum on Europe |author=Nick Robinson |publisher=BBC News |date=27 September 2012 |access-date=4 August 2023 |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804095003/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-19741561 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33141819 |title=EU referendum timeline: Countdown to the vote |publisher=BBC News |date=20 February 2016 |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=23 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123151409/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33141819 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 24 June 2016 Cameron announced his intention to resign as prime minister after he failed to convince the British public to [[EU Referendum UK|stay in the European Union]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-cameron-idUSKCN0ZA11H |title=UK PM Cameron says will step down by October after Brexit vote |author=William James |publisher=Reuters |date=24 June 2016 |access-date=4 August 2023 |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804095004/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-cameron-idUSKCN0ZA11H |url-status=live }}</ref>

====2016–2022: Theresa May and Boris Johnson====
{{Main article|Premiership of Theresa May|Premiership of Boris Johnson}}
{{Multiple image
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On 11 July 2016 [[Theresa May]] became the leader of the Conservative Party.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36763208 |title=Theresa May set to be UK PM after Andrea Leadsom quits |publisher=BBC News |date=11 July 2016 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=11 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711120043/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36763208 |url-status=live }}</ref> May promised social reform and a more centrist political outlook for the Conservative Party and its government.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/11/theresa-may-tory-leadership-pitch-andrea-leadsom|title=May promises social reform in centrist leadership pitch|first=Rowena|last=Mason|date=11 July 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201180303/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/11/theresa-may-tory-leadership-pitch-andrea-leadsom|archive-date=1 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> May's early cabinet appointments were interpreted as an effort to reunite the party in the wake of the UK's [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|vote to leave the European Union]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/13/theresa-may-becomes-britains-prime-minister|title=Theresa May appeals to centre ground but cabinet tilts to the right|first=Heather|last=Stewart|date=13 July 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713235732/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/13/theresa-may-becomes-britains-prime-minister|archive-date=13 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> She began the process of [[Brexit|withdrawing the UK from the European Union]] in March 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-may-idUKKBN1701H4 |title=May says has triggered Article 50 to begin Brexit process |publisher=Reuters |date=29 March 2017 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730161556/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-may-idUKKBN1701H4 |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2017 the Cabinet agreed to hold [[2017 United Kingdom general election|a general election]] on 8 June.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39630009 |title=Theresa May's general election statement in full |publisher=BBC News |date=18 April 2017 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=19 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419014523/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39630009 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a shock result, the election resulted in a [[hung parliament]], with the Conservative Party needing a [[Conservative–DUP agreement|confidence and supply]] arrangement with the [[Democratic Unionist Party]] to support a minority government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-2017-polls-latest-yougov-hung-parliament-prediction-why-conservatives-labour-win-seats-majority-a7764401.html |title=Election 2017 polls latest: YouGov explains shock hung parliament prediction |author=Jon Sharman |work=The Independent |date=31 May 2017 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730161556/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-2017-polls-latest-yougov-hung-parliament-prediction-why-conservatives-labour-win-seats-majority-a7764401.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40245514 |title=Theresa May and the DUP deal: What you need to know |author=Alex Hunt |publisher=BBC News |date=26 June 2017 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=23 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123150803/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40245514 |url-status=live }}</ref>

May's premiership was dominated by Brexit as she carried out negotiations with the European Union, adhering to the [[Chequers Plan]], which resulted in her draft [[Brexit withdrawal agreement]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45543609 |title=Brexit: Theresa May says it's Chequers or no deal |publisher=BBC News |date=17 September 2018 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730161559/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45543609 |url-status=live }}</ref> May survived two votes of no confidence in December 2018 and January 2019, but after versions of her draft withdrawal agreement were [[Parliamentary votes on Brexit|rejected by Parliament three times]], May announced her resignation on 24 May 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Theresa May resigns over Brexit: What happened?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48379730|work=BBC News|access-date=26 May 2019|date=24 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526033012/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48379730|archive-date=26 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2019 [[Boris Johnson]] became the leader of the party and the prime minister.<ref name="bbc230719">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49084605|title=Boris Johnson wins race to be Tory leader and PM|website=BBC News|date=23 July 2019|access-date=23 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130125915/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49084605|archive-date=30 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Johnson had made withdrawal from the EU by 31 October "with no ifs, buts or maybes" a key pledge during [[2019 Conservative Party leadership election|his campaign for the party leadership]].<ref>{{cite web|website=BBC News|title=Boris Johnson in 'deal or no deal' Brexit challenge to rival Hunt|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48756819|date=17 December 2019|access-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730114835/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48756819|archive-date=30 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> He lost his working majority in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] on 3 September 2019.<ref name="bbc030919">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49570682|title=Brexit: Tory MP defects ahead of crucial no deal vote|website=BBC News|date=3 September 2019|access-date=3 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903145348/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49570682|archive-date=3 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that same day, [[September 2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs|21 Conservative MPs had the Conservative whip withdrawn]] after voting with the Opposition to grant the Commons control over its order paper.<ref>{{cite web|website=BBC News|title=Brexit showdown: Who were Tory rebels who defied Boris Johnson?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49563357|date=3 September 2019|access-date=3 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903235045/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49563357|archive-date=3 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Johnson would later halt the [[Withdrawal Agreement Bill]], calling for a general election.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Guardian|title=Johnson seeks 12 December election after shelving 'do or die' Brexit pledge|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/24/boris-johnson-to-ask-mps-to-back-pre-christmas-election|date=17 December 2019|access-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209213031/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/24/boris-johnson-to-ask-mps-to-back-pre-christmas-election|archive-date=9 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]] resulted in the Conservatives winning a majority, the party's largest since [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]].<ref name="bbc131219">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2019/results|title=UK results: Conservatives win majority|website=BBC News|date=13 December 2019|access-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213002620/https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2019/results|archive-date=13 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> It won several constituencies, particularly in [[Red Wall (British politics)|formerly traditional Labour seats]].<ref name="The Independent" /><ref name="Mueller" /> On 20 December 2019, MPs passed an agreement for withdrawing from the EU; the United Kingdom formally left on 31 January 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Heather |date=20 December 2019 |title=Brexit: MPs pass withdrawal agreement bill by 124 majority |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/20/brexit-pm-asks-britons-to-move-on-as-mps-debate-withdrawal-bill |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220113442/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/20/brexit-pm-asks-britons-to-move-on-as-mps-debate-withdrawal-bill |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fella |first=Stefano |date=17 November 2020 |title=End of the Brexit transition period: What will change? |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/end-of-the-brexit-transition-period-what-will-change/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221023164756/https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/end-of-the-brexit-transition-period-what-will-change/ |archive-date=23 October 2022 |access-date=23 October 2022 |website=House of Commons Library}}</ref>

Johnson presided over the UK's response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="The Guardian">{{Cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Heather |last2=Proctor |first2=Kate |last3=Siddique |first3=Haroon |date=12 March 2020 |title=Johnson: many more people will lose loved ones to coronavirus |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/12/uk-moves-to-delay-phase-of-coronavirus-plan |access-date=23 October 2022}}</ref> From late 2021 onwards, Johnson received huge public backlash for the [[Partygate]] scandal, in which staff and senior members of government were pictured holding gatherings during lockdown contrary to Government guidance.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{Cite news |date=19 May 2022 |title=Partygate: A timeline of the lockdown gatherings |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59952395 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023173814/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59952395 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Metropolitan Police]] eventually fined Johnson for breaking lockdown rules in April 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Osborne |first=Samuel |date=13 April 2022 |title=Boris Johnson fined: Prime minister apologises after receiving fixed penalty notice for lockdown-breaking party |work=Sky News |url=https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-fined-prime-minister-apologises-after-receiving-fixed-penalty-notice-for-lockdown-breaking-party-12588712 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023173813/https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-fined-prime-minister-apologises-after-receiving-fixed-penalty-notice-for-lockdown-breaking-party-12588712 |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2022 Johnson admitted to having appointed [[Chris Pincher]] as deputy chief whip while being aware of allegations of sexual assault against him.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amos |first=Owen |date=7 July 2022 |title=Boris Johnson resigns: Five things that led to the PM's downfall |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62070422 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022190509/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62070422 |url-status=live }}</ref> This, along with Partygate and increasing criticisms on Johnson's handling of the cost-of-living crisis, provoked [[July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis|a government crisis]] following a loss in confidence and nearly 60 resignations from government officials, eventually leading to Johnson announcing his resignation on 7 July.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/07/europe/boris-johnson-resignation-intl/index.html |title=UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns after mutiny in his party |author=Jack Guy, Luke MGee and Ivana Kottasova |work=CNN |date=7 July 2022|access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525153145/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/07/europe/boris-johnson-resignation-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2022 |title=Boris Johnson: The inside story of the prime minister's downfall |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62150409 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023091255/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62150409 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 2022–24: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak ====
{{Main article|Premiership of Liz Truss|Premiership of Rishi Sunak}}

Johnson's successor as leader was confirmed as [[Liz Truss]] on 5 September, following [[July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election|a leadership election]].<ref>{{cite news |title= How Liz Truss won the Conservative leadership race |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60037657 |work= 6 September 2022 |access-date= 7 September 2022 |archive-date= 5 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220905091715/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60037657 |url-status= live }}</ref> In a strategy labelled [[Trussonomics]] she introduced policies in response to the [[2021–2022 United Kingdom cost of living crisis|cost-of-living crisis]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |date=4 October 2022 |title=Cost-of-living crisis: Workers have gone without meals or pawned posessions says Union |url=https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/79152/cost-of-living-crisis-workers-have-gone-without-meals-or-pawned-posessions-says-union/ |access-date=5 October 2022 |website=The Pembrokeshire Herald |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004133948/https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/79152/cost-of-living-crisis-workers-have-gone-without-meals-or-pawned-posessions-says-union/ |url-status=live }}</ref> including price caps on energy bills and government help to pay them.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 September 2022 |title=Liz Truss to freeze energy bills at £2,500 a year average, funded by borrowing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/08/liz-truss-to-freeze-energy-bills-price-at-2500-a-year-funded-by-borrowing |access-date=5 October 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020125828/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/08/liz-truss-to-freeze-energy-bills-price-at-2500-a-year-funded-by-borrowing |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Truss's mini-budget]] on 23 September faced severe criticism and markets reacted poorly;<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Webber |first1=Esther |last2=Brenton |first2=Hannah |last3=Courea |first3=Eleni |date=11 October 2022 |title=Liz Truss panics as markets keep plunging |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-economy-liz-truss-mistakes-markets-tax-kwarteng/ |access-date=22 October 2022 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022091555/https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-economy-liz-truss-mistakes-markets-tax-kwarteng/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the pound fell to a record low of 1.03 against the US dollar, and [[Gilt-edged securities|UK government gilt]] yields rose to 4.3 per cent, prompting the [[Bank of England]] to trigger an emergency bond-buying programme.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilchrist |first=Karen |title=UK's Liz Truss pledges tax-cutting future in landmark speech plagued by protest and political infighting |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/05/uks-liz-truss-pledges-tax-cutting-future-in-speech-plagued-by-protest.html |access-date=5 October 2022 |website=CNBC |date=5 October 2022 |language=en |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005115208/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/05/uks-liz-truss-pledges-tax-cutting-future-in-speech-plagued-by-protest.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Grierson |first=Jamie |date=30 September 2022 |title=How Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget hit UK economy – in numbers |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/30/how-kwasi-kwarteng-mini-budget-hit-uk-economy-in-numbers |access-date=22 October 2022}}</ref> After condemnation from the public, the Labour Party and her own party, Truss reversed some aspects of the mini-budget, including the abolition of the top rate of income tax.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 October 2022 |title=Liz Truss abandons plan to scrap 45p top rate of income tax amid Tory revolt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/03/liz-truss-abandon-plan-scrap-45p-top-rate-income-tax-tory-revolt-kwasi-kwarteng-chancellor |access-date=5 October 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005235553/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/03/liz-truss-abandon-plan-scrap-45p-top-rate-income-tax-tory-revolt-kwasi-kwarteng-chancellor |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Liz Truss says she has 'absolutely no shame' in performing tax cut U-turn |url=https://news.sky.com/story/liz-truss-says-she-has-absolutely-no-shame-in-performing-tax-cut-u-turn-12711880 |access-date=5 October 2022 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004200722/https://news.sky.com/story/liz-truss-says-she-has-absolutely-no-shame-in-performing-tax-cut-u-turn-12711880 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following [[October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis|a government crisis]] Truss announced her resignation as prime minister on 20 October<ref name="BBC News">{{Cite news |date=20 October 2022 |title=Liz Truss resigns as prime minister after Tory revolt |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63332037 |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020124108/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63332037 |url-status=live }}</ref> after 44 days in office, the shortest premiership in British history.<ref name="BBC News" /><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Adam |last2=Booth |first1=Karla |first2=William |date=20 October 2022 |title=U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss announces resignation after six weeks in office |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/20/uk-liz-truss-resign-prime-minister/ |access-date=20 October 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020125912/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/20/uk-liz-truss-resign-prime-minister/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Truss also oversaw the worst polling the Conservatives had ever received, with Labour polling as high as 36 per cent above the Conservatives amidst the crisis.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-poll-liz-truss-labour-starmer-b2204553.html |title=Tories facing wipeout as Labour takes 36-point lead in new poll |author=Jon Stone |work=The Independent |date=17 October 2022 |access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-date=9 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209115617/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-poll-liz-truss-labour-starmer-b2204553.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 24 October 2022 [[Rishi Sunak]] was declared leader, the first [[British Asian]] leader of the Conservatives and the first British Asian prime minister. On 22 May 2024 Sunak announced a general election to be held on 4 July 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Landler |first=Mark |date=2024-05-22 |title=Sunak Announces U.K. Elections for July 4, Months Earlier Than Expected |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/europe/uk-election-sunak-politics.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=22 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522224012/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/europe/uk-election-sunak-politics.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], public opinion in favour of a change in government was reflected by poor polling from the Conservative Party, with [[Reform UK]] making strong polling gains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reform UK overtakes Conservatives in new poll in fresh blow for Rishi Sunak |url=https://news.sky.com/story/reform-uk-overtakes-conservatives-in-new-poll-in-fresh-blow-for-rishi-sunak-13150808 |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613195534/https://news.sky.com/story/reform-uk-overtakes-conservatives-in-new-poll-in-fresh-blow-for-rishi-sunak-13150808 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Conservative manifesto focused on the economy, taxes, welfare, expanding free childcare, education, healthcare, environment, energy, transport and crime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rishi Sunak: Tory manifesto will include tax cuts |date=10 June 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722v3w66nwo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610181908/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722v3w66nwo |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Conservative manifesto 2024: summary of the key policies |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/conservative-party-manifesto-key-policies-rishi-sunak-general-election-9zvjqvttp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611082242/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/conservative-party-manifesto-key-policies-rishi-sunak-general-election-9zvjqvttp |archive-date=11 June 2024 |access-date=11 June 2024 |website=thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref> It pledged to lower taxes, increase education and NHS spending, deliver 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors, introduce a new model of [[National service|National Service]], and to treble Britain's offshore wind capacity and support solar energy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gutteridge |first=Nick |date=17 May 2024 |title=Conservative Party manifesto 2024: Rishi Sunak's policies for the general election |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/tory-manifesto-rishi-sunak-policies-general-election/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611232213/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/tory-manifesto-rishi-sunak-policies-general-election/ |archive-date=11 June 2024 |access-date=12 June 2024 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Powell |first=Rob |date=2024-05-25 |title=Sunak says he will bring back National Service if Tories win general election |url=https://news.sky.com/story/sunak-says-he-will-bring-back-national-service-if-tories-win-general-election-13143184 |access-date=2024-05-25 |archive-date=25 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525214109/https://news.sky.com/story/sunak-says-he-will-bring-back-national-service-if-tories-win-general-election-13143184 |url-status=live }}</ref> The final result was the lowest seat total at a general election in the history of the Conservative Party, with well below the previous record low of 156 seats won at the [[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906 general election]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Live results map of the UK general election |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f7c426b0-3fdd-40b0-9110-39a280ada513 |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Financial Times |language=en-gb |archive-date=7 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707073452/https://ig.ft.com/uk-general-election/2024/results/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sunak resigned as Prime Minister and the Conservative Party is ousted from the government. 

=== 2024–present: In opposition ===
[[Kemi Badenoch]] became party leader, leading the Conservatives in opposition.<ref name="z459">{{cite web |last=Lawless |first=Jill |date=2024-11-02 |title=UK Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as new leader, first Black woman to head a big British party |url=https://apnews.com/article/uk-conservative-party-new-leader-elected-b2300368b66deb930dce1d9068ba0770 |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=AP News |archive-date=2 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241102124906/https://apnews.com/article/uk-conservative-party-new-leader-elected-b2300368b66deb930dce1d9068ba0770 |url-status=live }}</ref> As Reform UK surged and topped the opinion polls, the Conservatives faced a [[List of Conservative Party defections to Reform UK|number of defections]] of MPs, including former Home Secretary [[Suella Braverman]] and shadow Justice Secretary [[Robert Jenrick]].<!--This section is meant to be just a summary. Please do not add too much detail&nbsp;– the "History of the Conservative Party (UK)" article is intended for detailed additions-->

== Policies ==
=== Economic policy ===
{{Conservatism UK|Parties}}
The Conservative Party believes that a [[free market]] and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. A leading economic theory advocated by Conservatives is [[supply-side economics]], which holds that reduced income tax rates increase growth and enterprise (although a reduction in the budget deficit has sometimes taken priority over cutting taxes).<ref>In the recession year of 1981, for example, the Conservatives raised taxes to reduce the budget deficit, with the aim of a reduction of interest rates.</ref> The party focuses on the [[social market economy]], promoting a free market for competition with social balance to create fairness. This has included education reform, vocational skills reform, expanding free childcare, curbs on the banking sector, enterprise zones to revive regions in Britain, and grand and extensive infrastructure projects, such as high-speed rail.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/d45ed5c6-842b-11e3-b72e-00144feab7de|title=The death and life of Britain's market economy|date=24 January 2014|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218201956/https://www.ft.com/content/d45ed5c6-842b-11e3-b72e-00144feab7de|archive-date=18 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 August 2011 |title=New 'enterprise zones' announced around England |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-14552193 |access-date=22 September 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220319/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-14552193 |url-status=live }}</ref>

One concrete economic policy of recent years has been opposition to the European single currency, the [[euro]]. With the growing [[Euroscepticism]] within his party, [[John Major]] negotiated a British opt-out in the 1992 [[Maastricht Treaty]], which enabled the UK to stay within the European Union without adopting the single currency. All subsequent Conservative leaders have positioned the party firmly against the adoption of the euro.

The 50% top rate of [[UK income tax|income tax]] was reduced to 45% by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-17455373 |title=Budget 2012: Top tax rate cut from 50p to 45p |website=BBC |date=21 March 2012 |access-date=1 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720072103/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17455373 |archive-date=20 July 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alongside a reduction in tax and commitments to keep taxation low, the Conservative Party has significantly reduced government spending, through the [[United Kingdom government austerity programme|austerity programme]] which commenced in 2010, subsequent to the [[2008 financial crisis]]. In 2019 and during the election campaign that year, Boris Johnson signalled an end to austerity with increased public expenditure, in areas including healthcare, education, transport, welfare, and the police.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-11 |title=Boris Johnson has ended the age of austerity – but his party isn |url=https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/more/media-centre/news/2021/boris-johnson-has-ended-the-age-of-austerity-but-his-party-isnt-on-board.aspx |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=www.hull.ac.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-09-04 |title=Chancellor Sajid Javid declares end of austerity |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49577250 |access-date=2024-06-13 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613225011/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49577250 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Jobs and welfare policy ====
One of the Conservatives' key policy goals in 2010 was to reduce the number of people unemployed, and increase the number of people in the workforce, by strengthening apprenticeships, skills and job training.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reforming the Apprenticeships Programme in England (2010–2015) |url=https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/case-study/reforming-apprenticeships-programme-england-2010-2015 |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=Centre For Public Impact (CPI) |archive-date=20 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620205709/https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/case-study/reforming-apprenticeships-programme-england-2010-2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 2010 and 2014, all claimants of [[Incapacity Benefit]] were moved onto a new benefit scheme, [[Employment and Support Allowance]], which was then subsumed into the [[Universal Credit]] system alongside other welfare benefits in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/incapacity-benefit|title=Incapacity Benefit|work=GOV.UK|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005301/https://www.gov.uk/incapacity-benefit|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/universal-credit-for-disabled-people#when-will-i-move-from-esa-onto-universal-credit|title=Universal Credit for sick and disabled people|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702203116/https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/universal-credit-for-disabled-people#when-will-i-move-from-esa-onto-universal-credit|archive-date=2 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06smsg7|title=BBC Radio 4 – You and Yours, Universal Credit and electric planes|website=BBC|date=23 November 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005927/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06smsg7|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Universal Credit system came under immense scrutiny following its introduction. Shortly after her appointment to the [[Department for Work and Pensions]], the then Secretary of State [[Amber Rudd]] acknowledged there were real problems with the Universal Credit system, especially the wait times for initial payments and the housing payments aspect of the combined benefits.<ref name=RiNov18>{{Cite news|last=Rigby|first=Beth|author-link=Beth Rigby|url=https://news.sky.com/story/universal-credit-amber-rudd-acknowledges-real-problems-with-welfare-system-11560728|title=Universal Credit: Amber Rudd acknowledges real problems with welfare system|work=Sky News|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005307/https://news.sky.com/story/universal-credit-amber-rudd-acknowledges-real-problems-with-welfare-system-11560728|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Rudd pledged specifically to review and address the uneven impact of Universal Credit implementation on economically disadvantaged women, which had been the subject of numerous reports by the Radio 4 ''[[You and Yours]]'' programme and others.<ref name=RiNov18/>

Until 1999 Conservatives opposed the creation of a [[national minimum wage]], as they believed it would cost jobs, and businesses would be reluctant to start business in the UK from fear of high labour costs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Is the National Minimum Wage Safe Under a Conservative Government Poll? |url=http://www.general-election-2010.co.uk/is-the-national-minimum-wage-safe-under-a-conservative-government-poll.html |website=General-election-2010.co.uk |date=5 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111140655/http://www.general-election-2010.co.uk/is-the-national-minimum-wage-safe-under-a-conservative-government-poll.html |archive-date=11 January 2012}}</ref> However the party have since pledged support and in the [[July 2015 United Kingdom budget|July 2015 budget]], Chancellor George Osborne announced a [[National Living Wage]] of £9/hour.<ref name="measures">{{cite web|title=Budget 2015: Osborne commits to national living wage|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33437115|website=[[BBC News]]|access-date=8 July 2015|date=8 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716164651/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33437115|archive-date=16 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The National Minimum Wage in 2024 was £11.44 for those over 21.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates|title=National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates|work=GOV.UK|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817033836/https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates|archive-date=17 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The party support, and have implemented, the restoration of the link between pensions and earnings, and seek to raise retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2028.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/pensions/state-pension/changes-to-state-pension-age/|title=Changes to State Pension Age {{!}} Age UK|website=www.ageuk.org.uk|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005409/https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/pensions/state-pension/changes-to-state-pension-age/|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Transport and infrastructure policy ====
The Conservatives have invested in public transport and infrastructure, aimed to promoting economic growth.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Transport Investment Strategy |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f623c67e90e072bbae22c29/Transport_investment_strategy.pdf |journal=Department for Transport |archive-date=13 July 2024 |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713230923/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f623c67e90e072bbae22c29/Transport_investment_strategy.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This has included rail (including [[high-speed rail]]), electric vehicles, bus networks, and [[Sustainable transport|active transport]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=7 infrastructure takeaways from the 2024 Conservative Party manifesto |url=https://www.ice.org.uk/news-insight/news-and-blogs/ice-blogs/the-infrastructure-blog/conservatives-2024-manifesto-infra-highlights |website=Institution of Civil Engineers |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-date=4 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704001606/https://www.ice.org.uk/news-insight/news-and-blogs/ice-blogs/the-infrastructure-blog/conservatives-2024-manifesto-infra-highlights |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020 new funding for active travel infrastructure was announced by the Conservatives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The second cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS2) |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-second-cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy/the-second-cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-cwis2 |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=GOV.UK |language=en |archive-date=6 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606025530/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-second-cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy/the-second-cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-cwis2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The party's stated aim was for England to be a "great walking and cycling nation" and for half of all journeys in towns and cities being walked or cycled by 2030. The plan was accompanied by £2 billion in additional funding over the following five years for cycling and walking. The plan also introduced new inspectorate, known as [[Active Travel England]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-01 |title=Active Travel England |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/active-travel-england |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=GOV.UK |language=en |archive-date=4 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704214611/https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/active-travel-england |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UK Government Launches Active Travel England {{!}} CIHT |url=https://www.ciht.org.uk/news/uk-government-launches-active-travel-england/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.ciht.org.uk |archive-date=7 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307183410/https://www.ciht.org.uk/news/uk-government-launches-active-travel-england/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2021 the Conservatives announced a white paper that would transform the operation of the railways. The rail network will be partly renationalised, with infrastructure and operations brought together under the state-owned public body [[Great British Railways]].<ref name="BBC News2">{{Cite news |date=21 September 2020 |title=Rail franchises axed as help for train firms extended |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54232015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519220012/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54232015 |archive-date=19 May 2021 |access-date=19 May 2021 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> On 18 November 2021, the government announced the biggest ever public investment in Britain's rail network costing £96&nbsp;billion and promising quicker and more frequent rail connections in the North and Midlands: the [[Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands|Integrated Rail Plan]] includes substantially improved connections north–south as well as east–west and includes three new high speed lines.<ref name="Gov">{{Cite news |date=18 November 2021 |title=Integrated Rail Plan: biggest ever public investment in Britain's rail network will deliver faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys across North and Midlands |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/integrated-rail-plan-biggest-ever-public-investment-in-britains-rail-network-will-deliver-faster-more-frequent-and-more-reliable-journeys-across-no |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118113317/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/integrated-rail-plan-biggest-ever-public-investment-in-britains-rail-network-will-deliver-faster-more-frequent-and-more-reliable-journeys-across-no |archive-date=18 November 2021 |access-date=18 November 2021 |work=Department of Transport |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-04 |title=Rail industry response to Conservative Party announcement about Great British Railways |url=https://media.raildeliverygroup.com/news/rail-industry-response-to-government-announcement-about-great-british-railways |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Rail Delivery Group News |language=en-GB |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221221536/https://media.raildeliverygroup.com/news/rail-industry-response-to-government-announcement-about-great-british-railways |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Energy and climate change policy ====
[[David Cameron]] brought several '[[Green conservatism|green]]' issues to the forefront of his 2010 campaign. These included proposals designed to impose a tax on workplace car parking spaces, a halt to airport growth, a tax on cars with exceptionally poor petrol mileage, and restrictions on car advertising. Many of these policies were implemented in the Coalition—including the '[[The Green Deal|Green Deal]]'.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3306887/David-Cameron-pledges-radical-green-shake-up.html |url-access=subscription |first1=Andrew |last1=Pierce |work=The Daily Telegraph |title=David Cameron pledges radical green shake-up |date=14 September 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009083702/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3306887/David-Cameron-pledges-radical-green-shake-up.html |archive-date= Oct 9, 2023 }}<!-- Old link was https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml;jsessionid=ND2RNWDNYBJL3QFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/earth/2007/09/14/eacameron114.xml -->{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> A law was passed in 2019 that [[Greenhouse gas emissions|UK greenhouse gas emissions]] will be [[net zero]] by 2050.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=UK net zero target |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target |first1=Marcus |last1=Shepheard |access-date=20 November 2020 |website=Institute for Government| date=20 April 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240626222451/https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/uk-net-zero-target |archive-date=26 June 2024 }}</ref> The UK was the first major economy to embrace a legal obligation to achieve net zero carbon emissions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 July 2021 |title=UK was First Major Economy to Embrace a Legal Obligation to Achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 |url=https://www.climatescorecard.org/2021/07/uk-was-first-major-economy-to-embrace-a-legal-obligation-to-achieve-net-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2050/ |first1=Gwenyth |last1=Wren |first2=Thomas |last2=Christensen |access-date=21 September 2023 |website=Climate Scorecard |language=en-US |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220324/https://www.climatescorecard.org/2021/07/uk-was-first-major-economy-to-embrace-a-legal-obligation-to-achieve-net-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2050/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019 the Conservatives became the first national government in the world to officially declare a climate emergency (second in the UK after the [[Scottish National Party|SNP]]).<ref name=":3" /> In November 2020 the Conservatives announced a 10-point plan for a 'green industrial revolution', with [[Sustainable business|green enterprises]], an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars, quadruple the amount of [[Wind power in the United Kingdom|offshore wind power]] capacity within a decade, fund a variety of emissions-cutting proposals, and spurn a proposed [[Green recovery|green post-COVID-19 recovery]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Fiona |author-link=Fiona Harvey |date=17 November 2020 |title=The key areas of Boris Johnson's 'green industrial revolution' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/17/the-key-areas-of-boris-johnsons-green-industrial-revolution |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124141019/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/17/the-key-areas-of-boris-johnsons-green-industrial-revolution |archive-date=24 November 2020 |access-date=25 November 2020 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2021, the Conservatives announced plans to cut [[Greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom|carbon emissions]] by 78% by 2035.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 April 2021 |title=Government announces 78% climate emissions cut by 2035 – "historic milestone on path to net zero UK" |url=http://www.zemo.org.uk/news-events/news,government-announces-78-climate-emissions-cut-by-2035-historic-milestone-on_4211.htm |access-date=21 September 2023 |website=Zemo Partnership |language=en |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220325/https://www.zemo.org.uk/news-events/news,government-announces-78-climate-emissions-cut-by-2035-historic-milestone-on_4211.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Social policy ===
[[File:Conservative and Proud (4764127652).jpg|thumb|Conservative Party supporters at Pride London in 2010]]
Socially conservative policies such as tax incentives for married couples may have played a role in the party's electoral decline in the 1990s and early 2000s, and so the party has attempted to seek a new direction. As part of their coalition with the Liberal Democrats, the Conservative government did support the introduction of equal marriage rights for LGBT+ individuals in 2010, though 139 Conservative MPs, a majority, voted against [[Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013|the 2013 same-sex marriage act]]. Thus the extent to which this policy represented a more liberal Conservative party has been challenged.{{refn|name=marequa|<ref name="Osborn 2013 x877">{{cite web | last=Osborn | first=Andrew | title=Conservatives split as first gay marriage vote passes | website=Reuters | date=2013-02-06 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-cameron-idUKBRE91400120130206 | access-date=2023-09-22 | archive-date=7 June 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607044255/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-cameron-idUKBRE91400120130206 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC News 2013 x918">{{cite web | title=Gay marriage: MPs back bill despite Conservative backbench opposition | website=BBC News | date=2013-02-05 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21346220 | access-date=2023-09-22 | archive-date=22 July 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722154612/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21346220 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Porion |first=Stéphane |date=31 March 2014 |title=The Implementation of Same Sex Marriage in 2013 : Cameron's modernising social agenda in the Conservative Party since 2005 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/osb/1594 |journal=Observatoire de la société britannique |language=en |issue=15 |pages=41–65 |doi=10.4000/osb.1594 |issn=1775-4135 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=2 October 2023 |access-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220320/https://journals.openedition.org/osb/1594 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hayton |first1=Richard |last2=McEnhill |first2=Libby |date=20 April 2015 |title=Cameron's Conservative Party, social liberalism and social justice |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/85297/3/Cameron%E2%80%99s%20Conservative%20Party%20social%20liberalism%20and%20social%20justice.pdf |url-status=live |journal=British Politics |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=131–147 |doi=10.1057/bp.2015.19 |issn=1746-918X |s2cid=153581022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722134514/http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/85297/3/Cameron%E2%80%99s%20Conservative%20Party%20social%20liberalism%20and%20social%20justice.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2018 |access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref><ref name="Wright 2013 p586">{{cite web | last=Wright | first=Oliver | title=MPs vote for gay marriage bill by 400 to 175 in face of widespread | website=The Independent | date=6 February 2013 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-vote-for-gay-marriage-bill-by-400-to-175-in-face-of-widespread-tory-rebellion-8482318.html | access-date=25 September 2023 | archive-date=2 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220319/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-vote-for-gay-marriage-bill-by-400-to-175-in-face-of-widespread-tory-rebellion-8482318.html | url-status=live }}</ref> After the 2019 general election, there are now 20 LGBT+ Conservative MPs in Parliament, more than there were during the prior Parliament.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Andrew |date=2019-12-13 |title=The UK's parliament is still the gayest in the world after 2019 election |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2019/12/13/uk-gay-parliament-world-2019-general-election-snp-conservatives-labour-lgbt/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=PinkNews |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118051043/https://www.thepinknews.com/2019/12/13/uk-gay-parliament-world-2019-general-election-snp-conservatives-labour-lgbt/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Since 1997 debate has occurred within the party between 'modernisers' such as [[Alan Duncan]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alanduncan.org.uk/about |title=Biography – Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP |publisher=Alan Duncan |date=27 May 2012 |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529052308/http://www.alanduncan.org.uk/about |archive-date=29 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> who believe that the Conservatives should modify their public stances on social issues, and 'traditionalists' such as [[Liam Fox]]<ref>{{cite news |author=Spencer, Clare |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2011/10/daily_view_liam_foxs_fate.html |title=Daily View: Liam Fox's fate |work=BBC blog |date=October 2011 |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210022503/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2011/10/daily_view_liam_foxs_fate.html |archive-date=10 December 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.monstersandcritics.com/uk/news/article_1668909.php/PROFILE-Liam-Fox-Colourful-politician-with-traditionalist-agenda |title=Liam Fox: Colourful politician with traditionalist agenda |work=Monsters and Critics |date=14 October 2011 |access-date=18 June 2013 }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and [[Owen Paterson]],<ref>{{cite news |author=Montgomerie, Tim |url=http://standpointmag.co.uk/underrated-november-12-owen-paterson-tim-montgomerie-climate-change-lord-stern |title=Underrated: Owen Paterson |work=Stand Point |date=November 2012 |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510123025/http://standpointmag.co.uk/underrated-november-12-owen-paterson-tim-montgomerie-climate-change-lord-stern |archive-date=10 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> who believe that the party should remain faithful to its traditional conservative platform. In the previous parliament, modernising forces were represented by MPs such as [[Neil O'Brien]], who has argued that the party needs to renew its policies and image, and is said to be inspired by [[Emmanuel Macron|Macron]]'s centrist politics.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Where next for the Conservatives?|last=Payne|first=Sebastian|date=16 December 2017|work=The Financial Times}}</ref> [[Ruth Davidson]] is also seen as a reforming figure. Many of the original 'traditionalists' remain influential, though Duncan Smith's influence in terms of Commons contributions has waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/search/MemberContributions?house=Commons&memberId=152|title=Mr Iain Duncan Smith – Contributions – Hansard|website=hansard.parliament.uk|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005231/https://hansard.parliament.uk/search/MemberContributions?house=Commons&memberId=152|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The party has strongly criticised what it describes as Labour's "state [[multiculturalism]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/feb/26/conservatives.race |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Cameron attacks 'state multiculturalism' |first=Andrew |last=Sparrow |date=26 February 2008 |access-date=1 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901173754/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/feb/26/conservatives.race |archive-date=1 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said in 2008 that state multiculturalism policies had created a "terrible" legacy of "cultural despair" and dislocation, which has encouraged support for "extremists" on both sides of the debate.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7639047.stm |work=BBC News |title=Tory warning on multiculturalism |date=28 September 2008 |access-date=1 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307231002/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7639047.stm |archive-date=7 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> David Cameron responded to Grieve's comments by agreeing that policies of "state multiculturalism" that treat social groups as distinct, for example policies that "treat British Muslims as Muslims, rather than as British citizens", are wrong. However, he expressed support for the premise of multiculturalism on the whole.<ref name=":0" />

Official statistics showed that EU and non-EU [[mass immigration]], together with [[asylum seeker]] applications, all increased substantially during Cameron's term in office.<ref name="reuters">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-migration-idUSKCN0VY134|title=As EU vote looms, immigration rise piles pressure on Cameron|author=Kylie Maclellan|website=reuters.com|date=25 February 2016|access-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830025422/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-migration-idUSKCN0VY134|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="reuters2">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-britain-idUSKCN0QW1CX20150827|title=UK immigration hits record high, causing headache for Cameron|author=William James|website=reuters.com|date=27 August 2015|access-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830041007/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-britain-idUSKCN0QW1CX20150827|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="independent">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/tory-immigration-pledge-failed-spectacularly-as-figures-show-net-migration-nearly-three-times-as-high-as-david-cameron-promised-10071710.html |title=David Cameron immigration pledge 'failed spectacularly' as figures show net migration almost three times as high as Tories promised |date=26 February 2015 |work=The Independent |location=London |first=Andrew |last=Grice |access-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707150837/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/tory-immigration-pledge-failed-spectacularly-as-figures-show-net-migration-nearly-three-times-as-high-as-david-cameron-promised-10071710.html |archive-date=7 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, this was not solely as a result of intentional government policy – during this period, there were significant refugee flows into the UK and an increased level of asylum applications due to conflict and persecution globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/10/10-truths-about-europes-refugee-crisis|title=10 truths about Europe's migrant crisis|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=10 August 2015|website=The Guardian|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126144529/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/10/10-truths-about-europes-refugee-crisis|archive-date=26 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/high-immigration-nhs-crisis|title=FactCheck: Are migrants causing the A&E crisis?|work=Channel 4 News|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201051247/https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/high-immigration-nhs-crisis|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019 former Conservative Home Secretary [[Priti Patel]] announced that the government would enact stricter immigration reforms, crack down on illegal immigration, and scrap freedom of movement with the [[European Union]] following the completion of [[Brexit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cityam.com/priti-patel-to-scrap-freedom-of-movement-in-new-immigration-rules/|title=Priti Patel scraps freedom of movement in new immigration rules|date=13 July 2020|website=CityAM|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818180403/https://www.cityam.com/priti-patel-to-scrap-freedom-of-movement-in-new-immigration-rules/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the four years following this announcement, net migration increased annually, in large part due to the number of health care workers, and their dependents, that were invited into the country because of recruitment problems caused by Brexit and the pandemic.<ref name="Taylor 2021 y110">{{cite web | last=Taylor | first=Diane | title=How have Priti Patel's previous pledges on immigration fared? | website=The Guardian | date=2021-09-09 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/09/how-have-priti-patels-previous-pledges-on-immigration-fared | access-date=2024-03-25}}</ref><ref name="Atkins 2024 r712">{{cite web | last=Atkins | first=Ros | title=Say one thing, do another? The government's record rise in net migration | website=BBC News | date=2024-03-25 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68626430 | access-date=2024-03-25 | archive-date=27 July 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727083611/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68626430 | url-status=live }}</ref> The number of asylum seekers dropped as a proportion of total net migrants, whereas the number of people coming to the UK to study increased during that time period.<ref name="Financial Times d753">{{cite web | title=Sunak under pressure as net migration to UK hits record 745,000 | website=Financial Times | url=https://www.ft.com/content/9ac523da-1c15-43e8-9ccc-bbfdbce4b74a | access-date=2024-03-25 | archive-date=25 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325110446/https://www.ft.com/content/9ac523da-1c15-43e8-9ccc-bbfdbce4b74a | url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Family policy ====
As prime minister, [[David Cameron]] wanted to 'support family life in Britain' and put families at the centre of domestic social policymaking.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-on-families|title=David Cameron on families|work=GOV.UK|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005256/https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-on-families|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He stated in 2014 that there was 'no better place to start' in the Conservative mission of 'building society from the bottom up' than the family, which was responsible for individual welfare and well-being long before the welfare state came into play.<ref name=":1" /> He also argued that 'family and politics are inextricably linked'.<ref name=":1" /> Both Cameron and [[Theresa May]] aimed at helping families achieve a work-home balance and have previously proposed to offer all parents 12 months parental leave, to be shared by parents as they choose.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/mar/15/davidcameron.conservatives|title=Family at heart of Conservative policy, says Cameron|first1=Deborah|last1=Summers|date=15 March 2008|access-date=4 April 2017|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301040832/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/mar/15/davidcameron.conservatives|archive-date=1 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This policy is now in place, offering 50 weeks total parental leave, of which 37 weeks are paid leave, which can be shared between both parents.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay|title=Shared Parental Leave and Pay|work=GOV.UK|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005414/https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other policies have included doubling the free hours of childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds from 15 hours to 30 hours a week during term-time, although parents can reduce the number of hours per week to 22 and spread across 52 weeks of the year. The government also introduced a policy to fund 15 hours a week of free education and childcare for 2-year-olds in England if parents are receiving certain state benefits or the child has a SEN statement or diagnosis, worth £2,500 a year per child.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11534619/manifesto-policies-summary.html|title=Conservative manifesto 2015: summary of key policies|date=8 May 2015|work=The Telegraph|access-date=4 April 2017|last1=Swinford|first1=Steven|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309172027/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11534619/manifesto-policies-summary.html|archive-date=9 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds|title=Help paying for childcare|work=GOV.UK|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005310/https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Health and drug policy ====
In 1945 the Conservatives declared support for universal healthcare.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/con45.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919151718/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/con45.htm|archive-date=19 September 2011|title=British Conservative Party election manifesto, 1945|website=Politicsresources.net|date=22 October 2012}}</ref> They introduced the [[Health and Social Care Act 2012]], constituting the biggest reformation that the NHS has ever undertaken.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-24286582|title=50,000 march in NHS cuts protest in Manchester|newspaper=BBC News|date=29 September 2013|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217211230/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-24286582|archive-date=17 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Conservative Party supports [[drug prohibition]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Frymorgen |first= Tomasz |date= 6 June 2017 |title= Which political parties want to legalise weed? |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/59932bc9-7c7a-4e6a-95d4-31751419aaf8 |work= BBC |access-date= 22 November 2021 |archive-date= 22 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211122192325/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/59932bc9-7c7a-4e6a-95d4-31751419aaf8 |url-status= live }}</ref> Legalisation of [[Medical cannabis|cannabis for some medical uses]] is favoured by some Conservative politicians.<ref>Johnson, Boris (24 April 2008). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1902743/Boris-Johnson-Legalise-cannabis-for-pain-relief.html "Legalise cannabis for pain relief"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225194549/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1902743/Boris-Johnson-Legalise-cannabis-for-pain-relief.html |date=25 February 2018 }}. ''The Daily Telegraph'' (London).</ref> The party has rejected both decriminalising drugs for personal use and the creation of [[Supervised injection site|safe consumption sites]].<ref>{{cite news |date= 7 September 2020 |title= 'Surprise and disappointment' at UK drug response |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54048122 |work= BBC News |access-date= 22 November 2021 |archive-date= 22 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211122195001/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54048122 |url-status= live }}</ref> In 2024 the Conservative government passed a law to phase out smoking by banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born in or after 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Curzon |first=Michael |date=2024-04-17 |title=British Conservatives Pushing Through "World's Toughest Smoking Ban" |url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/british-conservatives-pushing-through-worlds-toughest-smoking-ban/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=europeanconservative.com |language=en-US |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614174010/https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/british-conservatives-pushing-through-worlds-toughest-smoking-ban/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===
[[File:President Ronald Reagan Nancy Reagan Margaret Thatcher and Denis Thatcher on The North Portico During The Last State Dinner Hosted By The Reagans at The White House - DPLA - f5309cd3f7d44c11194c665b3ae9fa54.jpg|thumb|Margaret Thatcher (second left), [[Ronald Reagan]] (far left) and their spouses in 1988. Thatcher and Reagan developed a close relationship against the Soviet Union.]]
For much of the 20th century, the Conservative Party took a broadly [[Atlanticist]] stance in relations with the [[United States]], Members of [[European Union|EU]] and [[NATO]], favouring close ties with the United States and similarly aligned nations such as [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], [[South Korea|Korea]], [[Taiwan]], [[Singapore]] and [[Japan]]. The Conservatives have generally favoured a diverse range of international alliances, ranging from the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO) to the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. The Conservatives have proposed a Pan-African [[Free Trade Area]], which it says could help [[entrepreneurial]] dynamism of African people.<ref name="cameronbbc">{{cite news|last = Robbins|first = James|title = Cameron's Britain: Foreign policy|work = BBC|date = 26 June 2008|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7464427.stm|access-date = 1 June 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090212231621/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7464427.stm|archive-date = 12 February 2009|url-status = live}}</ref> The Conservatives pledged to increase aid spending to 0.7% of national income by 2013.<ref name="cameronbbc" /> They met this pledge in 2014, when spending on aid reached 0.72% of GDP and the commitment was enshrined in UK law in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/09/uk-passes-bill-law-aid-target-percentage-income|title=UK passes bill to honour pledge of 0.7% foreign aid target|first=Mark|last=Anderson|date=9 March 2015|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=13 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723073216/http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/09/uk-passes-bill-law-aid-target-percentage-income|archive-date=23 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Close [[United Kingdom-United States relations|Anglo-American Relationship]] have been an element of Conservative foreign policy since the Second World War. Though the Anglo–American relationship in foreign affairs has often been termed a '[[Special Relationship]]', a term coined by [[Winston Churchill]], this has often been observed most clearly where leaders in each country are of a similar political stripe. [[David Cameron]] had sought to distance himself from former [[President of United States|US President]] [[George W. Bush|Bush]] and his [[neoconservative]] foreign policy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/11/conservatives.uk1 |title=Cameron: I'm no neo-con |access-date=20 April 2007 |first=Matthew |last=Tempest |date=11 September 2006 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716205435/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/11/conservatives.uk1 |archive-date=16 July 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite traditional links between the UK Conservatives and US [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]], London Mayor [[Boris Johnson]], a Conservative, endorsed [[Barack Obama]] in the 2008 election.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mulholland|first=Hélène|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2008/aug/01/boris.barackobama|title=Barack Obama gets backing from Boris Johnson|date=1 August 2008|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720095111/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2008/aug/01/boris.barackobama|archive-date=20 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> However, after becoming prime minister, Johnson developed a close relationship with Republican President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Politico]] |date=24 May 2016 |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-boris-johnson-kiss-mural-brexit-referendum-leave-remain/ |first=Vince |last=Chadwick |title=Donald Trump and Boris Johnson kiss and make Out |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=6 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206063613/https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-boris-johnson-kiss-mural-brexit-referendum-leave-remain/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Roy |last=Greenslade |author-link=Roy Greenslade |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/jun/29/new-york-post-compares-boris-johnson-to-donald-trump |date=29 June 2016 |title=New York Post compares Boris Johnson to Donald Trump |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=6 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206063615/https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/jun/29/new-york-post-compares-boris-johnson-to-donald-trump |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=[[Newsweek]] |url=http://www.newsweek.com/boris-johnson-donald-trump-eu-brexit-439957 |agency=Reuters |title=London mayor Boris Johnson eyes Trump-style insurgency in EU battle |date=23 March 2016 |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=6 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206063620/https://www.newsweek.com/boris-johnson-donald-trump-eu-brexit-439957 |url-status=live }}</ref> This has been described as a reestablishing of the ''Special Relationship'' with the United States following Britain's withdraw from the [[European Union]], as well as returning to the links between the Conservatives and Republican Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/12/trump-boris-johnson-relationship-083732|title=Boris and Donald: A very special relationship|website=Politico|date=12 December 2019 |access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=8 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608220755/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/12/trump-boris-johnson-relationship-083732|url-status=live}}</ref> Beyond relations with the United States, the Commonwealth and the EU, the Conservative Party has generally supported a pro free-trade foreign policy within the mainstream of international affairs.

Although stances have changed with successive leadership, the modern Conservative Party generally supports cooperation and maintaining friendly relations with [[Israel]]. Historic Conservative statesmen such as [[Arthur Balfour]] and [[Winston Churchill]] supported the idea of national home for the Jewish people. Under [[Margaret Thatcher]] Conservative support for Israel was seen to crystallise.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fathomjournal.org/the-new-special-relationship-the-british-conservative-party-and-israel/|title=The New Special Relationship: The British Conservative Party and Israel|website=Fathom|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204144021/https://fathomjournal.org/the-new-special-relationship-the-british-conservative-party-and-israel/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bod.org.uk/political-party-manifestos-where-they-stand-on-issues-of-jewish-interest/|title=Board of Deputies – Political party manifestos- where they stand on issues of Jewish interest|website=www.bod.org.uk|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027120032/https://www.bod.org.uk/political-party-manifestos-where-they-stand-on-issues-of-jewish-interest/|url-status=live}}</ref> Support for Israel increased under the leaderships of [[Theresa May]] and [[Boris Johnson]], with prominent Conservative figures within the May and Johnson ministries strongly endorsing Israel. In 2016, Theresa May publicly rebutted{{Clarify|date=February 2026}} statements made by US Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] over the composition of the Israeli government.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/britain-s-pm-theresa-may-rebukes-john-kerry-israel-attack-n701416|title=Britain's PM rebukes John Kerry for his 'attack' on Israel|work=NBC News|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108114427/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/britain-s-pm-theresa-may-rebukes-john-kerry-israel-attack-n701416|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/israel-latest-donald-trump-theresa-may-john-kerry-barack-obama-jewish-settlements-middle-east-a7501496.html|title=Theresa May appears to align herself with Donald Trump on Israel|date=29 December 2016|work=The Independent|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108100605/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/israel-latest-donald-trump-theresa-may-john-kerry-barack-obama-jewish-settlements-middle-east-a7501496.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018 the party pledged to proscribe all wings of the Lebanese-based militant group [[Hezbollah]] and this was adopted as a UK-wide policy in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/sajid-javid-set-to-announce-full-ban-of-hezbollah-at-party-conference/|title=Sajid Javid set to announce full ban of Hezbollah at party conference|website=jewishnews.timesofisrael.com|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043413/https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/sajid-javid-set-to-announce-full-ban-of-hezbollah-at-party-conference/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/25/uk-outlaw-ban-hezbollah-political-wing-lebanese|title=UK to outlaw Hezbollah's political wing|date=25 February 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=20 October 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108011320/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/25/uk-outlaw-ban-hezbollah-political-wing-lebanese|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, the Conservative government under Boris Johnson announced plans to stop the influence of the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] movement on local politics which included prohibiting local councils from boycotting Israeli products.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2019-11-24/ty-article/.premium/u-k-s-conservative-party-vows-to-ban-councils-from-boycotting-israeli-products/0000017f-f477-ddde-abff-fc7709700000|title=U.K.'s Conservative Party vows to ban councils from boycotting Israeli products|website=Haaretz|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=11 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611191957/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-u-k-s-conservative-party-vows-to-ban-councils-from-boycotting-israeli-products-1.8168796|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/world/europe/britain-bds-boycott-israel.html|title=U.K. Plans to Pass Anti-B.D.S. Law|first=Benjamin|last=Mueller|date=16 December 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724183058/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/world/europe/britain-bds-boycott-israel.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/11/16/tories-ban-councils-boycotting-products-israel-manifesto-plans/|title=Tories to ban councils from boycotting products from Israel under manifesto plans|first=Tony|last=Diver|date=16 November 2019|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031104444/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/11/16/tories-ban-councils-boycotting-products-israel-manifesto-plans/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Defence policy ====
After the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001]], the Conservative Party supported the coalition military action in [[Afghanistan]]. The Conservative Party believed that success in Afghanistan would be defined in terms of the Afghans achieving the capability to maintain their own internal and external security. They have repeatedly criticised the former [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Government]] for failing to equip British Forces adequately in the earlier days on the campaign—especially highlighting the shortage of helicopters for British Forces resulting from [[Gordon Brown]]'s £1.4bn cut to the helicopter budget in 2004.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Liam |date=2009-12-17 |title=Labour's dangerous defence cuts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/dec/17/defence-cuts-bob-ainsworth-afghan |access-date=2024-04-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The Conservative Party believes that in the 21st century defence and security are interlinked. It has pledged to break away from holding a traditional [[Defence Review|Strategic Defence Review]] and committed to carrying out a more comprehensive [[Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010|Strategic Defence and Security Review]] (SDSR).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2009/09/Liam_Fox_If_Afghanistan_will_be_lost_it_will_be_lost_at_home.aspx |title=The Strategic Defence and Security Review: A Conservative View of Defence and Future Challenges |publisher=Royal United Services Institute |date=8 February 2010 |access-date=8 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622051413/https://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2009/09/Liam_Fox_If_Afghanistan_will_be_lost_it_will_be_lost_at_home.aspx |archive-date=22 June 2011 }}</ref> As well as an SDSR, the Conservative Party pledged in 2010 to undertake a fundamental and far-reaching review of the procurement process and how defence equipment is provided in Britain, and to increase Britain's share of the global defence market as Government policy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 May 2017 |title=UK Conservatives to increase defense spending |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-conservatives-to-increase-defense-spending/ |access-date=21 September 2023 |website=Politico |language=en |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002220320/https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-conservatives-to-increase-defense-spending/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Conservative Party upholds the view that [[NATO]] remains and should remain the most important security alliance for the United Kingdom.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2010/02/Liam_Fox_EU_should_only_act_when_NATO_cannot.aspx |title=Liam Fox: The EU should only act when NATO cannot |date=11 February 2010 |access-date=20 April 2007 |publisher=Conservative Party |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401061150/http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2010/02/Liam_Fox_EU_should_only_act_when_NATO_cannot.aspx |archive-date=1 April 2010 }}</ref> It has advocated for the creation of a fairer funding mechanism for NATO's expeditionary operations and called for all NATO countries to meet their required defence spending 2% of GDP. Some Conservatives believe that there is scope for expanding NATO's Article V to include new threats such as [[cybersecurity]].

The Conservative Party aims to build enhanced bilateral defence relations with key European partners and believes that it is in Britain's national interest to cooperate fully with all its European neighbours. It has pledged to ensure that any EU military capability must supplement and not supplant British national defence and [[NATO]], and that it is not in the British interest to hand over security to any supranational body.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

The Conservatives see it as a priority to encourage all members of the European Union to do more in terms of a commitment to European security at home and abroad. Regarding the defence role of the European Union, the Conservatives pledged to re-examine some of Britain's EU Defence commitments to determine their practicality and utility; specifically, to reassess UK participation provisions like Permanent Structured Cooperation, the [[European Defence Agency]] and EU Battlegroups to determine if there is any value in Britain's participation.

The Conservatives support the UK's possession of nuclear weapons through the [[Trident (UK nuclear programme)|Trident nuclear programme]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />

==== European Union policy ====
{{Update section|date=February 2026}}
No subject has proved more divisive in the Conservative Party in recent history than the role of the United Kingdom within the European Union. Though the principal architect of the UK's entry into the [[European Communities]] (which became the European Union) was Conservative Prime Minister [[Edward Heath]], most contemporary Conservative opinion is opposed to closer economic and particularly political union with the EU. This is a noticeable shift in British politics, as in the 1960s and 1970s the Conservatives were more pro-Europe than the Labour Party: for example, in the 1971 House of Commons vote on whether the UK should join the European Economic Community, only 39 of the then 330 Conservative MPs were opposed.<ref name=georgiou>{{cite journal |last1=Georgiou |first1=Christakis |date=April 2017 |title=British Capitalism and European Unification, from Ottawa to the Brexit Referendum |journal=[[Historical Materialism (journal)|Historical Materialism]] |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=90–129 |doi=10.1163/1569206X-12341511 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Anthony |author-link1=Anthony Lewis |date=29 October 1971 |title=Commons Votes, 356 to 242, for Britain's Membership in the European Market |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/29/archives/commons-votes-356-to-244-for-britains-membership-in-the-european.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=1 |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140603/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/29/archives/commons-votes-356-to-244-for-britains-membership-in-the-european.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Conservative Party has members with varying opinions of the EU, with [[pro-European]] Conservatives joining the affiliate [[Conservative Group for Europe]], while some Eurosceptics left the party to join the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]]. Whilst the vast majority of Conservatives in recent decades have been Eurosceptics, views among this group regarding the UK's relationship with the EU have been polarised between moderate, soft Eurosceptics who support continued British membership but oppose further harmonisation of regulations affecting business and accept participation in a [[multi-speed Europe]], and a more radical, economically libertarian faction who oppose policy initiatives from Brussels, support the rolling back of integration measures from the Maastricht Treaty onwards, and have become increasingly supportive of a complete withdrawal.<ref name=georgiou />

=== Domestic policy ===
==== Constitutional policy ====
Traditionally the Conservative Party has supported the uncodified [[constitution of the United Kingdom]] and its traditional [[Westminster system]] of [[Politics of the United Kingdom|politics]]. The party opposed many of [[Tony Blair]]'s reforms, such as the removal of the hereditary peers,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/216872.stm |title=Blair attacks hereditary peers |work=BBC News |date=18 November 1998 |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030223090951/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/216872.stm |archive-date=23 February 2003 |url-status=live }}</ref> the incorporation of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]] into British law, and the 2009 creation of the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]], a function formerly [[Lords of Appeal in Ordinary|carried out by the House of Lords]].

There was also a split on whether to introduce a British Bill of Rights that would replace the [[Human Rights Act 1998]]; David Cameron expressed support, but party [[grandee]] Ken Clarke described it as "xenophobic and legal nonsense".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5120894.stm |title=Clarke slams Cameron rights plan |work=BBC News |date=27 June 2006 |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140559/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5120894.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019 the Conservatives' manifesto committed to a broad constitutional review in a line which read "after Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the relationship between the government, parliament and the courts".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leybourn |first1=Heather |title=The threat to our democracy buried in the Tory manifesto |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/11/the-threat-to-our-democracy-buried-in-the-tory-manifesto |work=The Guardian |date=11 December 2019 |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=11 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211190827/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/11/the-threat-to-our-democracy-buried-in-the-tory-manifesto |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Justice, crime and security policy ====
In 2010 the Conservatives campaigned to cut the perceived bureaucracy of the modern police force and pledged greater legal protection to people convicted of defending themselves against intruders.

The party has also campaigned for the creation of a UK Bill of Rights to replace the [[Human Rights Act 1998]], but this was vetoed by their coalition partners the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Klug |first=Francesca |date=2010-04-14 |title=Why Lib Dems reject bill of rights |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/14/human-rights-reform-manifestos |access-date=2024-07-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The Conservatives' 2017 manifesto pledged to create a national infrastructure police force, subsuming the existing [[British Transport Police]]; [[Civil Nuclear Constabulary]]; and [[Ministry of Defence Police]] "to improve the protection of critical infrastructure such as nuclear sites, railways and the strategic road network".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walker |first1=Andy |title=Labour slams PM for failure to create national infrastructure police force |url=http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/apr-2018/labour-slams-pm-failure-create-national-infrastructure-police-force |website=Infrastructure Intelligence |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128033224/http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/apr-2018/labour-slams-pm-failure-create-national-infrastructure-police-force |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Education and research ====
In education, the Conservatives pledged to review the [[National Curriculum]], introduce the English Baccalaureate, and reform [[GCSE]], [[A-level]], other national qualifications, apprenticeships and training.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apprenticeship Expansion in England |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/article/apprenticeship-expansion-in-england/ |website=Center for American Progress Action Fund |date=6 June 2014 |access-date=6 July 2024 |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706025849/https://www.americanprogress.org/article/apprenticeship-expansion-in-england/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The increase in discipline was also highlighted, as they want it to be easier for pupils to be searched for contraband items, the granting of anonymity to teachers accused by pupils, and the banning of expelled pupils being returned to schools via appeal panels. {{cn|date=April 2026}}

In higher education, the Conservatives have increased tuition fees to £9,250 per year, however have ensured that this will not be paid by anyone until they are earning over £25,000. The Scottish Conservatives also support the re-introduction of tuition fees in Scotland. In 2016 the Conservative government extended student loan access in England to postgraduate students to help improve access to education.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3fb9b3b8-eb8b-11e5-bb79-2303682345c8 |title=Student loans extended to postgraduates in Budget |work=FT.com |date=16 March 2016 |access-date=4 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227150151/https://www.ft.com/content/3fb9b3b8-eb8b-11e5-bb79-2303682345c8 |archive-date=27 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Within the EU, the UK was one of the largest recipients of research funding in the [[European Union]], receiving £7 billion between 2007 and 2015, which is invested in universities and research-intensive businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/uk-research-and-european-union/role-of-EU-in-funding-UK-research/how-much-funding-does-uk-get-in-comparison-with-other-countries/|title=How much research funding does the UK get from the EU and how does this compare with other countries?|work=RoyalSociety.org|access-date=4 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627152354/https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/uk-research-and-european-union/role-of-EU-in-funding-UK-research/how-much-funding-does-uk-get-in-comparison-with-other-countries/|archive-date=27 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the vote to leave the EU, Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] guaranteed that the Conservative government would protect funding for existing research and development projects in the UK.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nature.com/news/uk-government-gives-brexit-science-funding-guarantee-1.20434|title=UK government gives Brexit science funding guarantee|first=Daniel|last=Cressey|journal=Nature|access-date=4 April 2017|doi=10.1038/nature.2016.20434|year=2016|s2cid=168424106|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402023208/http://www.nature.com/news/uk-government-gives-brexit-science-funding-guarantee-1.20434|archive-date=2 April 2017|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 2017, the Conservatives introduced the [[T Level]] qualification aimed at improving the teaching and administration of technical education.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-announces-first-new-t-levels |title=&#91;Withdrawn&#93; Education Secretary announces first new T Levels |date=15 October 2018 |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708064417/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-announces-first-new-t-levels |archive-date=8 July 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Organisation ==

=== Party structure ===
[[File:Conservative Party conference 2011.jpg|thumb|right|The [[National Conservative Convention]] is held during the [[Conservative Party Conference]].]]
The Conservative Party comprises the voluntary party, parliamentary party (sometimes called the political party) and the professional party.

Members of the public join the party by becoming part of a local constituency [[Conservative Association]].<ref name="Central-Office-v-Burrell">{{cite BAILII |litigants= Conservative and Unionist Central Office v. James Robert Samuel Burrell (HM Inspector of Taxes) |court= EWCA |division= Civ |year=1981 |num=2|date=10 December 1981}}</ref> The country is also divided into regions, with each region containing a number of areas, both having a similar structure to constituency associations. The [[National Conservative Convention]] sets the voluntary party's direction. It is composed of all association chairs, officers from areas and regions, and 42 representatives and the Conservative Women's Organisation.<ref name=organisation>{{cite web |url=https://www.conservatives.com/Members/Party-Structure-and-Organisation |publisher=Conservative Party |title=Party Structure and Organisation |access-date=16 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005230159/https://www.conservatives.com/Members/Party-Structure-and-Organisation |archive-date=5 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Convention meets twice a year. Its Annual General Meeting is usually held at Spring Forum, with another meeting usually held at the [[Conservative Party Conference]]. In the organisation of the Conservative Party, constituency associations dominate selection of local candidates, and some associations have organised [[open primary|open]] [[Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary primaries|parliamentary primaries]].

The [[1922 Committee]] consists of [[backbench]] MPs, meeting weekly while parliament is sitting. Frontbench MPs have an open invitation to attend. The 1922 Committee plays a crucial role in the selection of party leaders. All Conservative MPs are members of the 1922 Committee by default. There are 20 executive members of the committee, agreed by consensus among backbench MPs.

The [[Conservative Campaign Headquarters]] (CCHQ) is effectively head of the Professional Party and leads [[Political funding in the United Kingdom|financing]], organisation of elections and drafting of policy.

The [[Conservative Party Board]] is the party's ultimate [[decision-making]] body, responsible for all operational matters (including fundraising, membership and candidates) and is made up of representatives from each (voluntary, political and professional) section of the Party.<ref name=organisation/> The Party Board meets about once a month and works closely with CCHQ, elected representatives and the voluntary membership mainly through a number of management sub-committees (such as membership, candidates and conferences).

===Leadership===
The leader of the Conservative Party has been [[Kemi Badenoch]] since 2 November 2024.

The leader of a party that wins an election invariably becomes Prime Minister. The political task of the leader of the Conservative Party is, if possible, to win a [[general election]] for, or at least to secure the survival of, the Conservative and Unionist party.<ref name="hill0625">{{cite news| last=Hill | first=Henry | title=Why the feverish talk of ousting Badenoch already? Tory MPs know the future looks dire |newspaper=The Guardian | date=2 June 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/02/kemi-badenoch-tory-party-leader-oust-dire-future}}</ref> William Hague has described the Tory Party leadership selection process as "absolute monarchy moderated by regicide".<ref name="hill0625" />

Historically the leader of the Conservative Party was chosen by a "Magic Circle" of senior figures from which, after a "customary processes of consultation" within the Party, an opaque process led to a new leader "emerging".<ref name=gimson>{{cite web | last=Gimson | first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Gimson| title=From magic circle to one member one vote: a short history of Tory leadership contests | website=Conservative Home | date=30 May 2019 | url=https://conservativehome.com/2019/05/30/from-magic-circle-to-one-member-one-vote-a-short-history-of-tory-leadership-contests/}}</ref> In 1957 [[Anthony Eden]] resigned, and was expected to be succeeded by [[Rab Butler]], who was expected to win, or [[Harold Macmillan]]. Unexpectedly [[Alec Douglas-Home]] was chosen. [[Iain Macleod]] in ''[[The Spectator]]'' suggested that the leadership race had been fixed by the "Magic Circle" of nine senior Conservatives, eight out of whom were [[Old Etonian]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=THE TORY LEADERSHIP|first=Iain|last=Macleod|author-link=Iain Macleod|date=17 Jan 1964|magazine=The Spectator Archive |page=5| url=https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/17th-january-1964/5/the-tory-leadership|url-access=subscription|url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203065900/https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/17th-january-1964/5/the-tory-leadership| archive-date=3 December 2024}}</ref>

Douglas-Home saw the need for democratisation, and in the mid-1960s instituted a new mechanism for selecting a leader: they would be elected by Conservative MPs in a process presided over by the Chairman of the [[1922 Committee]]. To stand, an MP needed a proposer and a seconder. After a first ballot, a candidate with both an overall majority and 15% more of the votes cast than any other candidate would become leader. Otherwise there would be a second ballot, with the winner of an overall majority becoming leader. If still no winner, the three top candidates would take part  in a final ballot, with MPs voting for their first and second preferences. [[Edward Heath]] won the first election under these rules.

In 1998, when [[William Hague]] was party leader, he introduced reforms intended to make the election more democratic. MPs would vote repeatedly to whittle the contenders down to two, one of whom would be picked by a vote of the entire party membership. These rules, current as of 2025, are explained in detail in a House of Commons research briefing, with brief description of earlier procedures.<ref>{{Cite report|title=Leadership elections: Conservative Part|first=Neil|last=Johnston|date=4 November 2024|publisher=House of Commons Library|url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01366/SN01366.pdf|id=01366|archive-date=20 August 2016|access-date=2 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820172114/https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01366/SN01366.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Once a leader has been elected, they cannot be challenged for the leadership for one year<ref name=hill0625/> (although they can be pressed to resign).

=== Membership ===

[[File:UK popular vote.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Share of the vote received by Conservatives (blue), Whigs/Liberals/Liberal Democrats (orange), Labour (red) and others (grey) in general elections since 1832<ref>{{cite book |at=Table 2.01 "Summary Results of General Elections 1832–2005 (UK)", p. 59 |title=British electoral facts, 1832–2006 |author-link1=Colin Rallings |first1=Colin |last1=Rallings |author-link2=Michael Thrasher |first2=Michael |last2=Thrasher |edition=7th |year=2007 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn= 978-0-7546-2712-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/ |title=Election 2010 Results |work=BBC News |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414102452/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/ |archive-date=14 April 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Membership peaked in the mid-1950s at approximately 3&nbsp;million, before declining steadily through the second half of the 20th century.<ref name="hoclibrary">{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN05125.pdf|date=3 December 2012|first=Feargal|last=McGuinness|title=Membership of UK political parties|publisher=House of Commons Library|access-date=21 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401031422/http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN05125.pdf|archive-date=1 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite an initial boost shortly after [[2005 Conservative Party leadership election|David Cameron's election as leader]] in December 2005, membership resumed its decline in 2006 to a lower level than when he was elected. In 2010 the Conservative Party had about 177,000 members according to activist [[Tim Montgomerie]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Mulholland |first=Hélène |title=Tories voice fears over falling membership |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2010/oct/05/tories-fears-falling-membership |access-date=22 November 2011 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=5 October 2010 |quote=[[Tim Montgomerie]], the editor of the influential grassroots Tory website ConservativeHome, told a fringe event that two separate sources had told him party membership was now 177,000—down 80,000 on the 2005 figure of 257,000&nbsp;... The Conservative party refused to confirm the figure |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423213625/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2010/oct/05/tories-fears-falling-membership |archive-date=23 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2013 membership was estimated by the party itself at 134,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24143443|date=18 September 2013|title=Conservative membership has nearly halved under Cameron|work=BBC News|access-date=21 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625074108/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24143443|archive-date=25 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The Conservative Party had a membership of 124,000 in March 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/party-membership-what-are-the-latest-figures/ |title= Party membership: what are the latest figures? |last= Audickas |first= Lukas |date= 2 May 2018 |website= commonslibrary.parliament.uk |publisher= UK Parliament – House of Commons Library |access-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240510172935/https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/party-membership-what-are-the-latest-figures/ |url-status= live }}</ref> In May 2019 its membership was thought to be around 160,000, with over half of its members being over 55.<ref>{{cite news |last= Littlejohn |first= Georgina |date= 26 May 2019 |title= Tory membership increases to 160,000 ahead of leadership election |url= https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tory-membership-increases-to-160000-ahead-of-leadership-election-295318 |work= i News |access-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240510172935/https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tory-membership-increases-to-160000-ahead-of-leadership-election-295318 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Bale |first= Tim |date= 23 June 2019 |title= Tory leadership: Who gets to choose the UK's next prime minister? |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48395211 |work= BBC News |access-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-date= 9 May 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240509124119/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48395211 |url-status= live }}</ref> Its membership rose to 200,000 in March 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last= Fisher |first= Lucy |date= 26 March 2021 |title= Tory leadership: Who gets to choose the UK's next prime minister? |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/26/exclusive-tory-base-soars-60-per-cent-three-years-hit-200000/ |work= The Daily Telegraph |access-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-date= 10 May 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240510172935/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/26/exclusive-tory-base-soars-60-per-cent-three-years-hit-200000/ |url-status= live }}</ref> In July 2022 it had 172,437 members.<ref name="July 2022 membership">{{cite news |last= Wheeler |first= Brian |date= 5 September 2022 |title= Tory membership figure revealed |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62760180?pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:343a0159-4b24-498a-86d8-79ceb11e434b&pinned_post_asset_id=6315ef435406b91fca2cd224&pinned_post_type=share |work= BBC News |access-date= 5 September 2022 |archive-date= 5 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220905154839/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62760180?pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:343a0159-4b24-498a-86d8-79ceb11e434b&pinned_post_asset_id=6315ef435406b91fca2cd224&pinned_post_type=share |url-status= live }}</ref> In July 2025, it was revealed that the party's membership had fallen to 123,000.<ref name="Membership report, July 2025"/>

=== Prospective parliamentary candidates ===
{{further|Prospective parliamentary candidate}}
Associations select their constituency's candidates.<ref name="Central-Office-v-Burrell"/><ref name=dummies>{{cite book|title=British Politics For Dummies|page=202|first=Julian|last=Knight|year=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-gbBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA202|isbn=978-1-118-97152-9}}</ref> Some associations [[Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary primaries|have organised open parliamentary primaries]]. A constituency Association must choose a candidate using the rules approved by, and (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) from a list established by, the Committee on Candidates of the [[Board of the Conservative Party]].<ref>Constitution of the Conservative Party, Schedule 6</ref> Prospective candidates apply to the [[Conservative Central Office]] to be included on the approved list of candidates, some candidates will be given the option of applying for any seat they choose, while others may be restricted to certain constituencies.<ref name="personal-representation">{{cite book|title=Personal Representation: The Neglected Dimension of Electoral Systems|author-link1=Josep Colomer|first=Josep M.|last=Colomer|year=2013|page=45|publisher=[[European Consortium for Political Research]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsX9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA45|isbn=9781907301575|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=13 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913231455/https://books.google.com/books?id=IsX9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA45#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=costly>{{cite news|title=The costly process of becoming an election candidate|first=Esther|last=Webber|work=[[BBC News]]|date=2 August 2013|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-23437111|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216035139/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-23437111|archive-date=16 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> A Conservative MP can only be deselected at a special general meeting of the local Conservative association, which can only be organised if backed by a petition of more than fifty members.<ref name="personal-representation"/>

=== Young Conservatives ===
{{Main|Young Conservatives (UK)}}

[[Young Conservatives (UK)|Young Conservatives]] is the [[youth wing]] of the Conservative Party for members aged 25 and under. The organisation aims to increase youth ownership and engagement in local associations.<ref name="telegraph16/03/2018">{{cite news |last=Yorke |first=Harry |date=16 March 2018 |title=Conservative youth wing relaunched in bid to win back millennials from Labour |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/03/16/conservative-youth-wing-relaunched-bid-win-back-millennials/ |access-date=23 September 2023 |archive-date=13 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913231457/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/03/16/conservative-youth-wing-relaunched-bid-win-back-millennials/ |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1998 to 2015, the youth wing was called [[Conservative Future]], and had branches at universities and at parliamentary constituency level. It was shut down in 2015 after allegations that bullying by [[Mark Clarke (politician)|Mark Clarke]] had caused the suicide of Elliot Johnson, a 21-year-old party activist.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Riley-Smith |first1=Ben |title=Lord Feldman had 'gravest possible reservations' about Mark Clarke, the Tatler Tory, when handed complaint of bullying |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/18/lord-feldman-had-gravest-possible-reservations-about-mark-clarke/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=18 August 2016 |access-date=23 September 2023 |archive-date=13 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913231354/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/18/lord-feldman-had-gravest-possible-reservations-about-mark-clarke/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hattenstone |first1=Simon |title=Elliott Johnson: the young Tory destroyed by the party he loved |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/27/elliott-johnson-young-tory-destroyed-by-party-he-loved-mark-clarke |work=The Guardian |date=27 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="telegraph16/03/2018" /> The current incarnation was launched in March 2018.

===Conferences===
The major annual party events are the Spring Forum and the [[Conservative Party Conference]], which takes place in Autumn in alternately Manchester or Birmingham. This is when the [[National Conservative Convention]] holds meetings.

=== Funding ===
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, half the [[Party funding|party's funding]] came from a cluster of fifty "donor groups", and a third of it from only fifteen.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Crone, Stephen |author2=Wilks-Heeg, Stuart |date=20 December 2010 |title=Just 50 'donor groups' have supplied over half of the Conservative party's declared donation income in the last decade, a fact disguised by legal 'fame avoidance' techniques |url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/6272 |publisher=[[London School of Economics|British Politics and Policy blog at LSE]] |access-date=10 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712033806/http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/6272 |archive-date=12 July 2013 }}</ref> In the year after the 2010 general election, half the Conservatives' funding came from the financial sector.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Syal, Rajeev |author2=Treanor, Jill |author3=Mathiason, Nick |date=30 September 2011 |title=City's influence over Conservatives laid bare by research into donations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/sep/30/city-conservatives-donations |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |access-date=10 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925193837/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/sep/30/city-conservatives-donations |archive-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

For 2013 the Conservative Party had an income of £25.4&nbsp;million, of which £749,000 came from membership subscriptions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28542408|title=Labour was best-funded UK political party in 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=29 July 2014|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424043844/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28542408|archive-date=24 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, according to accounts filed with the [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]], the party had an income of about £41.8&nbsp;million and expenditures of about £41&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/political-parties-campaigning-and-donations/political-parties-annual-accounts/details-of-accounts |title=Details of party accounts since 2002 |access-date=15 July 2017 |publisher=Electoral Commission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430091934/http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/political-parties-campaigning-and-donations/political-parties-annual-accounts/details-of-accounts |archive-date=30 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Construction businesses, including the [[Wates Group]] and [[JCB (heavy equipment manufacturer)|JCB]], have also been significant donors to the party, contributing £430,000 and £8.1m respectively between 2007 and 2017.<ref name="TCI-25Aug2017">{{cite news|title=Tories boosted by construction donations|url=http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/tories-buouyed-by-construction-donations|access-date=25 August 2017|work=The Construction Index|date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825103548/http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/tories-buouyed-by-construction-donations|archive-date=25 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Advisory Board (Conservative Party)|Advisory Board]] of the party represents donors who have given significant sums to the party, typically in excess of £250,000.<ref name=TimesFeb22>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/the-ultra-rich-tory-donors-with-access-to-boris-johnsons-top-team-96bvcwcxl |title=The Tory donors with access to Boris Johnson's top team |date=20 February 2022 |author1=[[Gabriel Pogrund]] |author2=Henry Zeffman |work=[[The Times]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309213103/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ultra-rich-tory-donors-with-access-to-boris-johnsons-top-team-96bvcwcxl |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2022 ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported 10% of Conservative peers were large party donors and gave nearly £50m in total.  27 out of the party's 274 peers had given over £100,000 to the Conservatives.  At least 6 large donor peers got government jobs in the 10 years to 2022.<ref name="guardian29/12/2022">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/29/one-in-10-tory-peers-have-given-more-than-100000-to-party|title=One in 10 Tory peers have given more than £100,000 to party|first1=Rowena|last1=Mason|date=29 December 2022|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=25 February 2023|archive-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229183501/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/29/one-in-10-tory-peers-have-given-more-than-100000-to-party|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Financial ties to Russian oligarchs ====
The Conservative Party has received funding from [[Russian oligarchs]], beginning in the early 2000s, for which it has been criticised.<ref name="NYTBradley">{{Cite news|last=Bradley |first=Jane |title=Major Donation to U.K. Conservative Party Was Flagged Over Russia Concerns |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=12 May 2022 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/world/europe/russian-money-uk-tories.html |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 February 2022 |title=These are the Conservative Party's secretive links to Russia |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19946067.uk-conservative-partys-links-russian-money-donors/ |access-date=4 August 2023 |website=The National |language=en |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804070828/https://www.thenational.scot/news/19946067.uk-conservative-partys-links-russian-money-donors/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Scrutiny became more prominent after [[Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum|alleged interference]] in the [[2016 Brexit referendum]] by the Kremlin to support the [[Vote Leave|Vote Leave campaign]], and increased after the ''[[Intelligence and Security Committee Russia report|Intelligence and Security Committee Russia]]'' report into [[Russian interference in British politics]] was published in July 2020. Concerns over Conservative Party funds have become increasingly controversial due to Vladimir Putin's human rights abuses and the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref name="PoliticoWebber">{{Cite news |last=Webber |first=Esther |title=Why Britain's Tories are addicted to Russian money |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-tories-russian-money-oligarch/ |date=7 March 2022 |access-date=4 August 2023 |work=[[Politico]] |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804070827/https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-tories-russian-money-oligarch/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of the first was Lubov Chernukhin, wife of former deputy finance minister and investment company [[VEB.RF]] founder [[Vladimir Chernukhin|Vladmir Chernukhin]], who had donated north of £2.2 million as of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ungoed-Thomas |first=Jon |date=26 March 2022 |title=Russian-born husband of Tory donor 'earned millions via oligarch connections' |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/26/russian-born-husband-of-tory-donor-earned-millions-via-oligarch-connections |access-date=4 August 2023 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref><ref name="FinCEN Files reporting team 2020 i036">{{cite web | author=FinCEN Files reporting team | title=FinCEN Files: Tory donor Lubov Chernukhin linked to $8m Putin ally funding | website=BBC News | date=20 September 2020 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54228079 | access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref> Donations to British political parties is only legal for citizens; the individuals who donated to the party had dual UK-Russian citizenship, and the donations were legal and properly declared.<ref name="Greenwood Midolo O'Neill Fisher 2020 m974">{{cite news | last1=Greenwood | first1=George | last2=Midolo | first2=Emanuele | last3=O'Neill | first3=Sean | last4=Fisher | first4=Lucy | title=Conservative Party ministers bankrolled by donors linked to Russia | newspaper=[[The Times]] | date=23 July 2020 | url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/conservative-party-ministers-bankrolled-by-donors-linked-to-russia-2hm5jhwpx | access-date=17 August 2023 | archive-date=17 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817140032/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/conservative-party-ministers-bankrolled-by-donors-linked-to-russia-2hm5jhwpx | url-status=live }}</ref> However, an investigation conducted by ''[[The New York Times]]'' shortly after the invasion of Ukraine determined that a £399,810 donation made by British-Israeli businessman [[Ehud Sheleg]] in 2018 was in fact given directly to him by his father-in-law, Russian oligarch [[Sergei Kopylov|Sergei Kopytov]]. Kopytov, a former minister in Russian-occupied Crimea, has strong ties to Vladimir Putin's government.<ref name="NYTBradley" /> [[Barclays Bank]] reported that in January 2021, they "[traced] a clear line back from this donation to its ultimate source", and reported it accordingly to the [[National Crime Agency]].<ref name="NYTBradley" />

An investigation by the [[Good Law Project]] found that in spite of Johnson's claims that donations from those with links to the Russian government was to stop,<ref name="PoliticoWebber" /> since the start of the war, the Conservatives have accepted at least £243,000 from Russia and Kremlin-associated donors.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 April 2023 |title=Revealed: The Tories are still receiving funds from Russia-linked donors |url=https://goodlawproject.org/revealed-the-tories-are-still-receiving-funds-from-russia-linked-donors/ |access-date=4 August 2023 |website=Good Law Project |language=en-GB |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804070827/https://goodlawproject.org/revealed-the-tories-are-still-receiving-funds-from-russia-linked-donors/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2022, the Labour Party used Electoral Commission information to calculate that donors who had made money from Russia or Russians had given £1.93m to either the Conservative party or constituency associations since [[Premiership of Boris Johnson|Boris Johnson's premiership]] began.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Peter |date=23 February 2022 |title=Party funding linked to Russia – how much have Tories benefited? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb/23/oligarchs-funding-tories |access-date=4 August 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Then-party leader Liz Truss said that the donations would not be returned, stating that they had been "properly declared".<ref name="Gutteridge 2022 c850">{{cite web | last=Gutteridge | first=Nick | title=Tories will keep Russia-linked donations totalling £1.93 million, says Liz Truss | website=The Telegraph | date=23 February 2022 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/02/23/tories-will-keep-russia-linked-donations-totalling-193-million/ | access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref>

=== International affiliation ===
The Conservative Party is a member of a number of international organisations, most notably the [[International Democracy Union]] which unites right-wing parties including the United States [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], the [[Liberal Party of Australia]], the [[Conservative Party of Canada]] and the South Korean [[People Power Party (South Korea)|People Power Party]].

At a European level, the Conservatives were members of the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Party]] (ECR Party), which unites conservative parties in opposition to a federal [[European Union]], through which the Conservatives have ties to the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] and the governing parties of Israel and Turkey, [[Likud]] and the [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]] respectively. In the European Parliament, the Conservative Party's MEPs sat in the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]] Group (ECR Group), which is affiliated to the ACRE. Party leader David Cameron pushed the foundation of the ECR, which was launched in 2009, along with the Czech [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party]] and the Polish [[Law and Justice]], before which the Conservative Party's MEPs sat in the [[European Democrats]], which had become a subgroup of the [[European People's Party (European Parliament group)|European People's Party]] in the 1990s. Since the [[2014 European election]], the ECR Group has been the third-largest group, with the largest members being the Conservatives (nineteen MEPs), Law and Justice (eighteen MEPs), the [[Liberal Conservative Reformers]] (five MEPs), and the [[Danish People's Party]] and [[New Flemish Alliance]] (four MEPs each). In June 2009 the Conservatives required a further four partners apart from the Polish and Czech supports to qualify for official [[Political groups of the European Parliament|fraction]] status in the parliament; the rules state that a European parliamentary caucus requires at least 25 [[MEPs]] from at least seven of the 27 [[EU member states]].<ref name="guardian_03062009">{{cite news|last=Traynor|first=Ian|title=Anti-gay, climate change deniers: meet David Cameron's new friends|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 June 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/02/david-cameron-alliance-polish-nationalists|access-date=2 June 2009|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906181732/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/02/david-cameron-alliance-polish-nationalists|archive-date=6 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> In forming the caucus, the party broke with two decades of co-operation by the UK's Conservative Party with the mainstream European Christian Democrats and conservatives in the European parliament, the [[European People's Party]] (EPP). It did so on the grounds that it is dominated by European [[federalism|federalists]] and supporters of the [[Lisbon treaty]], which the Conservatives were generally highly critical of.<ref name="guardian_03062009" />

=== Logo ===
When Sir Christopher Lawson was appointed as a marketing director at [[Conservative Central Office]] in 1981, he developed a logo design based on the [[Olympic flame]] in the colours of the [[Union Jack]],<ref name="Bruce1992">{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Brendan |date=1992 |title=Images of Power: How the Image Makers Shape Our Leaders |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXiGAAAAMAAJ |location=London |publisher=Kogan Page Ltd |page=120 |isbn=978-0749406691 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140521/https://books.google.com/books?id=gXiGAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was intended to represent leadership, striving to win, dedication, and a sense of community.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ranney |first=Austin |title=Britain at the polls, 1983: a study of the general election |year=1985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ekqIAAAAMAAJ |location=Durham, North Carolina |publisher=Duke University Press |page=43 |isbn=978-0822306191 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140521/https://books.google.com/books?id=ekqIAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The emblem was adopted for the 1983 general election.<ref name="Bruce1992"/> In 1989, the party's director of communications, Brendan Bruce, found through [[market research]] that recognition of the symbol was low and that people found it old fashioned and uninspiring. Using a design company headed by [[Michael Peters (designer)|Michael Peters]], an image of a hand carrying a torch was developed, which referenced the [[Statue of Liberty]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Rosenbaum |first=Martin |date=1996 |title=From Soapbox to Soundbite: Party Political Campaigning in Britain since 1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyO_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=203 |isbn=9781349253111 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108140521/https://www.google.com/books/edition/From_Soapbox_to_Soundbite/vyO_DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA203&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, there was a rebranding exercise to emphasise the Conservatives' commitment to environmentalism; a project costing £40,000 resulted in a sketched silhouette of an [[Quercus robur|oak tree]], a national symbol, which was said to represent "strength, endurance, renewal and growth".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5348630.stm |title=Tories show off 'scribbled' logo |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 September 2006 |website=BBC News |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-date=15 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715142234/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5348630.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> A change from green to the traditional Conservative blue colour appeared in 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1559765/Tory-oak-tree-logo-turns-blue.html |title=Tory Oak Tree Logo Turns Blue |last=Jones |first=George |date=8 August 2007 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk Limited |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613054715/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1559765/Tory-oak-tree-logo-turns-blue.html |archive-date=13 June 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> followed by a version with the Union Jack superimposed in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fabrikbrands.com/history-of-political-party-logos/ |title=The history of political party logos and what they really mean |last=Hodgson |first=Stewart |date=17 May 2017 |website=fabrikbrands.com |publisher=Fabrik Brands |access-date=17 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330154804/http://fabrikbrands.com/history-of-political-party-logos/ |archive-date=30 March 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> An alternative version featuring the colours of the [[rainbow flag (LGBT)|Rainbow flag]] was unveiled for an [[LGBT]] event at the 2009 conference in Manchester.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/aug/28/tories-gay-rainbow-logo |title=Tories seek to win gay vote with new rainbow logo |last=Mulholland |first=Hélène |date=28 August 2009 |website=The Guardian |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907031028/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/aug/28/tories-gay-rainbow-logo |archive-date=7 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Associated groups ===
{{Further|List of organisations associated with the British Conservative Party}}
==== Ideological groups ====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break|width=28%}}
* [[Tory Reform Group]]
* [[Conservative Mainstream]]
* [[Bright Blue (organisation)|Bright Blue]]
* [[One Nation Conservatives (caucus)|One Nation Conservatives]]
* [[Conservative Way Forward]]
* [[Cornerstone Group]]
* [[Selsdon Group]]
* [[The Monday Club]]
* [[Blue Collar Conservatism]]
* [[New Conservatives (UK)|New Conservatives]], launched in 2023 by mostly "[[Red wall (British politics)|red wall]]" MPs<ref>{{cite news |last1=Langford |first1=Eleanor |title=Who are the 'New Conservatives'? Their 12-point plan to pressure Rishi Sunak on migration, explained |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/who-new-conservatives-plan-pressure-rishi-sunak-migration-2449479 |access-date=3 July 2023 |publisher=The 'i' newspaper |date=3 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Who are the New Conservatives? |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/who-are-the-new-conservatives/ |website=The Spectator |date=3 July 2023 |access-date=3 July 2023}}</ref>
{{Col-end}}

==== Interest groups ====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break|width=28%}}
* [[Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation]]
* [[Conservative Friends of Israel]]
* [[Conservative Friends of Turkey]]
* [[Conservative Friends of the Chinese]]
{{Col-break|width=32%}}
* [[LGBT+ Conservatives]]
* [[Bruges Group (United Kingdom)|Bruges Group]]
{{Col-break|width=40%}}
* [[Conservative Christian Fellowship]]
* [[Conservative Muslim Forum]]
{{Col-end}}

==== Think tanks ====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break|width=28%}}
* [[European Foundation (think tank)|European Foundation]]
{{Col-break|width=32%}}
* [[Bow Group]]
{{Col-break|width=40%}}
* [[Centre for Policy Studies]]
{{Col-end}}

==== Alliances ====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break|width=28%}}
* [[International Democracy Union]]
* [[European Democrat Union]]
* [[Economic League (United Kingdom)|Economic League]]
{{Col-break|width=32%}}
* [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]]
* [[European Democrat Group]]
{{Col-break|width=40%}}
* [[Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists]]
* [[Ulster Conservatives and Unionists]] – New Force
{{Col-end}}

==== Party branches ====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break|width=28%}}
* [[Scottish Conservatives]]
* [[Welsh Conservatives]]
* [[Northern Ireland Conservatives]]
* [[London Conservatives]]
{{Col-break|width=32%}}
* [[1922 Committee]]
* [[Conservative Campaign Headquarters]] (CCHQ)
* [[Conservative Party Archive]]
* [[Conservative Research Department]]
{{Col-break|width=40%}}
* [[Conservative Women's Organisation]]
* [[LGBT+ Conservatives]]
* [[Young Conservatives (UK)|Young Conservatives]]
* [[Conservative Future Scotland]]
{{Col-end}}

== Party factions ==
The Conservative Party has a variety of internal factions or ideologies, including [[one-nation conservatism]],<ref name="new identity">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446864.stm|title=UK Politics – Cameron: Tories need new identity|work=BBC|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223160452/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446864.stm|archive-date=23 February 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14115047 |title=Introducing Cameronism |work=BBC News |date=11 July 2011 |access-date=2 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425081144/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14115047 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Christian democracy]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 2016 |title=A Christian Democrat leadership for the UK |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/8b3b58b4-8bc7-11e6-8cb7-e7ada1d123b1 |url-status=live |access-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013220801/https://www.ft.com/content/8b3b58b4-8bc7-11e6-8cb7-e7ada1d123b1 |archive-date=13 October 2016}}</ref> [[Cornerstone Group|social conservatism]], [[Thatcherism]], [[traditional conservatism]], [[British neoconservatism|neoconservatism]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gees.org/documentos/Documen-783.pdf |title=Document 783 |publisher=GEES |access-date=18 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016061229/https://gees.org/documentos/Documen-783.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/03/david-cameron-neoconservative-cabinet|title=The siren song of the neocons in David Cameron's cabinet|author=Richard Seymour|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 March 2011|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221111849/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/03/david-cameron-neoconservative-cabinet|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Euroscepticism]],<ref name="whitaker">{{cite news|title=Where There is Discord, Can They Bring Harmony? Managing Intra-party Dissent on European Integration in the Conservative Party|first1=Philip |last1=Lynch |first2=Richard |last2=Whitaker |url=http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/219644/mod_page/content/59/bjpi526.pdf|newspaper=The British Journal of Politics and International Relations|date=2012|access-date=1 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502003650/http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/219644/mod_page/content/59/bjpi526.pdf|archive-date=2 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and, since 2016, [[right-wing populism]].<ref name=Ba23/><ref name="Windsor 2022 p732">{{cite web | last=Windsor | first=Richard | title=Tories at war: what happened to the world's most successful party? | website=theweek | date=5 October 2022 | url=https://theweek.com/news/politics/958099/tories-at-war-what-happened-to-the-worlds-most-successful-party | access-date=16 September 2023}}</ref>

=== One-nation Conservatives ===
{{One-nation conservatism}}
[[One-nation conservatism]] was the party's dominant ideology in the 20th century until the rise of [[Thatcherism]] in the 1970s. It has included in its ranks Conservative Prime Ministers such as [[Stanley Baldwin]], [[Harold Macmillan]] and [[Edward Heath]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Garner |first2=Richard N. |last2=Kelly |title=British political parties today |year=1998 |page=66}}</ref> One-nation Conservatives in the contemporary party include former [[First Secretary of State]] [[Damian Green]], the current chair of the [[One Nation Conservatives (caucus)|One Nation Conservatives]] caucus.

The name itself comes from a famous phrase of [[Disraeli]]. Ideologically, one-nation conservatism identifies itself with a broad [[paternalistic conservative]] stance. One-nation Conservatives are often associated with the [[Tory Reform Group]] and the [[Bow Group]]. Adherents believe in [[social cohesion]] and support social institutions that maintain harmony between different interest groups, classes, and—more recently—different races or religions. These institutions have typically included the [[welfare state]], the [[BBC]], and local government.

One-nation Conservatives often invoke [[Edmund Burke]] and his emphasis on [[civil society]] ("little platoons") as the foundations of society, as well as his opposition to radical politics of all types. The Red Tory theory of [[Phillip Blond]] is a strand of the one-nation school of thought; prominent Red Tories include former Cabinet Ministers [[Iain Duncan Smith]] and [[Eric Pickles]] and [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State]] [[Jesse Norman]].<ref>Politics Review, April 2013</ref> There is a difference of opinion among supporters regarding the European Union. Some support it perhaps stemming from an extension of the cohesion principle to the international level, though others are strongly against the EU (such as [[Peter Tapsell (UK politician)|Peter Tapsell]]).

=== Free-market Conservatives ===
The "free-market wing" of [[economic liberals]] achieved dominance after the election of Margaret Thatcher as party leader in 1975. Their goal was to reduce the role of the government in the economy and to this end, they supported cuts in direct taxation, the [[privatisation]] of [[nationalised]] industries and a reduction in the size and scope of the welfare state. Supporters of the "free-market wing" have been labelled as "[[Thatcherites]]". The group has disparate views of social policy: Thatcher herself was [[socially conservative]] and a practising [[Anglican]], but the free-market wing in the Conservative Party harbours a range of social opinions from the [[civil libertarian]] views of [[Michael Portillo]], [[Daniel Hannan]], and [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]] to the [[traditional conservatism]] of former party leaders [[William Hague]] and [[Iain Duncan Smith]]. The Thatcherite wing is also associated with the concept of a "classless society".<ref>{{cite book |first=Tim |last=Bale |author-link=Tim Bale |title=The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron |year=2011 |page=145}}</ref>

Whilst a number of party members are [[pro-European]], some free-marketeers are [[Eurosceptic]], perceiving most EU regulations as interference in the free market and/or a threat to British sovereignty. EU centralisation also conflicts with the localist ideals that have grown in prominence within the party in recent years. Rare Thatcherite Europhiles included [[Leon Brittan]]. Many take inspiration from Thatcher's Bruges speech in 1988, in which she declared that "we have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain only to see them reimposed at a European level". A number of free-market Conservatives have signed the [[Better Off Out]] pledge to leave the EU.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.betteroffout.net/supporters/ |title=Supporters |publisher=Better Off Out |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620024415/http://www.betteroffout.net/supporters/ |archive-date=20 June 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thatcherites and [[economic liberals]] in the party tend to support [[Atlanticism]], something exhibited between Margaret Thatcher and [[Ronald Reagan]].

Thatcher herself claimed philosophical inspiration from the works of Burke and [[Friedrich Hayek]] for her defence of liberal economics. Groups associated with this tradition include the [[No Turning Back (political group)|No Turning Back]] Group and [[Conservative Way Forward]], whilst Enoch Powell and [[Keith Joseph]] are usually cited as early influences in the movement.<ref>{{cite book |first=Eric J. |last=Evans |title=Thatcher and Thatcherism |url=https://archive.org/details/thatcherthatcher00evan |url-access=limited |year=2004 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/thatcherthatcher00evan/page/n20 6], 72}}</ref> Some free-market supporters and [[Christian Democrats]] within the party tend to advocate the [[Social Market Economy]], which supports free markets alongside social and environmental responsibility, as well a welfare state. Joseph was the first to introduce the model idea into British politics, writing the publication: ''Why Britain needs a Social Market Economy''.

{{Toryism|expanded=related}}

=== Traditionalist Conservatives ===
{{Update section|date=February 2026}}
This [[socially conservative]] right-wing grouping is currently associated with the [[Cornerstone Group]] (or Faith, Flag and Family), and is the oldest tradition within the Conservative Party, closely associated with [[High Toryism]]. The name stems from its support for three social institutions: the [[Church of England]], the [[unitary state|unitary British state]] and the family. To this end, it emphasises the country's [[Anglican]] heritage, oppose any transfer of power away from the United Kingdom—either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to the European Union—and seek to place greater emphasis on [[traditional family]] structures to repair what it sees as a broken society in the UK. It is a strong advocate of marriage and believes the Conservative Party should back the institution with tax breaks and have opposed the alleged assaults on both traditional family structures and fatherhood.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-04 |title=Conservative MPs call for 'moral values' agenda : ePolitix.com |url=http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/conservative-mpsnbspcall-fornbspmoral-values-agenda/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604195558/http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/conservative-mpsnbspcall-fornbspmoral-values-agenda/ |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref>

Prominent MPs from this wing of the party include [[Andrew Rosindell]], [[Edward Leigh]] and [[Jacob Rees-Mogg]]—the latter two being prominent Roman Catholics, notable in a faction marked out by its support for the established Church of England.

=== Relationships between the factions ===
Sometimes two groupings have united to oppose the third. Both Thatcherite and traditionalist Conservatives rebelled over Europe (and in particular Maastricht) during [[John Major]]'s premiership; and traditionalist and One Nation MPs united to inflict Margaret Thatcher's only major defeat in Parliament, over Sunday trading.

Not all Conservative MPs can be easily placed within one of the above groupings. For example, John Major was the ostensibly "Thatcherite" candidate during the [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|1990 leadership election]], but he consistently promoted One-Nation Conservatives to the higher reaches of his cabinet during his time as prime minister. These included [[Kenneth Clarke]] as Chancellor of the Exchequer and [[Michael Heseltine]] as deputy prime minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnmajor.co.uk/page2384.html |title=Mr Major's Third Cabinet |publisher=John Major |date=25 September 1992 |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031080312/http://johnmajor.co.uk/page2384.html |archive-date=31 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Election results and campaigns==
National campaigning within the Conservative Party is fundamentally managed by [[Conservative Campaign Headquarters#Campaigning|the CCHQ campaigning team]], which is part of its central office. However, it also delegates local responsibility to Conservative associations in the area, usually to a team of Conservative activists and volunteers<ref name="organisation"/> in that area, but campaigns are still deployed from and thus managed by [[CCHQ]]
National campaigning sometimes occurs in-house by volunteers and staff at CCHQ in [[Westminster]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conservatives.com/calling|title=Philip May's Calling Community|website=Conservatives.com|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073000/https://www.conservatives.com/calling|archive-date=2 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ''Voter Communications Department'' is line-managed by the Conservative Director of Communications who upholds overall responsibility, though she has many staff supporting her, and the whole of CCHQ at election time, her department being one of the most predominant at this time, including project managers, executive assistants, politicians, and volunteers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://w4mpjobs.org/JobDetails.aspx?jobid=52865|title=w4mp – The site for everyone working for an MP|website=W4mpjobs.org|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621221315/http://w4mpjobs.org/JobDetails.aspx?jobid=52865|archive-date=21 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Conservative Party also has regional call centres and VoteSource do-it-from-home accounts.

===UK general election results===
{{Further information|Electoral history of the Conservative Party (UK)}}

This chart shows the electoral performance of the Conservative Party in [[List of United Kingdom general elections|each general election]] since 1835.<ref name=demon>{{cite web |url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |title=General Election Results 1885–1979 |publisher=Election.demon.co.uk |access-date=13 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |archive-date=30 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/election/1835-02-06|title=1835 General Election Results &#124; From A Vision of Britain through Time|website=www.visionofbritain.org.uk|access-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218133806/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/election/1835-02-06|archive-date=18 February 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Citation only to 1979. Table from 1983 to 2019 is uncited -->

For all election results, including: devolved elections, London elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections, combined authority elections and European Parliament elections see: [[Electoral history of the Conservative Party (UK)]]

For results of the Tories, the party's predecessor, see [[Tories (British political party)#Electoral performance|here]].
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
|+ [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]
|-
! rowspan=2|Election
! rowspan=2|Leader
! colspan=2|Votes
! colspan=3|Seats
! rowspan=2|Position
! rowspan=2|Government
|-
! No.
! Share
! No.
! ±
! Share
|-
|[[1835 United Kingdom general election|1835]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Robert Peel]]
|style="text-align:right;"|261,269
|style="text-align:right;"|40.8%
|{{Composition bar|273|658|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 98
|style="text-align:right;"|41.5%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|[[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]]}}
|-
|[[1837 United Kingdom general election|1837]]
|style="text-align:right;"|379,694
|style="text-align:right;"|48.3%
|{{Composition bar|314|658|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 41
|style="text-align:right;"|47.7%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Whig}}
|-
|[[1841 United Kingdom general election|1841]]
|style="text-align:right;"|379,694
|style="text-align:right;"|56.9%
|{{Composition bar|367|658|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 53
|style="text-align:right;"|55.8%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}{{efn| name= Election 1841}}
|-
|[[1847 United Kingdom general election|1847]]
| rowspan="5"|[[Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|Earl of Derby]]
|style="text-align:right;"|205,481
|style="text-align:right;"|42.7%
|{{Composition bar|325|656|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}{{efn|Includes [[Peelite]]s|name=Peel}}
|{{decrease}} 42
|style="text-align:right;"|49.5%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{no2|Whig}}{{efn| name= Election 1847}}
|-
|[[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852]]
|style="text-align:right;"|311,481
|style="text-align:right;"|41.9%
|{{Composition bar|330|654|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}{{efn|name=Peel}}
|{{increase}} 5
|style="text-align:right;"|50.5%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative minority}}{{efn| name= Election 1852}}
|-
|[[1857 United Kingdom general election|1857]]
|style="text-align:right;"|239,712
|style="text-align:right;"|34.0%
|{{Composition bar|264|654|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 66
|style="text-align:right;"|40.4%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Whig}}{{efn| name= Election 1857}}
|-
|[[1859 United Kingdom general election|1859]]
|style="text-align:right;"|193,232
|style="text-align:right;"|34.3%
|{{Composition bar|298|654|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 34
|style="text-align:right;"|45.6%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{yes2|Conservative minority}}{{efn| name= Election 1859}}
|-
|[[1865 United Kingdom general election|1865]]
|style="text-align:right;"|346,035
|style="text-align:right;"|40.5%
|{{Composition bar|289|658|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 9
|style="text-align:right;"|43.9%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|[[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]}}{{efn| name= Election 1865}}
|-
|[[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868]]<ref group="fn">The first election held under the [[Reform Act 1867]].</ref>
| rowspan="3"|[[Benjamin Disraeli]]
|style="text-align:right;"|903,318
|style="text-align:right;"|38.4%
|{{Composition bar|271|658|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 18
|style="text-align:right;"|41.2%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Liberal}}
|-
|[[1874 United Kingdom general election|1874]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,091,708
|style="text-align:right;"|44.3%
|{{Composition bar|350|652|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 79
|style="text-align:right;"|53.7%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1880 United Kingdom general election|1880]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,462,351
|style="text-align:right;"|42.5%
|{{Composition bar|237|652|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 113
|style="text-align:right;"|36.3%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Liberal}}{{efn| name= Election 1880}}
|-
|[[1885 United Kingdom general election|1885]]<ref group="fn">The first election held under the [[Representation of the People Act 1884]] and the [[Redistribution of Seats Act 1885]].</ref>
| rowspan="5"|[[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Marquess of Salisbury]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,869,560
|style="text-align:right;"|43.4%
|{{Composition bar|247|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 10
|style="text-align:right;"|36.9%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{yes2|Conservative minority}}{{efn| name= Election 1885}}
|-
|[[1886 United Kingdom general election|1886]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,417,627
|style="text-align:right;"|51.4%
|{{Composition bar|393|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 146
|style="text-align:right;"|58.7%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–[[Liberal Unionist Party|Liberal Unionist]]}}
|-
|[[1892 United Kingdom general election|1892]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,028,586
|style="text-align:right;"|47.0%
|{{Composition bar|314|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 79
|style="text-align:right;"|46.9%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{yes2|Conservative minority}}{{efn| name= Election 1892}}
|-
|[[1895 United Kingdom general election|1895]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,759,484
|style="text-align:right;"|49.3%
|{{Composition bar|411|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 97
|style="text-align:right;"|61.3%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–Liberal Unionist}}
|-
|[[1900 United Kingdom general election|1900]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,637,683
|style="text-align:right;"|50.2%
|{{Composition bar|402|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 9
|style="text-align:right;"|60.0%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–Liberal Unionist}}{{efn| name= Election 1900}}
|-
|[[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906]]
| rowspan="3"|[[Arthur Balfour]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,278,076
|style="text-align:right;"|43.4%
|{{Composition bar|156|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 246
|style="text-align:right;"|23.3%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Liberal}}
|-
|data-sort-value="1910-1"|[[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|January 1910]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,919,236
|style="text-align:right;"|46.8%
|{{Composition bar|272|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 116
|style="text-align:right;"|40.6%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Liberal minority}}
|-
|data-sort-value="1910-2"|[[December 1910 United Kingdom general election|December 1910]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,270,753
|style="text-align:right;"|46.6%
|{{Composition bar|271|670|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|style="text-align:right;"|40.5%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Liberal minority}}{{efn| name= Election 1910}}
|-
|colspan="9" data-sort-value="1912" style="text-align: center;" |''Merged with [[Liberal Unionist Party]] in 1912 to become the Conservative and Unionist Party''
|-
|[[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918]]<ref group="fn">The first election held under the [[Representation of the People Act 1918]] in which all men over 21, and most women over the age of 30 could vote, and therefore a much larger electorate.</ref>
| rowspan="2"|[[Bonar Law]]
|style="text-align:right;"|4,003,848
|style="text-align:right;"|38.4%
|{{Composition bar|379|707|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}332 elected with [[Coalition Coupon|Coupon]]
|{{increase}} 108
|style="text-align:right;"|53.6%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|[[Coalition Liberal]]–Conservative}}
|-
|[[1922 United Kingdom general election|1922]]
|style="text-align:right;"|5,294,465
|style="text-align:right;"|38.5%
|{{Composition bar|344|615|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 35
|style="text-align:right;"|55.9%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1923 United Kingdom general election|1923]]
| rowspan="5"|[[Stanley Baldwin]]
|style="text-align:right;"|5,286,159
|style="text-align:right;"|38.0%
|{{Composition bar|258|625|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 86
|style="text-align:right;"|41.3%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative minority}}{{efn| name= Election 1923}}
|-
|[[1924 United Kingdom general election|1924]]
|style="text-align:right;"|7,418,983
|style="text-align:right;"|46.8%
|{{Composition bar|412|615|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 124
|style="text-align:right;"|67.0%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929]]<ref group="fn">The first election held under the [[Representation of the People Act 1928]] which gave all women aged over 21 the vote.</ref>
|style="text-align:right;"|8,252,527
|style="text-align:right;"|38.1%
|{{Composition bar|260|615|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 152
|style="text-align:right;"|42.3%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour minority}}
|-
|[[1931 United Kingdom general election|1931]]
|style="text-align:right;"|11,377,022
|style="text-align:right;"|55.0%
|{{Composition bar|470|615|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 210
|style="text-align:right;"|76.4%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–Liberal–[[National Labour Organisation|National Labour]]}}
|-
|[[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935]]
|style="text-align:right;"|10,025,083
|style="text-align:right;"|47.8%
|{{Composition bar|386|615|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 83
|style="text-align:right;"|62.8%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–[[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|Liberal National]]–National Labour}}
|-
|[[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945]]
| rowspan="3"|[[Winston Churchill]]
|style="text-align:right;"|8,716,211
|style="text-align:right;"|36.2%
|{{Composition bar|197|640|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 189
|style="text-align:right;"|30.8%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]]
|style="text-align:right;"|11,507,061
|style="text-align:right;"|40.0%
|{{Composition bar|282|625|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 85
|style="text-align:right;"|45.1%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,724,418
|style="text-align:right;"|48.0%
|{{Composition bar|302|625|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 20
|style="text-align:right;"|48.3%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–[[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal]]}}
|-
|[[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955]]
|data-sort-value="eden"|[[Anthony Eden]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,310,891
|style="text-align:right;"|49.7%
|{{Composition bar|324|630|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 22
|style="text-align:right;"|51.4%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–National Liberal}}
|-
|[[1959 United Kingdom general election|1959]]
|data-sort-value="macm"|[[Harold Macmillan]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,750,875
|style="text-align:right;"|49.4%
|{{Composition bar|345|630|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 21
|style="text-align:right;"|54.8%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–National Liberal}}
|-
|[[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964]]
|data-sort-value="dougl"|[[Alec Douglas-Home]]
|style="text-align:right;"|12,002,642
|style="text-align:right;"|43.4%
|{{Composition bar|298|630|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 47
|style="text-align:right;"|47.3%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966]]
| rowspan="4"|[[Edward Heath]]
|style="text-align:right;"|11,418,455
|style="text-align:right;"|41.9%
|{{Composition bar|250|630|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 48
|style="text-align:right;"|39.7%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]]<ref group="fn">Franchise extended to all 18- to 20-year-olds under the [[Representation of the People Act 1969]].</ref>
|style="text-align:right;"|13,145,123
|style="text-align:right;"|46.4%
|{{Composition bar|330|630|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 80
|style="text-align:right;"|52.4%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|data-sort-value="1974-1"|[[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974]]
|style="text-align:right;"|11,872,180
|style="text-align:right;"|37.9%
|{{Composition bar|297|635|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 33
|style="text-align:right;"|46.8%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour minority}}
|-
|data-sort-value="1974-2"|[[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974]]
|style="text-align:right;"|10,462,565
|style="text-align:right;"|35.8%
|{{Composition bar|277|635|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 20
|style="text-align:right;"|43.6%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979]]
| rowspan="3"|[[Margaret Thatcher]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,697,923
|style="text-align:right;"|43.9%
|{{Composition bar|339|635|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 62
|style="text-align:right;"|53.4%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,012,316
|style="text-align:right;"|42.4%
|{{Composition bar|397|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 58
|style="text-align:right;"|61.1%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,760,935
|style="text-align:right;"|42.2%
|{{Composition bar|376|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 21
|style="text-align:right;"|57.8%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]]
| rowspan="2"|[[John Major]]
|style="text-align:right;"|14,093,007
|style="text-align:right;"|41.9%
|{{Composition bar|336|651|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 40
|style="text-align:right;"|51.6%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]
|style="text-align:right;"|9,600,943
|style="text-align:right;"|30.7%
|{{Composition bar|165|659|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 171
|style="text-align:right;"|25.0%
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]]
|data-sort-value="hag"|[[William Hague]]
|style="text-align:right;"|8,357,615
|style="text-align:right;"|31.7%
|{{Composition bar|166|659|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 1
|style="text-align:right;"|25.2%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]]
|data-sort-value="how"|[[Michael Howard]]
|style="text-align:right;"|8,785,941
|style="text-align:right;"|32.4%
|{{Composition bar|198|646|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 32
|style="text-align:right;"|30.7%
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|-
|[[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]]
| rowspan="2"|[[David Cameron]]
|style="text-align:right;"|10,704,647
|style="text-align:right;"|36.1%
|{{Composition bar|306|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 108
|style="text-align:right;"|47.1%
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative–[[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]}}
|-
|[[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]]
|style="text-align:right;"|11,334,920
|style="text-align:right;"|36.9%
|{{Composition bar|330|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 24
|style="text-align:right;"|50.8%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017]]
|data-sort-value="may"|[[Theresa May]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,636,684
|style="text-align:right;"|42.3%
|{{Composition bar|317|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 13
|style="text-align:right;"|48.8%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative minority}} <br /><small>''with [[Conservative–DUP agreement|DUP confidence and supply]]''</small>
|-
|[[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019]]
|data-sort-value="johnson"|[[Boris Johnson]]
|style="text-align:right;"|13,966,451
|style="text-align:right;"|43.6%
|{{Composition bar|365|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{increase}} 48
|style="text-align:right;"|56.2%
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Conservative}}
|-
|[[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024]]
|data-sort-value="johnson"|[[Rishi Sunak]]
|style="text-align:right;"|6,828,925
|style="text-align:right;"|23.7%
|{{Composition bar|121|650|hex={{party color|Conservative and Unionist Party (UK)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 244
|style="text-align:right;"|18.6%
|{{Decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Labour}}
|}

'''Notes'''
{{notelist
| refs =
{{efn
| name = Election 1841
| Majority government (1841–1846); Opposition (1846–1847).
}}
{{efn
| name = Peel
|Includes [[Peelite]]s}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1847
| Opposition (1847–1852); Minority government (1852).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1852
| Minority government (1852); Opposition (1852–1857).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1857
| Opposition (1857–1858); Minority government (1858–1859).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1859
| Minority government (1859); Opposition (1859–1865).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1865
| Opposition (1865–1866); Minority government (1866–1868).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1880
| Opposition (1880–1885); Minority government (1885).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1885
| Minority government (1885–1886); Opposition (1886).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1892
| Minority government (1892); Opposition (1892–1895).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1900
| Majority government (1900–1905); Opposition (1905–1906).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1910
| Opposition (1910–1915); [[Asquith coalition ministry|Coalition government]] (1915–1916).
}}
{{efn
| name = Election 1923
| Minority government (1923); Opposition (1923–1924).
}}
}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Politics|United Kingdom|Conservatism}}
* [[History of the Conservative Party (UK)]]
* [[Electoral history of the Conservative Party (UK)]]
* [[List of conservative parties by country]]
* [[List of Conservative Party MPs (UK)]]
* [[List of Conservative Party (UK) general election manifestos]]
* [[List of political parties in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Politics of the United Kingdom]]

== Notes ==
<references group="fn" />{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Bale, Tim. ''The Conservatives since 1945: the Drivers of Party Change''. (2012, Oxford University Press {{ISBN|978-0-19-923437-0}})
* {{cite book|last=Bale|first=Tim|author-link=Tim Bale|year=2011|title=The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron|location=Cambridge, England|publisher=Polity Press|isbn=978-0-7456-4858-3}}
* Ball, Stuart. ''Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918–1945'' (Oxford UP, 2013).
* Beer, Samuel. "The Conservative Party of Great Britain", ''Journal of Politics'' 14#1 (February 1952), pp.&nbsp;41–71 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2126388 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215132009/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2126388 |date=15 December 2018 }}
* {{cite book|last=Blake|first=Robert|year=2011|title=The Conservative Party from Peel to Major|edition=4th|location=London|publisher=Faber Finds}}
* Blake, Robert and Louis William Roger, eds. ''Churchill: A Major New Reassessment of His Life in Peace and War'' (Oxford UP, 1992), 581 pp; 29 essays by scholars on specialized topics
* Blake, Robert. ''The Conservative Party From Peel To Churchill'' (1970) [https://archive.org/download/in.ernet.dli.2015.117670/2015.117670.The-Conservative-Party-From-Peel-To-Churchill.pdf online]
* Bulmer-Thomas, Ivor. ''The Growth of the British Party System Volume I: 1640–1923'' (1965); ''The Growth of the British Party System Volume II: 1924–1964, revised to 1966 Conservative-Labour Confrontation'' (1967)
* Campbell, John. ''Margaret Thatcher; Volume Two: The Iron Lady'' (Pimlico  (2003). {{ISBN|0-7126-6781-4}}
* Charmley, John. "Tories and Conservatives". in David Brown, Robert Crowcroft, and Gordon Pentland eds., ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History, 1800–2000'' (2018): 306.
* Dorey, Peter; Garnett, Mark; Denham, Andrew. ''From Crisis to Coalition: The Conservative Party, 1997–2010'' (2011) Palgrave Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-0-230-54238-9}} [https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Coalition-Conservative-Party-1997-2010/dp/0230542387/ excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616234840/https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Coalition-Conservative-Party-1997-2010/dp/0230542387 |date=16 June 2016 }}
* {{long dash}}. ''British conservatism: the politics and philosophy of inequality'' (IB Tauris, 2010), Covers more than just political party.
* Ensor,  R. C. K. ''England, 1870–1914'' (1936) [https://archive.org/details/england187019140000enso online]
* {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Eric J.|year=2004|title=Thatcher and Thatcherism}}
* Garnett, Mark, and Philip Lynch. ''The conservatives in crisis: the Tories after 1997'' (1994)
* Green, E. H. H. ''Ideologies of conservatism: conservative political ideas in the twentieth century'' (2004)
* Green, E. H. H. ''The Crisis of Conservatism: The Politics, Economics and Ideology of the British Conservative Party, 1880–1914'' (1995).
* {{long dash}}. ''The Crisis of conservatism: The politics, economics, and ideology of the British Conservative Party, 1880–1914'' (1996)
* [[Robert Harris (author)|Harris, Robert]]. ''The Conservatives – A History'' (2011) Bantam Press {{ISBN|978-0-593-06511-2}}
* Hayton, Richard, and Andrew Scott Crines, eds. ''Conservative orators from Baldwin to Cameron'' (2015).
* Hazell, Robert and Ben Yong, eds. ''The Politics of Coalition: How the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government Works'' (Hart Publishing, 2012).
* Heppell, Timothy, and David Seawright, eds. ''Cameron and the Conservatives: The Transition to Coalition Government'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
* King, Anthony, ed. ''British Political Opinion 1937–2000: The Gallup Polls'' (2001)
* Lawrence, Jon. ''Electing Our Masters: The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair'' (Oxford University Press, 2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Electing-Our-Masters-Hustings-Politics-ebook/dp/B005NJS8K2/ excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503095149/http://www.amazon.com/Electing-Our-Masters-Hustings-Politics-ebook/dp/B005NJS8K2 |date=3 May 2016 }}
* McKenzie, R. T., and A. Silver. ''Angels in Marble: Working-class Conservatives in Urban England'' (1968)
* [[Mowat, Charles Loch]]. ''Britain between the Wars, 1918–1940'' (1955) 694 pp;
* Norton, Bruce F. ''Politics in Britain'' (2007) textbook
* Parry, J. P. "Disraeli and England", ''Historical Journal'' 43#3 (2000), pp.&nbsp;699–728 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3020975 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909150642/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3020975 |date=9 September 2018 }}
* {{cite book|last=Paterson|first=David|year=2001|title=Liberalism and Conservatism, 1846–1905}}
* Powell, David. ''British Politics, 1910–1935: The Crisis of the Party System'' (2004)
* Roberts, Andrew.  ''Churchill: Walking with Destiny'' (2018), a fully detailed biography.
* Reitan, Earl Aaron. ''The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979–2001''  (2003) Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|0-7425-2203-2}}
* Searle, G. R. ''A New England?: Peace and War 1886–1918'' (2005) 976pp broad survey
* Seldon, Anthony and Stuart Ball, eds.'' Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900'' (1994) 896pp; essays by experts [http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.001.0001/acprof-9780198202387 Contents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129045114/http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.001.0001/acprof-9780198202387 |date=29 November 2014 }}
* Shannon, Richard. ''The Age of Disraeli, 1868–1881: The Rise of Tory Democracy'' (A History of the Conservative Party Series) (1992)
* Shannon, Richard. ''The Age of Salisbury, 1881–1902: Unionism and Empire'' (A History of the Conservative Party) (1996)
* [[Snowdon, Peter]]. ''Back from the Brink: The Extraordinary Fall and Rise of the Conservative Party'' (2010) HarperPress {{ISBN|978-0-00-730884-2}}
* Taylor, A. J. P. ''English History, 1914–1945'' (1965), a standard political history of the era
* Thackeray, David. "Home and Politics: Women and Conservative Activism in Early Twentieth‐Century Britain", ''Journal of British Studies'' (2010) 49#4 pp.&nbsp;826–48.
* Windscheffel, Alex. "Men or Measures? Conservative Party Politics, 1815–1951", ''Historical Journal'' Vol. 45, No. 4 (December 2002), pp.&nbsp;937–51 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3133535 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215122121/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3133535 |date=15 December 2018 }}
{{Refend}}

===Historiography===

{{Refbegin|40em}}
* Crowson, N. J., ed. ''The Longman Companion to the Conservative Party Since 1830'' (2001); chronologies; relations with women, minorities, trade unions, EU, Ireland, social reform and empire.
*  Harrison, Brian. "Margaret Thatcher's Impact on Historical Writing", in William Roger Louis, ed., ''Irrepressible Adventures with Britannia: Personalities, Politics, and Culture in Britain'' (London, 2013), 307–21.
*  Kowol, Kit. "Renaissance on the Right? New Directions in the History of the Post-War Conservative Party". ''Twentieth Century British History'' 27#2 (2016): 290–304. online {{Cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/24731956 |title=Renaissance on the Right? New Directions in the History of the Post-War Conservative Party |journal=Twentieth Century British History |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=290–304 |access-date=16 July 2020 |archive-date=21 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721223510/http://www.academia.edu/24731956/Renaissance_on_the_Right_New_Directions_in_the_History_of_the_Post-War_Conservative_Party |url-status=live |last1=Kowol |first1=Kit |year=2016 |doi=10.1093/tcbh/hww012}}
* Porter, Bernard. "'Though Not an Historian Myself...'Margaret Thatcher and the Historians". ''Twentieth Century British History'' 5#2 (1994): 246–56.
* Turner, John. "The British Conservative Party in the Twentieth Century: from Beginning to End?". ''Contemporary European History'' 8#2 (1999): 275–87.
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Conservative Party (UK)}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101230033203/http://www.conservatives.tv/ Conservatives.tv] (archived)
* [http://www.conservativesni.com/ Conservatives in Northern Ireland]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203083101/http://www.conservativesni.com/ |date=3 February 2007 }}.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160722212655/http://www.scottishconservatives.com/ Conservatives in Scotland] (archived)
* [http://www.bracknellconservatives.org.uk/sites/www.bracknellconservatives.org.uk/files/constitution_0.pdf Constitution of the Conservative Party] (PDF). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232528/http://www.bracknellconservatives.org.uk/sites/www.bracknellconservatives.org.uk/files/constitution_0.pdf |date=2 December 2013 }}.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160807021757/http://www.conservative-party.net/ conservative-party.net] – Conservative website directory (archived)
* [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/conservatives Guardian Politics] – Special Report: Conservative Party
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110526130947/http://cle.ens-lyon.fr/10496001/0/fiche___pagelibre/%26RH%3DCDL_ANG100200 The Thatcher legacy 1979–2009] – International conference (archived)

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