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The Conservative Party, 1997-2007 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Party only half the size of 1997
      - Party more Thatcherite and Euroscpetic - 145/165 conservative MPs were Eurosceptic
    - - Obvious candidate Michael Portillo - lost his seat
      - leadership campaign domintated by 'anyone but Clarke'
    - - 36 year old with limited experience
      - fewer political enemies
      - endorsed by Thatcher - 'vote for William Hague to follow the same kind of government I did'
      - largely unified party on Europe by ruling out entry into single currency 'in the forseeable future'
    - - Seen as old-fashioned, old fashioned and obsessesed with Europe
      - Electorate wary of further Thatcherite reforms - 1999 Peter Lilley speech critised elements of Thatcherism
  - - - Party members chose Duncan Smith over Kenneth Clarke
      - won due to negative voting against Clarke and Portillo
      - 'rockers' defeated 'mods' (modernisers)
    - - lacked charisma - little match for Blair
      - efforts to introduce compassionate conservatism - visited deprived Easterhouse estate in Glasgow
      - agressively Eurospecptic
      - Conservative party remained socially conservative
        
        voting against repeal of Article 28
        
        against allowing same-sex couples to adopt
      - Supported British entry into Iraq
        
        heavily critised - esp Kenneth Clarke
        
        made it difficult for Conservatives to critise Labour's unpopular war, (Lib Dems seen as 'anti-war' party
    - - mods vs rockers
      - modernisers such as George Osborne and David Cameron refused to follow party line
  - - - supported by both mods and rockers - unifying figure
      - 'Many of us who hate everything Michael Howard stands for politically will back him because we are tired of being embarassed'
    - - Duncan Smith social justice work was abandoned
      - conservatives remained distrusted over health and education
      - Howard socially conservative, but promoted moderisners to cabinet
      - made it clear that he wanted his successor to be moderniser
        
        David Cameron shadow education secretary
        
        George Osborne shadow chancellor
  - - - defeated David Davis
      - impressive note-free speech at the Conservative Party conference
    - - Aim - detoxifying/ modernising the Conservative party
        
        less focus on Europe
        
        appeared more centrist, tolerant, and outward looking
      - Conservative party would take climate change seriously
        
        visited Arctic
        
        cycled to Westminster
      - Favour of gay rights
      - Increase overseas aid
      - Promised to protect NHS - praised how it had protected his disabled son
      - promised to maintain Labour levels of public spending (ruling out tax cuts)
- - - - Labour sill popular (until 2003)
      - Hague
        
        Difficult to take seriously - mocked for claiming to drink 14 pints a day as teenage, wearing a base ball cap, and appearing at Nottinghill \Carnival
        
        right wing policies
        
        'fight to save the pound'
        
        harsh line against immigration
      - Party divisions over Europe, Thatcher and social liberalism
      - Thatcher
        
        appeared at election rally
        
        undermined Hague's leadership
        
        didn't widen Conservative appeal
    - - Conservative - 165 seats, 31.7% of votes
      - Labour - 412 seats, 40.7% of votes
  - - - despite Labour's unpopularity in Iraq and more obvious divisions between Brownites and Blairites
    - - Howard
        
        on right of party
        
        associated with Thatcher and previous conservative parties - difficult for electorate to believe party had changed
      - 2005 manifesto - 'Victor Meldrew'
        
        tough line on immigration, travellers, law and order
        
        tax cuts and reduction to public sector
        
        reinforced that Conservative party had not changed
      - Fears over Thatcherism
        
        deputy chairmen recorded making speech promising that party would be more radically Thatcherite
    - - Conservatives - 198 seats, 32.4% of vote
      - Labour - 355 seats, 35.2% of votes