Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Conservative party from 1997 to 2007, What were the significant problems…
Conservative party from 1997 to 2007
What were the significant problems in the conservative party between 1997 and 2007
Weak leadership
William Hague
Struggled due to a lack of authority over the party and was unable to make any ground
Was only 36 when he became leader and was not very experienced in politics
He had not been elected due to popular support within the conservative party but because of the "anyone but clarke" attitude during the race as well as his endorsement by thatcher
He tried to appear relatable when he became leader but it rarely worked, he was mocked endlessly for claiming he drank 14 pints a day when he was a teenager, riding on log fumes with a backward cap and going to notting hill carnival, as well as his speech as a 16 year old to the conservative party
He attempted to pursue a limited programme of making the conservative party more tolerant and centrist, however he faced backlash for this and by the time of the 2001 election he had fallen back on right wing talking points such as immigration and saving the pound
After Portillo won a by-election in 1999 Hague felt that he had to make him shadow chancellor in order to defend his own position
Ian Duncan Smith
he again struggled to gain much authority as when he was chosen he was not a strong candidate, with Michael Portillo and Ken Clarke being the main contenders, with Clarke being more popular with the electorate
His strength within the party quickly diminished as he failed to make any progress in the polls, meaning that within a couple of months conservative MPs were discussing removing him.
As he has been a rebel under John Major he found it hard to force his MPs to vote in line with him
His support of the Iraq war meant that he was not able to effectively attack the government for this, meaning that any disenchantment with the labour party went on to support the Lib Dems
In 2003 their was a scandal over the wage that he was paying his wife to act as his secretary, while their was no wrongdoing proved it was a catalyst for hs removal.
Was another social conservative and was unable to connect with the electorate, as well as lacking the charisma of Blair
He did work on the concept of "compassionate conservatism" visiting the deprived easthous estate in glasgow to show that they were working on poverty
However this work did not progress into the sphere of social policy in which the party remained socially conservative.
party voted against the repeal of section 28 of the local government as well as voting against allowing unmarried couples to adopt
Michael Howard
He had more authority than his predecessor as he had the support of both the rockers and the mods and was seen as a unifying figure within the party
However he again failed to compete with Tony Blair in terms of charisma and he ditched much of the work that IDS had done on poverty, leading to the conservatives continuing to be distrusted on issues like health and education.
There was a image problem for howard as he had been a prominent member of the major government
Legacy of government
The conservatives were often dogged by association with the major and thatcher goverment
Thatcher remained active within the conservative party, supporting William Hague and quipping that the "mummy returns" at the 2001 election
in 1999 peter lilley gave a speech in which he criticised some elements of thatcherism which forced hague to reiterate his support for thatcher which reminded the population why they has voted for labour in the first place
Policy problems and divisions
The conservatives policies remained out of touch with the electorate
in 2001 the election they had fallen back on standard right wing policy decisions and were advocating spending and tax cuts
IDS remained a social conservative and partly gave the party the image of the "Nasty party"
the 2005 manifesto was seen as out of date and called the "victor meldrew" manifesto.
To what extent had the conservatives ideology changed by 2007
Economic
The shadow chancellor George Osborne promised to retain labour levels of spending which effectively ruled out tax cuts
In public he supported taking action on climate change, which he attempted to do by cycling to work and visiting the arctic
Social issues
Had become much more socially liberal.
he set up detoxifying the party and tried to make the party more appealing to minorities, gay people, single mothers and the young.
however he did face some backlash for this, with some of the old thatcherites such as norman tebbit however they were generally ignored.