The Conservative Party Essays -- Papers

The Conservative Party The Conservative Party stands for patriotism, having respect and pride for the country we live in, keeping the United Kingdom as a 'union', and putting Britain's interests first. Tories also have a respect for British traditions and values, such as a respect for the Monarchy and the Church of England. However they think pragmatically, they are willing to change but they are suspicious of change, especially dramatic change, thus they prefer evolution to revolution. Also, the Conservatives stand for having a strong but limited, Government, meaning they feel that the Government should be powerful, but they should also intervene with people's lives less. This is done by taxing people less, allowing them to have more of their own money to spend on what they want. The Tories prefer to tax people indirectly, by means of value added tax (VAT) for example. This ties in with another Conservative belief, that people should have freedom of choice so long as it is within reason of the law. Following on from this, the Conservative Party stands for strict law and order, by insisting that people should abide by the law, and that those who don't shall receive longer and tougher sentences/punishments. Furthermore, the Tories stand for meritocracy, a belief that those who work harder and are more able should be rewarded for doing so. This can be linked with their belief in a respect for authority, that people who work hard to get into places of authority deserve respect. Finally, the Conservatives stand for preserving traditional family values, believing that close family units are vital for stability, and ... ...arget of votes, therefore retaining the position of Prime Minister, it showed that many people in the Government opposed Major, damaging his reputation. The final factor that caused Conservatives devastating defeat in 1997 is that Tony Blair, the 'new' labour party leader Tony Blair appeared to be firm and strong, while and the same time the Conservatives were further dogged by sleaze stories. Also, after calling a general election, Major refused to show the 'Faust' video as part of the Conservative campaign, which showed Blair making false promises, and he opted to talk about his policies rather than making personal attacks on Blair as advised. Because of all these problems that Major faced, as well as a hugely successful 'new' labour campaigned led by Tony Blair, the Conservatives suffered a landslide defeat.