How Did Conservative Politics Survive?: The History of the British Conservative Party

The History of the British Conservative Party: Why Should We Know It?

Looking at the political parties in Korea, one cannot help but sigh at the bleak reality. Politicians constantly shift allegiances, and new parties emerge as if competing to name themselves. Just as one becomes familiar with a new party name, another party with a different name takes its place. It seems to showcase every possibility of how the rhetoric of modern politics—democracy, freedom, justice, peace—can be combined into party names. While parties may emerge with new names each time, the reality is that the politicians within them, the policies they propose, and the political behaviors they exhibit are far from new.

The British Conservative Party is different. Despite numerous changes and turbulent times since the modern era, the Conservative Party has survived without losing its name. While the British Liberal Party disappeared and the Labour Party emerged, the Conservative Party steadfastly maintained its position. How could it have survived for such a long time? How was it able to escape the fate of being forgotten by the public? The very fact that the Conservative Party has permeated and survived through modern British political history offers lessons that contemporary Korean politics must learn.

From William Pitt to David Cameron: The Evolving Conservative Party

The term "conservative" undoubtedly means "to preserve the old." If so, was this meaning of "conservative" the key factor that allowed the British Conservative Party to survive for nearly 200 years? Paradoxically, the British Conservative Party's survival as a significant political force to this day lies not in "conservatism" but in "change." However, this was not "change" disguised as "conservatism." It was in the flexibility to embrace the changes demanded by the times while preserving order, stability, institutions, and heritage.

History is a continuous process of change. And as times change, so do the demands of the people. If the British Conservative Party had clung solely to the principle of preserving its past heritage, its name might now be found only in history books. However, the Conservative Party did not fear change. To be precise, the Conservative Party, which began as the Tories, has, up to the present day, understood the changes of the times, embraced them, mastered the art of survival, and presented policy alternatives desired by the public. Pragmatic opportunism, which accepts the demands of reality without being swayed by ideology or thought, has been the core virtue that has allowed the Conservative Party to survive as a viable party from William Pitt to David Cameron today.

Lessons from the British Conservative Party: Three Laws of Survival

First, the Conservative Party is a party that greatly desires power. Its will to power is very strong, and the reason is highly practical: acquiring power is the best way to protect its interests and prevent drastic changes. To this end, it had to compromise with reality as much as possible, thus prioritizing adaptation to changing realities over dogmatic or ideological rigidity.

Prime Minister Disraeli famously said, "Damn your principles. Stick to your party." Norman Tebbit, who served as a key cabinet minister during Prime Minister Thatcher's tenure, remarked, "The Conservative Party is, above all, a party that strives to seize power. And for that purpose, the Conservative Party has always paid attention to where such capabilities exist."

Second, the reason for the Conservative Party's successful history is its flexibility. It did not stubbornly refuse change. Had the Conservative Party tried only to preserve its existing vested interests, Britain might have experienced drastic political upheavals like the French Revolution. However, the Conservative Party accepted the changes that occurred in British society and the resulting political outcomes. In fact, the Conservative Party's flexibility was possible because its leaders embraced new changes, sought to break from past political conflicts, and led the party with new leadership. Although there were inevitably voices within the Conservative Party opposing policies that the Liberal or Labour parties pushed through against their objections, seeking to reverse them after gaining power, it was the leaders of the successful Conservative Party who overcame this internal opposition and demonstrated flexible leadership in a changed era.

Third, the Conservative Party has expanded its reach. It has never remained an exclusive group. Starting as a party of landowners and aristocrats, the Conservative Party, after the Industrial Revolution, absorbed the rising new social force of industrialists who accumulated wealth, and merged with them. After the right to vote was extended to the working class, it strengthened its party organization to make them Conservative supporters. In this way, it incorporated new socially influential forces into the party to ensure its political survival.

Prime Ministers Baldwin, from an industrialist background; Heath and Thatcher, self-made individuals from the middle class; and Prime Minister Major, who worked in a bank after graduating from high school, are all Prime Ministers produced by the Conservative Party. Thus, the Conservative Party has strived to transform itself from a party of aristocrats and the privileged, an exclusive party for those from Eton and Oxford, into a party that can embrace the majority.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Note to the Reader

Chapter 1 Prologue: Conservatism and Survival

Chapter 2 The Tories Before the Conservative Party: From Tories to the Conservative Party

Chapter 3 Prime Minister Pitt and the Emergence of the Conservative Party

Chapter 4 Disraeli: The Foundation of the Conservative Party

Chapter 5 The Split of the Liberal Party and the Fortune of the Conservative Party

Chapter 6 The Split of the Conservative Party and Tariff Reform

Chapter 7 Bonar Law and the Irish Issue

Chapter 8 World War I and the Coalition Government

Chapter 9 The Conservative Party in a Time of Upheaval: The Great Depression, Socialism, and Baldwin

Chapter 10 Chamberlain's Appeasement Policy and World War II

Chapter 11 Churchill and World War II

Chapter 12 The Post-War Consensus and Churchill

Chapter 13 Eden and the Suez Crisis

Chapter 14 Maintaining the Consensus and the Winds of Change

Chapter 15 Dead End

Chapter 16 The Thatcher Era: The Iron Lady and the Neoliberal Revolution

Chapter 17 European Issues and Division

Chapter 18 Back to the Wilderness

Chapter 19 Epilogue: How Conservative Politics Survived

Bibliography

Author

Born in Seoul in 1961. Graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Geography and received a Master's degree in Political Science from the same university's Graduate School of Political Science. Subsequently, he obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has served as a senior researcher at the Hyundai Economic and Social Research Institute and a visiting research fellow at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University. He is currently a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Soongsil University. He has authored numerous books, including "Political Reform and Democracy in Korea," "Electoral Politics in Korea," and "Korean Politics Connects to Web 2.0," and published many articles in domestic and international journals such as Electoral Studies. He has served as a research director for the Korean Political Science Association and the Korean Association of International Studies, and is currently the vice president of the Korean Association of Party Studies.

The original manuscript of this book is partially released for the convenience of readers.