The Conservative Party has been the dominant force in twentieth-century British politics. On its own or as the predominant partner in a coalition it has held power for more than sixty years since 1900. Despite this it has been the most neglected and misunderstood of all the main parties. This book is the first systematic attempt to survey the history and politics of the Conservative Party across the whole of the twentieth century from the `Khaki' election of 1900 to John Major's victory of 1992 and beyond. Each of the authoritative team of contributors pursues an important theme within three main areas; the composition and structure of the Party; its ideas, policies and actions in government; and its public image and sources of support in the country. Based upon new research, in particular in the Conservative Party archives, Conservative Century is essential reading for both students and specialists, and offers a mine of fascinating information for anyone interested in British politics.
Anthony Seldon is Founding Director of The Institute of Contemporary British History. His books include Churchill's Indian Summer (1981), Politics UK (co-aut, 1991), Ruling Performance: British Governments from Attlee to Thatcher (co-ed, 1987), and The Thatcher Effect (co-ed, 1989). He lives in Tonbridge, Kent. Stuart Ball is Lecturer in History at University of Leicester. He contributes to various historical journals, and is the author of Baldwin and the Conservative Party; The Crisis of 1929-1931 (1988), editor of Parliament and Politics in the Age of Bladwin and MacDonald (1992), and author of the forthcoming The Conservative Party and British Politics 1902-1951, for Longman. He lives in Leicester.
Show moreThe Conservative Party has been the dominant force in twentieth-century British politics. On its own or as the predominant partner in a coalition it has held power for more than sixty years since 1900. Despite this it has been the most neglected and misunderstood of all the main parties. This book is the first systematic attempt to survey the history and politics of the Conservative Party across the whole of the twentieth century from the `Khaki' election of 1900 to John Major's victory of 1992 and beyond. Each of the authoritative team of contributors pursues an important theme within three main areas; the composition and structure of the Party; its ideas, policies and actions in government; and its public image and sources of support in the country. Based upon new research, in particular in the Conservative Party archives, Conservative Century is essential reading for both students and specialists, and offers a mine of fascinating information for anyone interested in British politics.
Anthony Seldon is Founding Director of The Institute of Contemporary British History. His books include Churchill's Indian Summer (1981), Politics UK (co-aut, 1991), Ruling Performance: British Governments from Attlee to Thatcher (co-ed, 1987), and The Thatcher Effect (co-ed, 1989). He lives in Tonbridge, Kent. Stuart Ball is Lecturer in History at University of Leicester. He contributes to various historical journals, and is the author of Baldwin and the Conservative Party; The Crisis of 1929-1931 (1988), editor of Parliament and Politics in the Age of Bladwin and MacDonald (1992), and author of the forthcoming The Conservative Party and British Politics 1902-1951, for Longman. He lives in Leicester.
Show moreThe Conservative Party from 1900 to John Major
Anthony Seldon is Founding Director of The Institute of
Contemporary British History. His books include Churchill's Indian
Summer (1981), Politics UK (co-aut, 1991), Ruling Performance:
British Governments from Attlee to Thatcher (co-ed, 1987), and The
Thatcher Effect (co-ed, 1989). He lives in Tonbridge, Kent.
Stuart Ball is Lecturer in History at University of Leicester. He
contributes to various historical journals, and is the author of
Baldwin and the Conservative Party; The Crisis of 1929-1931 (1988),
editor of Parliament and Politics in the Age of Bladwin and
MacDonald (1992), and author of the forthcoming The Conservative
Party and British Politics 1902-1951, for Longman. He lives in
Leicester.
`20 essays ... of the highest quality ... scintillating'
Sunday Telegraph
`Conservative Century is the most comprehensive and authoritative
work so far on the history of the Conservative Party since Lord
Salisbury's electoral victory in 1895. ... packed with information,
tables and illustrations inaccessible elsewhere without endless
research. The price is remarkably cheap and a credit to the OUP.
... The work ought to be on every Tory bookshelf, and even
opponents could profit from it.'
The Times
`could be given to any Labour or Lib-Dem politician in the country.
Reading it should make them humble, as they realise just how little
is known about the Tories.'
New Statesman & Society
`a sympathetic new history'
Financial Times
`wide-ranging and thought-provoking volume ... Virtually every
essay in the book earns its keep as an accessible introduction to
its assigned topic; and some go further in staking out challenging
interpretations. The need for adroitness in catching the tide is
one message which the new Labour party ought to learn from this
valuable study of its tough, wily, resilient, shrewd, adaptable -
and often remarkably lucky - opponents.'
London Review of Books
`In 20 thematic chapters this collection skilfully analyses the
highly-nuanced relations which have characterised the
twentieth-century British Conservative Party ... This is a superb
collection of essays ... It amply justifies its editors' claim to
provide a `significant reassessment' of the modern Conservative
Party. The book contains a comprehensive bibliographical essay
which will be of value to all students of the party, useful
appendices and plenty
of photographs. It is excellent value.'
Political Studies
`this is a competent collection and well worth its cover price'
Harriet Jones, History Today
`A brief survey can only suggest the wealth of information the book
contains and the originality with which much of it is handled.
Seldon, Ball, and their colleagues have given us a book that
admirably fulfills its announced goal of providing "the first point
of reference for students and a wider interested public", while
developing new analyses, based on original research, for scholarly
consideration. It promises to remain so for all subsequent studies
of
the twentieth-century Conservative Party and perhaps for that of
the twenty-first, as well.'
John A. Hutcheson, Jr, Dalton College, Albion, Winter '95
`a rich mine of fact and opinion for those seeking a solution to
the riddle ... Anthony Seldon and the institute of British History
have, over the last 10 years, performed a remarkable service in
stimulating writing and discussion about recent British history.
Conservative Century is one of their grandest achievements ...
admirable book ... This book offers a wonderfully comprehensive
description of the evolution of the most triumphantly and
sustainedly
successful right-wing party that democracy has ever known.'
David Butler, Exeter College, Oxford, Sage Publications
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