The Conservative Party and the Nation

This book re-examines the claim that the Conservative Party is the national party and that its politics express the enduring national interest. Historically one could argue for the existence of a coherent Conservative nation, but recently the identification of the party with the nation has diminished. This is because the idea of the nation has become contested in British politics such that political expectations based on the apparent certainties of the past have become disordered. The Conservative Party and the nation explores these ideological shifts in three related areas. The first concerns the historical character of the Conservative Party, in particular the significance of the nation in its self-understanding and the manner in which its traditional political commitments continue to shape the patterns of contemporary Conservatism. The second addresses the political culture of the modern party, one which proclaims a Unionist vocation yet one which rests mainly on English support, and considers how the Englishness of the Conservative Party is reconciled with the high politics of British statecraft. The third reflects on the constitutional challenge which Conservatives face in managing a changing Union, in negotiating a changing Europe and in defining a changing national interest. This book is essential reading not only for students and scholars of the Conservative Party but also for those who want to make sense of the transformations taking place in modern British politics.