2S - The Conservative Party: leaders and reason for divisions | AQA A-Level History

The 1997 defeat left the Conservatives with 165 MPs and no seats in Scotland or Wales. After eighteen years in government, the party had to rebuild organisation, policy and public trust. Losing office did not settle the arguments which had divided it under Major; it removed the practical discipline of having to govern.

One proposed recovery emphasised clear Conservative principles: lower taxation, national sovereignty, law and order and resistance to the euro. Another argued that winning again required demonstrating competence in public services, responding to social change and shedding an image of hostility towards minority groups. These approaches overlapped, but they differed over which voters the party most needed to persuade and how much to change its message.

Europe made the disagreement especially visible. Kenneth Clarke's pro-European position attracted some modernisers but clashed with a strongly Eurosceptic membership. Leaders could appeal to activists and still struggle to reach swing voters. The organisation's older membership and reduced parliamentary base made internal preferences an imperfect guide to the wider electorate.

Electoral credibility

Voters' confidence that a party can govern competently and address their priorities. A policy can be popular on its own without restoring confidence in the party proposing it.

Hague and the 2001 campaign

William Hague led the Conservatives from 1997 to 2001. He was an effective parliamentary speaker and worked to modernise party organisation, but became leader at a young age with relatively limited senior experience. Attempts to improve his public image could appear contrived, while the continuing memory of Conservative government made rebuilding credibility difficult.

Hague's campaign placed strong emphasis on resisting the euro and keeping the pound. This gave the party a clear contrast with Labour's conditional openness to euro membership. It also risked emphasising an issue which did not displace voters' concerns about health, education and economic stability. A message that united many activists could leave voters unconvinced that the opposition had a better plan for services.

Labour entered the 2001 election with a large majority, growth and relatively low unemployment. Although public-service problems remained, it could claim a record and ask for more time. The Conservatives also faced competition from Liberal Democrats and difficulties recovering support in places lost in 1997. Low turnout did not mean that those who stayed home were prepared to vote Conservative.

The Conservatives won 166 seats in 2001, only one more than in 1997. Labour retained a large majority, and Hague resigned. The small Conservative recovery indicates the limited electoral effect of his strategy; it does not demonstrate that every policy failed or that his leadership was the only cause. Contemporary 2001 results.

Duncan Smith and leadership divisions

Iain Duncan Smith became leader in 2001 after party members chose him over Clarke. He offered a strong Eurosceptic position, but lacked the authority and public impact needed to persuade his parliamentary colleagues that recovery was advancing. His victory illustrated the difference between the preferences of members and those of some MPs.

Conservatives continued to disagree about social attitudes, public services and how far to distance themselves from the recent past. Theresa May's 2002 conference description of the party's damaging public reputation pressed colleagues to recognise that voters' perceptions could defeat them even when they believed their policies were right. Modernisation involved more than a change of leader: it required convincing voters that the party understood their lives.

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Component 1 option 1A — The Age of the Crusades, c1071–1204

Component 1 option 1B — Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598

Component 1 option 1C — The Tudors: England, 1485–1603

Component 1 option 1D — Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702

Component 1 option 1E — Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796

Component 1 option 1F — Industrialisation and the people: Britain, c1783–1885

Component 1 option 1G — Challenge and transformation: Britain, c1851–1964

Component 1 option 1H — Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855–1964

Component 1 option 1J — The British Empire, c1857–1967

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Component 2 option 2A — Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1216

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Component 2 option 2T — The Crisis of Communism: The USSR and the Soviet Empire, 1953–2000

Component 3 — Historical investigation

2S - The Conservative Party: leaders and reason for divisions

Defeat and competing recoveries

Hague and the 2001 campaign

Duncan Smith and leadership divisions

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