Contemporary British Conservatism

Contemporary British Conservatism

Edited by

Steve Ludlam

and

Martin J. Smith

Selection, editorial matter and Chapters I and 14 © Steve Ludlam and Martin J. Smith 1996 Individual chapters (in order) © Andrew Gamble, Charles Pattie and Ron Johnston, Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley, David Baker and Imogen Fountain, Steve Ludlam, Adam Lent and Matthew Sowemimo, Martin J. Smith, Helen Thompson, Ben Rosamond, Chris Pierson, Jim Buller, Stephen George and Matthew Sowemimo 1996

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published 1996 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndinills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Copy-edited and typeset by Povey-Edmondson Okehampton and Rochdale, England

Published in the United States of America 1995 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010

ISBN 978-0-333-62949-9 ISBN 978-1-349-24407-2 (eBook)DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-24407-2

ISBN 978-0-312-12935-4

Contents

List of Tables and Figures vii

Preface IX

Notes on the Contributors x

List of Abbreviations xiii

1 Introduction Martin J. Smith and Steve Ludlam 1

2 An Ideological Party Andrew Gamble 19

3 The Conservative Party and the Electorate Charles Pattie and Ron Johnston 37

4 Conservative Grassroots: An Overview Pat Seyd and Paul Whiteley 63

5 Eton Gent or Essex Man? The Conservative Parliamentary Elite David Baker and Imogen Fountain 86

6 The Spectre Haunting Conservatism: Europe and Backbench Rebellion Steve Ludlam 98

7 Remaking the Opposition? Adam Lent and Matthew Sowemimo 121

8 Reforming the State Martin J. Smith 143

9 Economic Policy under Thatcher and Major Helen Thompson 166

10 Whatever Happened to the 'Enemy Within'? Contemporary Conservatism and Trade Unionism Ben Rosamond 185

v

vi Contents

11 Social Policy under Thatcher and Major Chris Pierson 202

12 Foreign and Defence Policy under Thatcher and Major Jim Buller 222

13 Conservative Foreign Policy towards the European Union Stephen George and Matthew Sowemimo 244

14 The Character of Contemporary Conservatism Steve Ludlam and Martin J. Smith 264

Guide to Further Reading 282

References 288

Index 308

List of Tables and Figures

Tables

1.1 Broad characteristics of progressive and Thatcherite Conservatism 12

3.1 Election results, 1945-92 39

3.2 Shifting class structures, 1971-91 46

3.3 Changing patterns of housing tenure, 1964--92 46

3.4 Housing tenure and voting 52

3.5 Public opinion and the Conservative agenda, 1974--92 54

3.6 Choosing Thatcherism or social democracy 55

3.7 Public perceptions of parties' fitness to govern 57

3.8 Public perceptions of Conservative handling of the economy, 1979-87 58

3.9 Changes in personal living standards since the 1987 general election, and vote of 1992 59

4.1 The most important reason for joining the Conservative Party 71

4.2 Socio-economic characteristics of the party membership 73

4.3 Political activities undertaken by members 75

4.4 Factor analysis of political activity items 77

4.5 The distribution of opinions on the indicators in the factor structure 79

5.1 New cohorts of Conservative MPs by educational background 91

5.2 Educational background of ministerial appointments by Heath, Thatcher and Major 93

5.3 Privately educated Conservative MPs taking safe seats 94

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viii List of Tables and Figures

5.4 Average number of years as an MP before appointment to ministerial rank 95

6.1 Key Conservative parliamentary rebellions against European integration, 1961-95 104

6.2 Backbench Conservative MPs' attitudes in 1994 to European integration 116

Figures

3.1 Conservative vote as a percentage of the three-party vote, February 1974-92 43

3.2 Conservative/Labour ratio by class, 1964-92 48

3.3 Conservative/Labour ratios by region and class, February 1974-92 49

10.1 Summary of trade union and employment legislation, 1979-90 191

10.2 Summary of trade union and employment legislation since 1990 196

Preface

All the chapters in this book have been written by specialists in British politics who are actively engaged in academic research in the areas that they describe and analyse here. Some, where appropriate, have been encouraged to incorporate the results of their recent empirical research. We hope that such findings will enrich readers' grasp of the issues under discussion. All the authors have concentrated on developments under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and where pertinent have assessed their relative impacts on ideas, policies and the party itself. They have also put the events since 1975 in the context of the experience of post-war Conservatism.

In any collection of this kind, there are inevitably gaps. Fortunately (as the list of references at the end of the book makes clear) British Conservatism, long an underresearched topic, has become much examined in recent years, so that serious studies now abound in monographs, journals and conference proceedings. Our aim has been to collect in one volume a set of studies to satisfy the curiosity of both institutionalised students, like us, and private students looking for more detail and analysis than is generally available in scholarly journalism or in general textbooks on British politics. To the extent that the book succeeds, it is thanks to the contributors whom we applaud for their efforts and their patience with us, and to our publisher, Steven Kennedy, and his colleagues. We are not the first, and neither will we be the last wayward scribblers to benefit from Steven's ever-cheerful combination of mild insistence and enthusiastic tolerance. Finally, we offer our thanks and apologies to Fiona, Julia, Joe and Thomas, who have had to put up with even more of our inexplicable preoccupations than usual.

ix

STEVE LUDLAM

MARTIN J. SMITH

Notes on the Contributors

David Baker is Senior Lecturer in British Politics, Nottingham Trent University. His main publications are on British Conservatism and fascism. He is co-director of the Conservatives in Parliament Project.

Jim Buller is completing a PhD at the University of Sheffield. His research interest is in the European Community (EC) and Thatcherite statecraft, and he has published on Britain and the EC.

Imogen Fountain was Research Officer of the Conservatives in Parliament Project at the University of Sheffield. Her research and publications are on the social composition of Conservative parliamen­tarians, and their attitudes to European integration.

Andrew Gamble is Professor of Politics, University of Sheffield. He has published widely on political economy and British Conservatism. His published books include The Conservative Nation, The Free Economy and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcher ism and Britain in Decline. He is co-director of the Conservatives in Parliament Project.

Stephen George is Jean Monnet Professor in Politics at the University of Sheffield. He has published extensively on the European Union (EU). His recent books include Politics and Policy in the European Union, Britain and European Integration since 1945, An Awkward Partner: Britain in the European Community, Britain and the European Community: The Politics of Semi-Detachment (editor) and The United Kingdom and EC Membership Evaluated (co-editor).

Ron Johnston is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex. Between 1974 and 1992 he was Professor of Geography at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of many books and papers on political and electoral geography, including A Nation Dividing (co-author) and The Geography of English Politics.

Steve Ludlam is Lecturer in Politics, University of Sheffield. His recent publications are on Conservatism, European integration, and the last Labour government. He is co-director of the Conservatives in Parliament Project.

X

Notes on the Contributors xi

Adam Lent is completing a PhD at the University of Sheffield, and is Convenor of the Political Studies Association's Post-Structuralism and Radical Politics Specialist Group. His research interests and publica­tions are in opposition politics and new social movements.

Charles Pattie is Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Sheffield, and has taught at the University of Nottingham. His main research interests are in political geography, and in collaboration with Ron Johnston he has published A Nation Dividing and numerous papers on the spatial aspects of voting in British elections.

Chris Pierson is Reader in Politics at the University of Stirling and Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra. He has written extensively on the welfare state, social democracy and the theory of the state. His recent publications include Beyond the Welfare State?, Socialism after Communism and The Modern State.

Ben Rosamond is Lecturer in European Integration, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. His recent publications are on European integration, British party politics and trade unions.

Patrick Seyd is Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Sheffield. He has researched widely and published widely on British party politics. His recent books include The Rise and Fall of the Labour Left, Labour's Grassroots: The Politics of Party Membership (co-author) and True Blues: The Politics of Conservative Party Membership (co-author). He is co-director of the Party Membership Survey.

Martin J. Smith is Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Sheffield. He has published widely on British pressure groups and public policy. His recent books include The Politics of Agricultural Support, The Changing Labour .Party (co-editor) and Pressure, Power and Policy. He is currently conducting research under the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Whitehall Programme.

Matthew Sowemimo is completing a PhD at the University of Sheffield. He was formerly an economic policy researcher for the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party. His current research interest is the Conservative Party and European integration. He has published on British party politics.

xii Notes on the Contributors

Helen Thompson is Fellow in Clare College and Assistant Lecturer in Social and Political Sciences, Cambridge University. She has published articles and chapters on Britain and the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), and the British core executive.

Paul Whiteley is Professor of Politics, University of Sheffield. He has published extensively on political representation and political econo­my. His recent publications include The Labour Party in Crisis, Pressure for the Poor: The Poverty Lobby and Policy Making (co­author), Political Control of the Macroeconomy, Labour's Grassroots: The Politics of Party Membership (co-author) and True Blues: The Politics of Conservative Party Membership (co-author). He is co­director of the Party Membership Survey.

List of Abbreviations

ACE ACAS AlA BES CAP CFSP CSA DFE DSS DTI EC ECSC ECU EDM EMF EMS EMU EP EPC ERM ESRC EU FMI GATT GDP GLYC GM GP IGC INF IRA LEAs LET LMS MP

Action Centre For Europe Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service Anglo-Irish Agreement British Election Survey Common Agricultural Policy Common Foreign and Security Policy Child Support Agency Department for Education Department of Social Security Department of Trade and Industry European Community European Coal and Steel Community European Currency Unit Early Day Motion European Monetary Fund European Monetary System Economic and Monetary Union European Parliament European Political Cooperation Exchange Rate Mechanism Economic and Social Research Council European Union Financial Management Initiative General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade gross domestic product Greater London Young Conservatives grant -maintained General Practitioner Inter-Governmental Conference intermediate nuclear forces Irish Republican Army Local Education Authorities Local Exchange and Trading Local Management of Schools Member of Parliament

Xlll

xiv List of Abbreviations

MoD NATO NEC NEDC NHS NUM NUT OMOV PCP PSBR QMV SALT SDP SEA SERPS TURERA VAT WEU

Ministry of Defence North Atlantic Treaty Organisation National Executive Committee National Economic Development Council National Health Service National Union of Mineworkers National Union of Teachers one member one vote Parliamentary Conservetive Party Publice Sector Borrowing Requirement qualified majority voting Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Social Democratic Party Single European Act state earnings-related pension scheme Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act Value Added Tax Western European Union