The Ideology and establishment of 'One Nation Conservatism. From Disraeli through the post war consensus to modern day Conservative party

1. One Nation conservatism
Politics of the Conservative party

2. Description
• Views society as organic and values paternalism and
pragmatism
• ‘Two nations, between whom there is no intercourse
and no sympathy’
• Sybil
• Marriage between rich and poor in novel

3. Benjamin Disraeli 1804-81
• He thought greatest threat to social order lay in failure to integrate poorer classes
into mainstream society
• Sybil
• Three pillars of Conservatism
• Defense of established institutions
• British Empire (more popular in his time than social reform)
• Elevation of the condition of the people (social reform)
• Implying need to overcome divisions between 2 nations
• Rich and Poor
• Extension of the franchise: 1867
• Urban male working class
• Supported by Macmillan, Butler and Churchill
• Need for moderate reform to preserve the foundations of established order
• He never used term One Nation
• Bridge between the 2 not built by Disraeli government of 1874
• Came about during Baldwin
• Calling for unity
• Involved enthusiastic embrace of welfare reform
• Keynesian policies to maintain full employment and other forms of state intervention

4. ‘The greatest problem is to be able to achieve such results without
violating those principles of economic truth upon which prosperity
of state depends.’
-Disraeli

5. Stanley Baldwin PM (1935-37)
• PM in 1920’s and 30’s inter war period
• Abandonment of One Nation up until this point
• Usual support for free markets
• Era of national crisis- General strikes and abdication
• Call for national unity and avoidance of class politics
• Public fear of communism restored Conservative to One
Nation
• Great Depression Party draws to greater state
intervention
• Chamberlain and Baldwin pursued this interventionalism,
which won them democratic support

6. Features of Post-War Consensus
• Mixed Economy
• Redistributive taxation
• Social welfare
• State education and healthcare
• State pension schemes
• European integration
• Promoted compromise and concensus and involved substantial
does of pragmatism
• Eg Keynesian principles

7. R.A. Butler CoE (1951-55)
• The social and economic policies of the consensus appealed
to the paternalism of one-nation conservatism because
they appeared to provide prosperity and alleviate social
problems such as poverty and disease.
• 1944 Butler Education act praised
• New Conservatism
• Distinguish from socialism of Anthony Crosland
• Socialists believe state should provide an average
• One nation believes should provide a minimum
people free to rise far in their industry
• Focusing welfare on those in need
• ‘Strong helping the weak’
• Encouraging people to help themselves, rather than
dependency on the welfare state
• Focus on Keynesian economic policies
• Control demand in economy to reduce
unemployment and a focus on investment for growth.

8. Paternalistic Conservatism
• Government provide for and regulate of
citizens as a father does for his children
• Ruling class has duty to promote the
welfare of its people
• Compassionate concern for others, more
inclusive
• Overlap with Christian democracy in
Germany and Italy
• Regulate negative social consequences of the
free market

9. Labour Mark II
• Conservative governments of 50’s and 60’s
did little to reverse Labour predecessor
government of Attlee
• Welfare state remained and some parts
enhanced
• Macmillan as housing minister
• Fulfilled promise to build 300,000 houses per
year
• Many were council houses
• Other state owned industries maintained
• State intervention increased => Public
expenditure increased

10. Macmillan PM (1957-63)
• Typifying this approach advocate
managed capitalism necessary for
cohesive society
• Middle Way
• Between laissez-faire and socialist state
planning
• Tory reform group
• Urged social reform and welfare after
Beveridge report
• Report declared essence of Toryism (Beer
1982)

11. Carry on Keynesianism
• Macmillan accepted resignation of entire treasury in 1958
rather than cuts in expenditure which they demanded
• Persistent problems
• Low growth
• Balance of payments deficits
• Government more collective than libertarian
• Therefore less mixed more socialist
• National Economic Development Council
• Interest in long term economic planning
• Forum set up in 1962 in the UK to bring together
management, trades unions and government in an
attempt to address Britain's relative economic decline
• National incomes commission institutionalised
• High water-mark for Tory collectivism

12. Toryism always a kind of paternal socialism
• Macmillan
• As with liberal critics of new liberals
• Some conservatives regarded ‘One
Nation’ as monstrous abnormality
• Lord Joseph (1976)
• Only found true conservatism
later
• Ian Gilmour (1978)
• Butler and Macmillan represent
mainstream tory tradition
• Free market neoliberalism of New
Right = heresy
Keith Joseph Ian Gilmour

13. New Right
• Critique of ‘One Nation’
• Keynesian economics
• Welfarism had damaged the the economy and
society
• Stagnation
• Permissive 60’s
• Winter of Discontent (1978-79)
• Widespread strikes by trade unions
• Labour Callaghan against Trade Union Congress due
to pay caps to control inflation during the coldest
winter for 16 years
• Revive old values of individualism to challenge
dependency culture created by the welfare state
• Monetary policies to control inflation
• Tory ‘Wets’
• Opponents of Thatcherism
• Call for social unity, especially after the urban
riots fo the 1980’s
• Ian Gilmour, ‘inside right’

14. Modern Conservative Party
• 2010 Manifesto
• ‘One world’, spending 0.7% GDP on well-
targeted aid
• Cameron’s favorite Tory leader was Disraeli
• Boris Johnson is a self proclaimed One Nation
Conservative

15. Summary
• Disraeli, bridge gap between rich and poor
• Baldwin, interwar crisis, call for national unity
• Post-war consensus
• Butler, Keynesianism
• Macmillan, middle way, but became more collective than laissez-faire
• Overall problems of low growth, low investment, high unemployment and
high inflation
• Thatcherism
• Return to individualism and monetarism
• Tory wets - Glilmour

16. Practice questions
• How does it differ to traditional conservatism?
• Why was this repudiated by Thatcher
• Could its rejection be a cause of the Conservative Party’s
problems in the past?
• Cameron – One Nation or modern liberal?
• Is One Nation Conservatism an ideology?

17. Sources
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-nation_conservatism
• K. Hickson, Political thought of the Conservative Party since 1945,
Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
• R. Leach, Political Ideology in Britain, Basingstoke : Palgrave
Macmillan, 2009