4. Modern Conservatism

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the development of conservatism from 1979 onwards, focusing in particular on: (i) the view of some conservatives that conservatism is not an 'ideology' in the same way as (e.g.) feminism is, but simply a pragmatic approach to politics; (ii) the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1979 and the emergence of the New Right tradition; (iii) the election of David Cameron as Prime Minister in 2010 and his belief in social as well as economic liberty; (iv) the view of some conservatives that David Cameron was not a conservative at all, but a liberal; (v) the continued dominance of Thatcherite economics up to the year 2018; and (vi) the divisions within the conservative party over the question of EU membership and Britain's role in the world.

Course

In this course, Dr Mark Garnett (University of Lancaster) introduces the core political idea of conservatism. We begin in the first module by thinking about the origins of conservatism in Edmund Burke’s reaction to the French Revolution. In the second module, we consider the two dominant conservative traditions since the Second World War: one-nation conservatism and New Right thinking. In the third module, we examine the ideas of key conservative thinkers in Britain and the United States. Finally, in the fourth module, we think about the development of conservatism in Britain since the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1979 and consider ongoing ideological divisions within the Conservative Party about Britain’s place in Europe.

Lecturer

Dr Mark Garnett is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at the University of Lancaster. His research is chiefly concerned with UK Politics, with particular reference to the relationship between ideas and practice; the Conservative Party; and think tanks.