Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party is currently the Opposition party in the United Kingdom. Historically, it has been the party of the right, both socially and economically, favoring business and established social institutions. Currently, the leader of the Party is David Cameron, a Blair-like party moderniser who has mixed the traditional right-wing values of the Conservatives with claims to better support social justice and the environment. Recent Conservative Party candidates have included the former Home Secretary Michael Howard, Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague.

Before the election of the New Labour government, Britain had eighteen years of Conservative government, starting with the 1979 election of Margaret Thatcher, and then John Major. Thatcher represented a major shift towards free market ideology, as well as the first and only woman Prime Minister Britain has seen, privatizing a number of national industries: British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways, British Leyland and British Steel. Her 1989 introduction of the Community Charge or 'poll tax' was extremely unpopular - the tax system it replaced was based on property value, while Community Charge was a flat rate on each adult.

Following Thatcher, John Major was elected. He replaced the unpopular Community Charge with Council Tax, and collaborated with George H. W. Bush on the first Gulf War, and stewarded the economy well. His government was beset by sleaze and scandal: after announcing a "Back to Basics" campaign in 1993 which many saw as being moralist and based on 'family values', a string of sexual scandals emerged. David Mellor's extra-marital affair with actress Antonia de Sacha hit the headlines, as did Alan Amos, Tim Yeo and others. The "Cash for Questions" scandal also emerged, with various Conservative MPs being paid by businessman Mohammed Al Fayed to ask questions in the House of Commons.