The Strange Death of Tory England
Encyclopedia
The Strange Death of Tory England is a book of political commentary
by the journalist
Geoffrey Wheatcroft
, published in 2005
.
, Wheatcroft looks at the journey of the British Conservative Party
from being the country's most successful political party
of the 20th century into the wilderness of a long period in opposition, by way of Margaret Thatcher
's heyday and fall from power and the quite different style of John Major
.
, which turned into a fight between Iain Macleod
, the modernizing chairman of the party, and the Earl of Home
, the aristocratic dark horse. Home won, disclaimed his peerage, became Sir Alec Douglas-Home
, and was elected to the House of Commons
at a hastily-arranged by-election
. Wheatcroft depicts this contest as a clash between supporters of "the virtues of an hereditary governing class" and those of "worth proved by ability".
Next comes a history of the Tory party from its 17th-century beginnings at the time of the Restoration
, followed by an account of the Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson
and Edward Heath
years and Britain's trials and tribulations of the 1970s, culminating in the election of Margaret Thatcher
's first government in 1979.
Within a few years, while holding onto power, the Conservative Party began to split and to fall apart. Wheatcroft seeks to explain this decline, offering factors long discussed by commentators: internal splits over Britain's place in Europe, political sleaze and a fundamental lack of ideology, and a growing desire in the country for change after eighteen years of Conservative rule, coinciding with Tony Blair
's "brilliant cynical sincerity".
's opposition to capital punishment
. And he examines the rise of the American Neocons
, suggesting that the British Conservatives could learn both from them and from the Lion and Unicorn conservatism of the socialist George Orwell
.
He concludes:
's The Strange Death of Liberal England
(1935) which sought to explain the decline of the British Liberal Party
after 1910. It should also be noted that The Strange Death of Tory England had previously been used as a title by Anne Applebaum
for an article published in June 2001.
shows the last Conservative prime minister
, John Major
, batting
in a game of cricket
, at the moment of being clean bowled (his wicket
demolished). This alludes to Major's well-known love of cricket and to the result of the United Kingdom general election of 1997
, which was won in a landslide by the Labour Party
with 418 seats in the House of Commons
, its highest ever total, while the Conservatives took only 165, their worst performance since the General Election of 1906
. In 1997, the Conservatives did not win a single seat in Scotland
or in Wales
. Little changed at the 2001 General Election
, with Labour taking 413 seats, the Conservatives 166, the Liberal Democrats 52, and others 28.
, writing in The Spectator
, said:
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
by the journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Geoffrey Albert Wheatcroft is a British journalist and writer.- Education :He was educated at University College School, London, and at New College Oxford, where he read Modern History.- Publishing and journalism :...
, published in 2005
2005 in literature
The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
.
Outline
In the run-up to the United Kingdom general election of 2005United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, Wheatcroft looks at the journey of the British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
from being the country's most successful political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
of the 20th century into the wilderness of a long period in opposition, by way of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's heyday and fall from power and the quite different style of John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
.
Summary
The book begins with the Conservative leadership contest of 1963, following the resignation of Harold MacmillanHarold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, which turned into a fight between Iain Macleod
Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Early life:...
, the modernizing chairman of the party, and the Earl of Home
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
, the aristocratic dark horse. Home won, disclaimed his peerage, became Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
, and was elected to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
at a hastily-arranged by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. Wheatcroft depicts this contest as a clash between supporters of "the virtues of an hereditary governing class" and those of "worth proved by ability".
Next comes a history of the Tory party from its 17th-century beginnings at the time of the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, followed by an account of the Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
and Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
years and Britain's trials and tribulations of the 1970s, culminating in the election of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's first government in 1979.
Within a few years, while holding onto power, the Conservative Party began to split and to fall apart. Wheatcroft seeks to explain this decline, offering factors long discussed by commentators: internal splits over Britain's place in Europe, political sleaze and a fundamental lack of ideology, and a growing desire in the country for change after eighteen years of Conservative rule, coinciding with Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's "brilliant cynical sincerity".
The future
Wheatcroft finally proposes some cures for the party's ills. He considers that the UK lacks a mainstream party of the right which puts the country's own national interest first. He questions the absence of the mavericks the Tory party used to have, giving it more life and soul, noting the example of Enoch PowellEnoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
's opposition to capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. And he examines the rise of the American Neocons
Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
, suggesting that the British Conservatives could learn both from them and from the Lion and Unicorn conservatism of the socialist George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
.
He concludes:
Title
The book appears to draw its title from George DangerfieldGeorge Dangerfield
George Dangerfield was a journalist, historian, and the literary editor of Vanity Fair from 1933 to 1935...
's The Strange Death of Liberal England
The Strange Death of Liberal England
The Strange Death of Liberal England is a book written by George Dangerfield, first published in 1935, attempting to explain the decline of the British Liberal Party in the years 1910 to 1914.-Thesis:...
(1935) which sought to explain the decline of the British Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
after 1910. It should also be noted that The Strange Death of Tory England had previously been used as a title by Anne Applebaum
Anne Applebaum
Anne Elizabeth Applebaum is a journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has written extensively about communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. She has been an editor at The Economist, and a member of the editorial board of The Washington Post...
for an article published in June 2001.
Cover
The pictorial dust cover of the book's first editionFirst edition
The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed “from substantially the same setting of type,” including all minor typographical variants.- First edition :...
shows the last Conservative prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, batting
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
in a game of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, at the moment of being clean bowled (his wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
demolished). This alludes to Major's well-known love of cricket and to the result of the United Kingdom general election of 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, which was won in a landslide by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
with 418 seats in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, its highest ever total, while the Conservatives took only 165, their worst performance since the General Election of 1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
. In 1997, the Conservatives did not win a single seat in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
or in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Little changed at the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, with Labour taking 413 seats, the Conservatives 166, the Liberal Democrats 52, and others 28.
Reviews
The historian Sir Raymond CarrRaymond Carr
Sir Albert Raymond Maillard Carr FBA FRHS FRSL , known as Raymond Carr, is an English historian specializing in the history of Spain, Latin America, and Sweden who was Warden of St Antony's College, Oxford, from 1968 to 1987....
, writing in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, said: