The Party's Name

The Conservative Party is the oldest political party in Europe. The term 'Conservative' has been in use since the 1830s, but the modern Party descends from the Tories of the 17th and 18th century.  In 1886, some Liberals defected from their Party as they have disagreed with the latter's policies towards the Irish Home Rule. They then formed the Liberal Unionist Party which subsequently joined the Conservative Party in 1912 to form the 'Conservative And Unionist Party', the name which our Party officially uses till the present day.

The Party's Origins

Tories trace their political descent from the Royalists of the Stuart days. The early Tories in the seventeenth century supported the powers and prerogatives of The Crown. They believed that these powers acted as a check on a wealthy vested interests in Parliament. The Whigs though, tended to support these interests in their demands on The Crown and wanted more Parliamentary power and control.   In the eighteenth century, the awful dominance of the Whig families and their allies came to an end when in 1783 William Pitt the Younger, Esq. became Prime Minister to lead the country for the ensuing fifth of a century, notwithstanding a short pause. He was merely twenty-four years old. His policies and achievements - particularly stressing his endorsement for the free trade and prudent finance- transformed the British politics and set the bases for modern Conservatism. His administration undertook massive reforms in the first decade of his administration. The horrors and ordeals of the French Revolution which transpired at that time, made Mr Pitt mostly a defender of the status quo.  At that time, it was Edmund Burke, Esq., a politician and writer who exclaimed the most famous of all statements of Conservative principles, stressing the need for a firm and undaunted defence of the country's traditional institutions and the Established Church, following the tragic events cross the English Channel. 

The Conservatives are traditionally the party of the upper and middle classes, of landowners and businessmen. The party has its voters in the rich south with its high-tech and service industries. The party is composed of two divergent tendencies, reflecting different views on social policies and on European integration. Those on the left of the party, i.e. closer to the central position in the political spectrum, are inclined to paternalistic view of social support and gradual economic reform; they are regarded as European enthusiasts, while those on the right tend to be Eurosceptics and strong supporters of the free market and individual responsibility.

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