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[[Image:Conservatives.png|thumb|The Conservative Party logo]]
[[Image:Conservatives.png|thumb|The Conservative Party logo]]
The British Conservative Party, commonly nicknamed the Tory Party after their political ancestors, is the major right wing party of the [[United Kingdom]]. Its leader is [[David Cameron]].
The British Conservative Party, commonly nicknamed the Tory Party after their political ancestors, is the major right wing party of the [[United Kingdom]]. Its leader is [[David Cameron]].
British conservatism has its own distinctive tradition, separate both from that of continental European conservatism and from that of American conservatism. Traditional British conservatism is rooted in pragmatism, practicality and concrete experience. Whereas in continental Europe many conservatives, such as the Frenchman [[Joseph de Maistre]], were strongly ideological and defended causes such as absolute monarchy and Roman Catholicism, the heroes of British conservatism (such as [[Edmund Burke]] in the eighteenth century, Sir [[Robert Peel]] and [[Benjamin Disraeli]] in the nineteenth, and Sir [[Winston Churchill]] in the twentieth) were moderate, pragmatic and non-ideological. While a more ideological strand of conservatism was in the ascendant during the leadership of [[Margaret Thatcher|Lady Thatcher]] (1975-1990), the older, pragmatic trend has reasserted itself in more recent years.
The modern British Conservative Party ran the United Kingdom for nearly 20 years, beginning with Margaret Thatcher's victory for the Party in 1979. She came into office facing a British economy that had been crippled by decades of liberal policies and militant trade unions. Thatcher turned that around, broke the iron grip of the trade unions, and restored the British economy to a free enterprise system that has thrived to this day. She was succeeded by John Major in 1990, and, to the surprise of the media, Major won the general election in 1992 and extended the Conservative Party's power until 1997.
The modern British Conservative Party ran the United Kingdom for nearly 20 years, beginning with Margaret Thatcher's victory for the Party in 1979. She came into office facing a British economy that had been crippled by decades of liberal policies and militant trade unions. Thatcher turned that around, broke the iron grip of the trade unions, and restored the British economy to a free enterprise system that has thrived to this day. She was succeeded by John Major in 1990, and, to the surprise of the media, Major won the general election in 1992 and extended the Conservative Party's power until 1997.