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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]]. |
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| | + | 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. |
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| | + | By 1997 the Labour Party had finally embraced the more conservative direction for the country and abandoned many of liberal economic policies of the past. It also benefit from a much-publicized slaughter in Scotland of 16 children and a teacher in 1996 by Thomas Hamilton, who used four handguns and several hundred rounds of ammunition. Gun control was enacted afterwards and the entire United Kingdom, horrified by the massacre, moved to the left politically. Economic difficulties, including a dispute over whether England should join the currency of the European Union, hurt the Conservative Party further. The Labour Party won in a landslide in 1997 and has held power ever since. |
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| | + | Since the 1990s, the Conservative Party leaders have softened its conservative stance on social issues and this may have hurt its popularity with voters. While the successful elected leaders of the Republican Party in the United States tend to be conservative on social issues, liberals have enjoyed greater power in the British Conservative Party, and that may explain its weaker performance in elections. |
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| | ==Conservative party in the USA== | | ==Conservative party in the USA== |
| | Also a party in New York State (USA) formed during the early 1960's in response to the liberal leanings of the state Republican Party (which was dominated by then Governor Nelson Rockefeller). The Conservative Party of New York State remains an influential third party in that very liberal state. Though it keeps its independence from the state Republican Party, it cross endorses the Republican Party for President consistantly. In state elections, ever since Nelson Rockefeller left the Governorship, it also has been cross-endorseing Republican candidates for governor (but not always without interparty strife with the Republicans and intra-party strife within the Conservative Party). [http://www.cpnys.org/] | | Also a party in New York State (USA) formed during the early 1960's in response to the liberal leanings of the state Republican Party (which was dominated by then Governor Nelson Rockefeller). The Conservative Party of New York State remains an influential third party in that very liberal state. Though it keeps its independence from the state Republican Party, it cross endorses the Republican Party for President consistantly. In state elections, ever since Nelson Rockefeller left the Governorship, it also has been cross-endorseing Republican candidates for governor (but not always without interparty strife with the Republicans and intra-party strife within the Conservative Party). [http://www.cpnys.org/] |