Evaluate the view that the Conservative Party is internally divided
Between the two main factions of the conservative party, New Right and One Nation, it is clear that in recent years a harsh divide has been created in opinions on economy, law and order, and welfare. This essay will reject the statement that the conservative party is more united than divided.
Some may argue that the conservative party, after returning to power in 2010, hold a united view towards the economy. They’re firmly wedded to the power of the market and private property to drive wealth creation and retention and remain pragmatic over economic policy. Party expenditure, both factions stress, must be kept under control and trade union power must be curbed. For example, the 2019 manifesto promised not to raise national insurance contributions, VAT, and income tax. More recently, the party lifted the cap on bankers' bonuses in October 2022 and cut stamp duty (the tax paid when buying a house) in that same budget. The party was also reluctant to extend the windfall tax on the profits made by energy companies owing to rising energy costs. This shows that the 2019 manifesto emphasised the importance of using aspiration to unleash enterprise and remained committed to the tax cuts of the Cameron. Underlying Thatcherite principles run deep within the party (wealth retention, limited state intervention) and although policies adapt to a situation, clear aims to be a low tax party show unity within the conservatives.
However, this argument is weak as the two main factions within the party show clear divide over economic policy. The One Nation faction within the conservative party, regarding the economy, is strongly concerned with social cohesion. One Nation conservatives firmly believe the state plays an important role in promoting economic growth, encouraging a mixed economy with mild intervention to support a welfare state. On the other hand, the New Right members of the party hold a more ideological approach, driven by faith in the free market and self-interested competition. For example, the New Right in the party pushing for tax cuts to promote growth, seen with the Truss budget in October 2022, with the one nation faction on the other hand rejecting unfunded tax cuts due to their impact on public services which would have to endure further cuts to pay for those tax cuts. In 2021 the party broke its campaign pledge and raised national insurance contributions to pay for the backlog in the NHS after COVID. The Sunak government then scrapped this planned rise. This shows that there is a strong party divide between an ideological pursuit on the one hand of the low tax economy and a pragmatist approach on the other to solving the issue with public services. Some policies, fit in the one nation belief of a fixed economy with some state intervention, an approach that runs counter to the neo liberals within the new right faction of the conservative party who believe in self-reliance and don’t tend to support the idea that the consumer should be bailed out of energy price rises.
Therefore, it is clear that the conservative party is more divided than united due to the several different positions regarding the economy within the party. Although historically the Tories have favoured the free market, the covid outbreak and its fallout has caused divisions, as many members have pushed for more state intervention.
Most modern Conservatives argue that welfare should be minimal and used to encourage people back to work. The party focuses a great deal on reducing benefits, especially housing benefits (through the bedroom tax etc), which tends to affect the poor more than the rich. For example, the party reduced universal credit by £20 per week in October 2021 and struggled to accept committing to raising benefits in line with inflation thereafter. This shows that the Conservative party is united over Thatcherite beliefs over the welfare, arguing that it leads to dependency and that market-based solutions to service provisions are preferable. These ideological hunches run counter to the pragmatist approach to winning elections, illustrating a common mindset that’s welds the party together no matter the social climate.
However, this argument is weak as there is clear divide between the ‘one nation’ and Thatcherite/new right members of the party regarding welfare. On one hand, many one nation conservatives see welfare as a moral obligation and an important duty; following the conservatist view of ‘noblesse oblige’ in which the rich have a responsibility over the poor. This was seen clearly during Johnson’s tenure during the global pandemic. For example, the party wrote off the debt that hospitals had to help put the NHS on a sounder economic footing to fight COVID. Even May before this pledged to aid the ‘just about managing’s’, a signal to her belief that the party must aid the nation, not just the elite. However, although Sunak gave lip service to these promises in the tory manifesto when he was chosen to be PM, the reality is there is a squeeze of long-term infrastructure spending and a squeeze on public sector budgets under his premiership. Sunak has been referred to as a technocrat’, he holds no true ideological view and is instead focused on policy detail and thus cannot unite as party. Sunak pledged to reduce NHS waiting times, a one nation welfare value, however, has instead put effort mainly into cutting down inflation, taxes, and the Rwanda Bill against ‘illegal migration’.This shows that due to the everchanging party leaders, the Tories are extremely divided over the welfare, there is no one true viewpoint.
Overall therefore, the conservative party is clearly more divided than united due to the disagreements regarding welfare. Although this may not be the most conflicting area within the Tories, One nation members prioritise an enabling state, whereas New Right members argue this merely creates dependency.
Regarding law and order, much of the government’s policies align with Thatcherism, a form of authoritarianism. The Conservatives at large describe themselves as ‘the party of law and order’, believing that strong forces should be imposed in an authoritarian state to impose social morality and that parliament must hold all power in terms of crime. During COVID lockdowns, the state acted in a united, authoritarian way with strong laws and penalties for minor breaches of the law, such as leaving the house for non-essential purposes. This aligns with the New right view that a crackdown on crime, big or small, is essential for social harmony. The lack of dispute of this amongst the party proves its unity. Furthermore, the party is largely anti-immigration; the government has tried to send asylum seekers for processing in Rwanda and many support the illegal immigration bill put forward by Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak. This is because the party believes the tough bill will deter immigration, as well as preventing immigrants from claiming asylum.
However, this argument is weak as this approach is not shared by all conservatives. On one hand in regards of crime, one nation conservatives favour rehabilitation rather than punishment as justice. For example, Rory Stuart, a leadership candidate in 2019, believed in addressing the causes of crime instead of addressing punishment. This reflects the values of former justice secretary Ken Clarke under the Cameron coalition, who states that prison does not work. This shows that there are many conservatives who are against a harsh come down on crime and instead value compassion and pragmatism. On the other hand, there is still many New Right conservatives who believe that human nature is bleak and can only be restrained by the strong hand of government, such as Johnson and Sunak. For example, Sunak has established the anti-social behaviour plan, creating a zero-tolerance approach and giving the police all tools they need to tackle the problem. In terms of immigration, the far New Right in the party believe that Braverman’s bill does not go far enough and wishes for the UK to pull out of the ECHR in order to crack down even harder on asylum seekers- compared to one nation Tories concerned that the bill doesn’t provide safe routes for people fleeing danger. Overall, this shows that the party is extremely divided in terms of law and order, possibly reflecting each factions’ views on innate human nature and how it is best tamed.
By the way of evaluation, it is clear that the conservative party is more divided than united especially in terms of law and order. Neo conservatives of the new right take a more traditional approach, believing crime is something only stopped by harsh punishment, versus one nation conservatives who are more socially liberal.
In conclusion, it is clear that in recent years the conservative party has become largely more divided than united. This is due to having multiple party leaders in such a short time with all differing views, and the current Prime minister Rishi Sunak showing no aims to unite its members. In terms of the economy (where the harshest division manifests) under Johnson, the party had swerved left on its beliefs, but this has been retracked by both Sunak and Truss who favour fiscal responsibility and austerity; thus producing a melting pot of ideologies within the Tories.
Nora