Conservative Party, UK

THE CONSERVATIVE Party is the oldest British political party and arguably the oldest political party in the world. It has given rise to some of Great Britain's greatest leaders, is unofficially referred to as the Tory Party, and its members are called Tories. Under a system favoring two dominant parties, this center-right party is the only party with a realistic prospect of providing a counterbalance to the Labour Party. Throughout its existence, the party has stood for stability and order. It was early identified with the lesser aristocracy, the church, the monarchy, property rights, and agricultural interests, but during the Industrial Revolution it strove to align itself with the urban working class and produced significant reforms. It would subsequently become the party most associated with empire, the middle class, and business.

Conservatives today advocate private enterprise, lower taxes, and government reduction and efficiency. The party is also less enthusiastic than the Labour Party about the movement toward European integration and includes elements known as “Euroskeptics” who object to a European currency and the surrendering of sovereignty to the European Union. Divisions over the European [Page 598]Union have caused internal party bickering, although Conservatives are suppressing these differences. The party is achieving new unity in opposing Labour's domestic policies and constitutional reforms. Even though usually advocating measures promoting social stability and traditional values, since the party's founding, it has demonstrated a determination to remain relevant to contemporary issues, while avoiding long-term doctrinal disputes or ideological rigidity. It has also shown agility in rebounding from serious splits and electoral defeats and a willingness to renew and democratize itself.