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British Conservatism in the Twentieth Century: An Emerging Ideological Tradition*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2014

John D. Fair  and
John A. Hutcheson Jr.
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Extract

Lord Acton, one of the most formidable intellects of the last century, was a master of transforming seemingly complicated or contradictory principles into concise epigrammatic statements. Attempting to reconcile Edmund Burke's many liberal views with his reputed Conservatism, Acton asked why was Burke “not an entire liberal? How thoroughly he wished for liberty—of conscience—property, trade, slavery, etc. What stood against it? His notion of history. The claims of the past. The authority of time. The will of the dead. Continuity.” One of the most important lessons to be derived from Burke's writings—recognized by countless authorities as the wellspring of modern British Conservatism—is that Conservatism is not so much a system of thought or ideology as it is a general inclination and regard for history. The behavior of the Conservative Party has been governed by precedent and pragmatism rather than by rationalism and idealism. Words such as dogma, program, or even policy have never been part of its lexicon, whereas such words as spirit, tradition, or even “way“ have more aptly described its approach to politics.

By the twentieth century the Conservative Party's preference for lessons from the past (in accordance with England's common law tradition) to any scientifically derived formulas had gained for it the twin monikers of “the national party” and “the stupid party.” But Conservatism does not claim to possess the “keys or the Kingdom,” notes Ian Gilmour, an active politician and Conservative theoretician. “There is no certainty about the route and no certainty about the destination. As Burke said of himself, the lead has to be heaved every inch of the way.” Such is the way that modern British Conservatives, at least, have wished to perceive themselves.

Type
Research Article
Information
Albion , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , Winter 1987 , pp. 549 - 578
Copyright
Copyright © North American Conference on British Studies 1987

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Footnotes

*

Partially supported by a grant from the Auburn University at Montgomery Grant-In-Aid Program. We also wish to thank Professor Joe Thompson for his assistance in the preparation of this article.

References

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26 See Ramsden, John, The Making of Conservative Party Policy: The Conservative Research Department since 1929 (London, 1980), p. 52Google Scholar. Ramsden further estimated that the Parliament elected in May 1979 included no less than 25 ex-research officers as Conservative M.P.s.

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38 “The Industrial Charter,” Archives of the British Conservative Party, Series One, Pamphlets and Leaflets, Part four, 1947/36. Also see “The Right Road for Britain,” 1949/27.

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41 Hogg, Quintin, The Case for Conservatism (West Drayton, 1947), pp. 13, 62Google Scholar. This blend of tradition and regimentation is echoed to a great extent in Conservatism, 1945–1950 (London, 1950) published by the Conservative Political CentreGoogle ScholarPubMed.

42 A realization of the impact of Labour on the Conservatives was evident in the contemporary observations of Marxian theorist John Strachey: “If a man were asked to name the greatest single achievement of the British Labour Party over the past twenty five years, he might well answer, the transformation of the British Conservative party.” Rogow, A. and Shore, P., The Labour Government and British Industry, 1945–51 (Oxford, 1955), p. xGoogle Scholar.

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45 Two of the most important CPC publications during this period were Powell, Enoch and Maude, Angus, eds., Change is Our Ally (London, 1954)Google Scholar and The New Conservatism, An Anthology of Post-War Thought (London, 1955)Google Scholar.

46 For example, see Howell's, DavidPrinciples in Practice (London, 1961)Google Scholar, a series of Bow Group essays for the sixties by Leonard Beaton, Alec Campbell, David Fairbairn, and Geoffrey Howe in which the party's principles are claimed to be “loose and unexceptionable.”

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