The Evolution Of Conservative Party Social Policy PDF
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The Evolution of Conservative Party Social Policy This page intentionally left blank The Evolution Of Conservative Party Social Policy Ben Williams Tutor in Politics, University of Salford, UK © Ben Williams 2015 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-44580-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-49587-0 ISBN 978-1-137-44581-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137445810 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Williams, Ben, 1973– The evolution of conservative party social policy / Ben Williams. pages cm 1. Conservative Party (Great Britain)—History—21st century. 2. Great Britain—Social policy—21st century. 3. Great Britain—Politics and government—21st century. I. Title. JN1129.C7W546 2015 361.6'10941—dc23 2014049918 Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India. Contents List of Tables and Figures vi Acknowledgements vii Introduction and background 1 1 Ideological influences on Conservative Party social policy 8 2 The ‘New Right’ and its impact on Conservative social policy 27 3 Conservatism and social justice in theory 54 4 Social policy case study 1: Modern Conservatism, practical social justice and welfare reform 78 5 Social policy case study 2: The ‘Big Society’ Policy Framework 100 6 Social policy case study 3: The Free Schools policy 121 7 Social policy case study 4: Reform of the NHS 145 Conclusion: The nature and evolution of contemporary Conservative social policy 173 Notes 194 Bibliography 232 Index 244 v List of Tables and Figures Tables 4.1 Public spending in UK as a percentage of GDP (1975–2012) 90 4.2 Government spending by key social policy areas as a percentage of GDP (2011 estimates) 94 4.3 Comparative government increases in public spending (by percentage, 1979–2010) 95 7.1 Public spending on health as a percentage of GDP in England (1993–2009) 150 Figures 4.1 Public spending in UK as a percentage of GDP (1975–2012) 91 4.2 Government spending by billions (2011 estimates) 95 7.1 Previous NHS structure (pre-2010) 165 7.2 David Cameron’s new NHS bureaucracy after 2010 166 vi Acknowledgements Thanks are due to my close family, friends and colleagues, who have been a great support during the five years it has taken to write this book. In particular I would like to thank Dr Kevin Hickson and Professor Jonathan Tonge for the conscientious and supportive way in which they have assisted me and guided me in terms of researching, putting together and writing this work. I thank my colleagues at the universities of Liverpool and Salford for the advice and camaraderie that I have experienced while working on the project, as well as the various groups of undergraduate students whose seminars and lectures I have led. These teaching experiences have been stimulating and helpful in the development of my work. Special thanks must go to my parents, who have offered me tremen- dous support and encouragement in pursuing my chosen career. Katie, my daughter, provided welcome distraction and has tolerated my pre- occupation during the course of the writing. It is to her that the book is dedicated. vii Introduction and background The Conservative Party’s defeat at the 1997 General Election repre- sented a political rejection on a historically unprecedented scale,1 and in subsequent years the party has faced a significant period of introspec- tion regarding its future direction, its policy-making agenda, and on a broader dimension, its overall political identity. The confident aura of the Thatcher era of the 1980s, fuelled by a successful election-winning formula of free-market populism alongside the ideological certainty instilled by the thrusting capitalist agenda of the ‘New Right’, was shat- tered by a shifting public mood and a gradual erosion of popular sup- port as the 1990s progressed. These socio-political changes culminated in the electoral outcome of 1997 when the 20th century’s ‘natural party of government’, which had generally acknowledged that ‘periods of opposition (were) the exception, and office the norm’,2 found its once- dominant position in a state of utter political disarray, ‘being reduced to a rump’ and experiencing its heaviest electoral defeat ‘since the birth of mass democratic politics in 1918’.3 This watershed election result was variously described by sections of the media as a New Labour ‘Triumph’ (The Guardian), a ‘Landslide’ (Daily Telegraph) and a ‘Massacre’ (Daily Mail), with the general consensus being that ‘it was all of these’.4 A long spell in national political opposition appeared inevitable given the scale of this ejection from office, and such an electoral annihila- tion at the hands of a revitalised and modernised ‘New Labour’ jug- gernaut represented the nadir of Conservative 20th-century political fortunes in terms of both parliamentary seats and wider public support. Fundamental reasons for such plummeting levels of popular appeal were rooted in the party’s faltering and uncertain ideological vision, a diminishing public reputation aligned with the unappealing nature of the party’s policy menu, with the image of contemporary Conservatism 1 2 The Evolution of Conservative Party Social Policy damaged in the eyes of significant sections of the electorate. This appeared to reflect a broader public disenchantment regarding its long- term political agenda: ultimately, the 1997 Conservative Party appeared too concerned with its own internal policy divisions and had grown out of touch with the views and interests of a rapidly changing and increas- ingly diverse British society. This dynamic social change evolved while the Conservatives were preoccupied with the political strains of govern- ance, with a primary focus on the fundamental economic restructuring of the country. Consequently, the Conservative Party faced a scenario whereby: After nearly two decades of Conservative rule, the needs, anxieties, priorities and aspirations of the electorate had become harder for the party to decipher and comprehend. Many simply failed to acknowl- edge how British society had changed in the 1990s’.5 Therefore, despite the constant hum of such ceaseless background social developments, the Conservative Party of the mid-1990s appeared to be instilled with a sense of socio-political myopia and detach- ment that struck at the heart of its identity as the decade progressed. Consequently, policy-making relating to key social and economic spheres appeared increasingly disjointed and lacking in terms of a coherent connected vision prior to 1997, with the party’s main focus from 1992 onwards appearing to be the short-term political survival of John Major’s fragile administration, with its slender parliamentary majority of just 21 (1992–97), which had disappeared by December 1996 due to a series of parliamentary deaths and subsequent by-election defeats. In this atavistic context of focusing on its own sheer political survival, the Conservative Party in office seemed to be detached from the basic concerns and priorities of contemporary external society. From late 1990 onwards, the Conservative political machine experienced a prolonged crisis triggered by the demise of Margaret Thatcher and her legacy of explicit ideological emphasis. The shattering electoral defeat of 1997 ultimately marked the culmination of almost seven years of a post-Thatcher hangover that blurred the party’s focus, confused its direction and blighted its fortunes. This limited its ability to navigate coherently any progression from its period of electoral and political hegemony. The electoral watershed ultimately brought such matters of identity and future policy direction to the forefront of the party’s politi- cal priorities, as it faced such challenges while firmly located in national political opposition on a long-term basis.
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