Cameron and the Conservatives: The Transition to Coalition Government

280 Pages·2012·1.063 MB·English

by  Timothy Heppell, David Seawright (eds.)

Cameron and the
Conservatives
The Transition to Coalition Government
Edited By
Timothy Heppell
and
David Seawright
Cameron and the Conservatives
This page intentionally left blank
Cameron and the
Conservatives
The Transition to Coalition Government
Edited By
Timothy Heppell
Lecturer in British Politics, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds,
UK
and
David Seawright
Senior Lecturer in British Politics, School of Politics and International Studies, University of
Leeds, UK
Editorial matter, selection, introduction and conclusion © Timothy Heppell
and David Seawright 2012
All remaining chapters © respective authors 2012
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 ISBN 978-0-230-31410-8
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2012 by
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Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Notes on Contributors viii
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction 1
Timothy Heppell and David Seawright
2 Understanding Conservative Modernisation 16
Christopher Byrne, Emma Foster and Peter Kerr
3 The Conservative Election Campaign 32
David Seawright
4 The Conservatives and the Electorate 44
David Denver
5 Economic Policy 59
Andrew Gamble
6 European Policy 74
Philip Lynch
7 Immigration Policy 89
Tim Bale and James Hampshire
8 Territorial Politics 105
Nick Randall and David Seawright
9 Foreign Policy 121
Victoria Honeyman
10 Fixing Broken Britain 136
Richard Hayton
11 Women and Feminisation 149
Valerie Bryson
12 Liberal Conservatism: Ideological Coherence? 166
Stuart McAnulla
13 Coalition Cohesion 181
Philip Norton
14 David Cameron as Prime Minister 194
Kevin Theakston
v
vi Contents
15 Labour in Opposition 209
Timothy Heppell and Michael Hill
16 Conclusion 224
Timothy Heppell and David Seawright
Bibliography 239
Index 262
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
4.1 Levels of support for major parties 1997–2005 45
4.2 Best person for Prime Minister (July 1992–2005) 47
4.3 Trends in party support 2005–March 2010 49
4.4 Best person for Prime Minister 2005–March 2010 50
4.5 Trends in voting intentions during the ‘short’ campaign 52
Tables
4.1 General elections 1997–2005 45
4.2 The 2010 general election (Great Britain) 53
4.3 The popularity of the Conservatives, the government and 56
David Cameron, 2010–2011
8.1 The Conservative and Unionist percentage share of votes 111
and seats in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,
1955–2010
8.2 Composition of the Conservative Parliamentary Party 112
8.3 Coalition parties’ percentage share of votes and seats in 113
England, Scotland and Wales in the 2010 general election
8.4 The Conservative and Unionist percentage share of votes 116
and seats for the devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland, 1999–2011
15.1 The Labour Party leadership election of 2010 212
vii
Notes on Contributors
Professor Tim Bale is a Professor of Politics within the Department of Politics
and Contemporary European Studies at Sussex University. He is the author of
The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron(2010).
Christopher Bryneis a British Politics PhD student within the Department of
Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Professor Valerie Bryson is a Professor of Politics within the Division of
Criminology, Politics and Sociology at the University of Huddersfield. She
is the author of Feminist Political Theory (2003) and Gender and the Politics of
Time (2007).
Professor David Denver is a Professor of Politics within the Department of
Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University. He is the author
of Elections and Voters in Britain(2006).
Dr Emma Foster is Teaching Fellow within the Department of Political
Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Professor Andrew Gamble is a Fellow of Queens’ College at the University
of Cambridge. He is the joint editor of The Political Quarterlyand author of
numerous books, including Politics and Fate (2000); Between Europe and
America: The Future of British Politics (2006); and The Spectre at the Feast:
Capitalist Crisis and the Politics of Recession(2009). In 2005 he was awarded
the PSA Isaiah Berlin prize for Lifetime Contribution to Political Studies.
Dr James Hampshire is a Lecturer in Politics within the Department of
Politics and Contemporary European Studies at Sussex University. He is the
author of Citizenship and Belonging: Immigration and the Politics of Demographic
Governance in Post-war Britain(2005).
Dr Richard Hayton is a Senior Lecturer in Politics within the Division of
Criminology, Politics and Sociology at the University of Huddersfield. He is
the author of Reconstructing Conservatism: The Conservatives in Opposition
1997–2010 (forthcoming).
Dr Timothy Heppell is a Lecturer in British Politics within the School of
Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds. He is
the author of Choosing the Tory Leader: From Heath to Cameron (2008) and
Choosing the Labour Leader: From Wilson to Brown(2010).
viii
Notes on Contributors ix
Dr Michael Hill is a Lecturer in British Politics within the School of Education
of Social Science at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). His work
on party political leadership has been published in journals such as British
Politicsand Political Quarterly.
Dr Victoria Honeyman is a Lecturer in British Politics within the School
of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds. She
is the author of Richard Crossman: A Reforming Radical of the Labour Party
(2007).
Dr Peter Kerr is a Senior Lecturer in British Politics at the Department of
Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.
He is co-author of Postwar British Politics in Perspective (1999) and author
of Postwar British Politics: From Conflict to Consensus (2001). His comparative
examination of the modernisation approaches of Blair and New Labour and
the Conservatives under Cameron will be published in 2012.
Dr Philip Lynch is a Senior Lecturer in British Politics at the Department
of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester. He is
the author of Cameron and the Limits of Conservative Recovery (forthcoming).
Dr Stuart McAnulla is a Lecturer in British Politics within the School of
Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds. He is
the co-author of Postwar British Politics in Perspective(1999) and the author
of British Politics: A Critical Introduction (2006).
Professor Lord Philip Norton is Professor of British Politics and Director of
Centre for Legislative Studies, within the Department of Politics and
International Studies at the University of Hull. He is the author of 27 books
covering British politics, the constitution, the Conservative Party and legis-
latures in comparative perspectives. He was elevated to the peerage in 1998.
He has served as chairman to the House of Lords Select Committee on the
Constitution.
Dr Nick Randall is a Senior Lecturer in British Politics at Newcastle
University. His work has been published in several edited collections and
in journals including British Politics, Political Quarterly and Parliamentary
Affairs.
Dr David Seawright is a Senior Lecturer in British Politics within the School
of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds. He is
the author of The British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics(2010) and
An Important Matter of Principle (1999) about the post-war decline of the
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.