Wets and Dries Resurgent? Intra-Party Alignments Among Contemporary Conservative Party Members
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6311342 |
|---|---|
| Authors | P Webb (0000-0002-3279-0217), Paul D Webb (0000-0003-3458-000X, University of Sussex), Sarah Child (0009-0006-8354-3220), Child, Sarah Childs (0000-0001-9439-2209, University of Bristol) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 383-402 |
| Publication date | 2011-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Parliamentary Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-2290 • E-ISSN: 1460-2482 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pa/gsq044 |
| OpenAlex | W2136286991 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
This article maps new survey data to show that there are three main ideological tendencies among Conservative Party members today and that they differ significantly on a range of contemporary political issues. The Liberal conservatives are the youngest, most male, claim to be the most active of these tendencies, and are distinguished by being the least hostile to Europe and immigration, to environmentalism or to feminist values, but the Traditionalist Tories—the largest, most working class and most female of the intra-party tendencies—are surprisingly progressive on a number of specific proposals and issues, including taxation and public spending, gender issues and the institutional reform of politics. Thatcherites support cuts in tax and spending, but are hostile to environmentalism, European integration, immigration and gender-related reforms. Overall, this suggests that, in so far as David Cameron has sought to push the party in a generally more 'centrist' and progressive direction since 2005, he has often gone with the grain of grassroots opinion; the Traditionalist Tories in particular would appear to endorse the thrust of much of his strategy. That said, there is clear scope for intra-party tension over the government's agenda of cuts in public expenditure. This points to a potential revival of the old conflicts between 'wets' and 'dries' of the 1980s
Democracy · Environmentalism · Gerrymandering · Grassroots · Ideology · Immigration · Liberal Party · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Sociology · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Social Policy and Reform Studies
After Cameron
Whatever happened to compassionate Conservatism under the Coalition government
Cameron and Liberal Conservatism
Where There is Discord, Can They Bring Harmony? Managing Intra-Party Dissent on European Integration in the Conservative Party
British Brinkmanship and Gaelic Games
Ideology Matters
Political parties at critical junctures
Ideologies, Power and the Politics of Punishment
Policy, Office and Votes
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,64 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2022 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |