User:J4kosra/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Conservative Party Logo: scribbly drawing of tree formed from broad diagonal brushstrokes revealing the Union Flag, with thin, short pastel blue trunk. Leader	George Osborne MP Chairman	Lord Gardiner of Kimble Deputy Chairman	Michael Gove MP Lords Leader	Baroness Stowell of Beeston Founded	1834 Preceded by	Tory Party Headquarters	Conservative Campaign HQ 4 Matthew Parker Street, London, SW1H 9NP, England Youth wing	Conservative Future Women's wing	Conservative Women's Organisation Overseas wing	Conservatives Abroad Membership (2022)	122,800[1] Ideology	Conservatism[2] Economic liberalism[2] British unionism Euroscepticism[2][3][4] Political position	Centre-right to Right Wing European affiliation	Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists International affiliation	International Democrat Union European Parliament group	European Conservatives and Reformists Colours	    Blue House of Commons[5] 262 / 650 House of Lords[6] 241 / 820 European Parliament 24 / 73 Scottish Parliament 19 / 129 Welsh Assembly 15 / 60 London Assembly 7 / 25 Local government[7] 8,125 / 20,565 Police and Crime Commissioners 12 / 41 Website conservatives.com Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right[8] political party in the United Kingdom. It is the majority party in the House of Commons, having won 330 of the 650 seats at the 2015 general election.[9] Between 2010-15, it was the largest single party with 303 Members of Parliament and governed in coalition with the Liberal Democrats. It is the largest party in local government with 8,296 councillors.[7]

The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party—giving rise to the Conservatives' colloquial name of Tories—and was one of two dominant parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives' main rivals. Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the 20th century, including Winston Churchill (1940–45, 1951–55) and Margaret Thatcher (1979–90). Thatcher's tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation and saw the Conservatives become the most eurosceptic of the three major parties.

The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs,[10] and sit with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) parliamentary group. The party is a member of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) Europarty and the International Democrat Union (IDU).

The party is the third-largest in the Scottish Parliament and second-largest in the Welsh Assembly. The Conservatives were formerly allied to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in Northern Ireland but there is now a separate Northern Ireland Conservative party similar to the Welsh and Scottish Conservative parties.[11]

Contents [hide] 1	History 1.1	Origins in the Whig Party 1.2	Conservatives and Unionists (1867–1965) 1.3	First World War 1.4	1920–1945 1.5	1945–1963 1.5.1	Popular dissatisfaction 1.5.2	Modernising the party 1.6	Edward Heath 1.7	Margaret Thatcher 1.8	John Major 1.9	Back in opposition: William Hague 1.10	Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard 1.11	David Cameron (in opposition and in government) 2	Policies 2.1	Economic policy 2.2	Social policy 2.3	Foreign policy 2.3.1	Welfare 2.4	Defence 2.4.1	Afghanistan 2.4.2	Strategic Defence and Security Review 2.4.3	Europe and NATO 2.4.4	Nuclear weapons 2.5	Health policy 2.6	Drug policies 2.7	Education policy 2.8	Jobs and welfare policy 2.9	Energy/climate change policy 2.10	Justice and crime policy 2.11	European Union policy 2.12	Union policy 2.13	The British Constitution 3	Organisation 3.1	Party structure 3.2	Membership 3.3	Conservative Future 3.4	Funding 3.5	International organisations 4	Party factions 4.1	One-nation Conservatives 4.2	Free-market Conservatives 4.3	Traditionalist Conservatives 4.4	Relationships between the factions 5	Electoral performance 6	Associated groups 6.1	Ideological groups 6.2	Interest groups 6.3	Think tanks 6.4	Alliances 6.5	Party structures 7	See also 8	References 9	Bibliography and further reading 10	External links