Abstract
This chapter focuses on the development and evolution of the specific ‘New Right’ ideology in its guise as a contemporary and modern variant of Conservative political thought. As a viewpoint with a global context and influence, it aspired to revive the individualistic values of the liberal ‘free-market’ economic environment that prevailed in the mid to late 19th century, while seeking to dismantle the post-1945 welfare settlement. This ‘neo-liberal’ economic outlook subsequently established itself as a distinct influence within the British Conservative Party during its period of political dominance in the 1980s, rejecting much of the party’s paternalistic social policy of the post-war period in the process. In exploring precisely what the beliefs and key principles of this brand of Conservatism are, it is necessary to analyse its origins and assess how it has developed as a political concept within the modern political framework, as well as how it became firmly attached to the policy-making agenda of Margaret Thatcher from 1975 onwards. We will see how the New Right’s ideological thrust influenced the welfare and social policies of the Thatcher government between 1979 and 1990, and how it potentially continues to influence party policy to the present day.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
See Raymond Plant, The Neo-Liberal State, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009)
Peter Dorey, British Conservatism: The Politics and Philosophy of Inequality, (I.B Tauris, London, 2011), Ch. 1, pp. 45–6
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (1962), (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1962), Ch. 12, p. 195
See David C. Green, The New Right: The Counter-Revolution in Political, Economic and Social Thought, (Wheatsheaf Books, Brighton, 1987), Ch. 3
David C. Green, The New Right: The Counter-Revolution in Political, Economic and Social Thought, (Wheatsheaf Books, Brighton, 1987), Ch. 3, p. 74
Shirley Robin Letwin, The Anatomy of Thatcherism, (Fontana, London, 1992), Ch. 3, p. 74
Robert M. Page, ‘The Conservative Party and the Welfare State since 1945’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 2, p. 31
Extract from Excerpt from Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw, (ed.), The Commanding Heights, pp. 92–105 (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998), http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/pdf/prof_keithjoseph.pdf.
See also Keith Joseph and Jonathan Sumption, Equality, (W & J MacKay, Chatham, 1979)
Robert M. Page, ‘The Conservative Party and the Welfare State since 1945’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 2, p. 31
Alan Sked and Chris Cook, Post War Britain: A Political History (Penguin, London, 4th edn., 1993), Ch. 12, p. 328
Norman Barry, ‘New Right’, cited in Kevin Hickson (ed.), The Political Thought of the Conservative Party since 1945, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 2009), Ch. 2, p. 34
See Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years, (Harper-Collins, London, 1993), Introduction, p. 7
Harold Wilson, Final Term: The Labour Government 1974–1976, (Michael Joseph, London, 1979), Epilogue, p. 241
Shirley Robin Letwin, The Anatomy of Thatcherism, (Fontana, London, 1992), Ch. 3, p. 49
C. Collette and K. Laybourn, Modern Britain Since 1979, (I.B. Tauris, London, 2003), Ch. 1, p. 8
Stephen J. Lee, Aspects of British Political History 1914–1995 (Routledge, Oxford, 1996), Ch. 15, p. 229
In 1980 Margaret Thatcher made the following comments about ‘consensus’ politics which appeared to typify her views on this matter: ‘To me consensus appears to be: the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no-one believes.’ Speech at Monash University (6 October, 1981 Sir Robert Menzies Lecture, Melbourne, Australia), cited in Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years, (Harper-Collins, London, 1993), Ch. 6, p. 167, see also: Margaret Thatcher Foundation: http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104712
Shirley Robin Letwin, The Anatomy of Thatcherism, (Fontana, London, 1992), Ch. 1, p. 23
At the 1976 Labour Party Conference, Prime Minister James Callaghan said: ‘We used to think that you could spend your way out of recession by cutting taxes and increasing government spending. I tell you in all candour that this option no longer exists’, 28 September 1976, cited in Kevin Hickson, The IMF crisis of 1976 and British Politics, (I.B Tauris, London, 2005) p. 103
Shirley Robin Letwin, The Anatomy of Thatcherism, (Fontana, London, 1992), Ch. 5, p. 125
See Kevin Hickson, The IMF crisis of 1976 and British Politics, (I.B Tauris, London, 2005)
See Eric J. Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991, (Michael Joseph, London, 1994)
See Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1962)
Shirley Robin Letwin. The Anatomy of Thatcherism, (Fontana, London, 1992), Ch. 1, p. 20
Peter Dorey, British Conservatism: The Politics and Philosophy of Inequality, (I.B Tauris, London, 2011), Ch. 3, p. 134
See Andrew Gamble, The Free Economy and The Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism, (Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1st edn., 1988)
Shirley Robin Letwin. The Anatomy of Thatcherism, (Fontana, London, 1992), Ch. 1, p. 20
Norman Barry, ‘New Right’, cited in Kevin Hickson (ed.), The Political Thought of the Conservative Party since 1945, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 2009), Ch. 2, p. 28
See Andrew Gamble, The Free Economy and The Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism, (Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1st edn., 1988)
Andrew Gamble, ‘The Free Economy and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism’, (Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 1994), Ch. 2, p. 40
Ian Gilmour, Dancing With Dogma: Britain Under Thatcherism, (Simon & Schuster, London, 1992), Ch. 2, p. 14
Robert M. Page, ‘The Conservative Party and the Welfare State since 1945’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 2, p. 38
Hugo Young, One of Us, (Pan Macmillan, London, 1989), Ch. 12, p. 239
Ian Gilmour, Dancing With Dogma: Britain Under Thatcherism, (Simon & Schuster, London, 1992), Ch. 3, p. 48
David Willetts, Modern Conservatism, (Penguin, London, 1992), Ch. 4. p. 55
C. Collette and K. Laybourn, Modern Britain Since 1979, (I.B Tauris, London, 2003), Ch. 1, p. 9
Richard Hayton, ‘Conservative Party modernisation and David Cameron’s politics of the family’, Political Quarterly, Volume 81, No.4, (October-December 2010), pp. 494–5
Stephen Driver, ‘“Fixing our broken society”: David Cameron’s Post-Thatcherite social policy’, cited in Simon Lee and Matt Beech (eds.), The Conservatives under David Cameron: Built to Last?, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2009), Ch. 6, p. 82
Robert M. Page, ‘The Conservative Party and the Welfare State since 1945’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 2, p. 35
‘Labour’s private polls reported that before and during the election around 70 per cent of voters expected to pay more taxes under a Labour government’. Cited in David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, The British General Election of 1992, (Macmillan Press, Basingstoke, 1992), Ch. 12, p. 268
John Major, The Autobiography, (Harper-Collins, London, 1999), Ch. 14, p. 312
Simon Lee, ‘Convergence, critique and divergence: The development of economic policy under David Cameron’, cited in Simon Lee and Matt Beech (eds.), The Conservatives under David Cameron: Built to Last?, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 2009), Ch. 5, p. 78
Dylan Jones, Cameron on Cameron: Conversations with Dylan Jones, (Fourth Estate, London, 2008), p. 288
David Willetts, Modern Conservatism, (Penguin, London, 1992), Ch. 4. p. 51
Dennis Kavanagh and Philip Cowley, The British General Election of 2010, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2010), Ch. 16, p. 351
Michael Ashcroft, Smell the Coffee: A Wakeup Call for the Conservative Party, (Politicos, London, 2005)
Dennis Kavanagh and Philip Cowley, The British General Election of 2010, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2010), Ch. 4, p. 70
Andrew Rawnsley, The End of the Party: The Rise and Fall of New Labour, (Penguin, London, 2010), Ch. 26, p. 451
Rob Baggott, ‘Conservative health policy’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 5, p. 89
Simon Griffiths, ‘Cameron’s Conservatives and the public services’, cited in Simon Lee and Matt Beech (eds.), The Conservatives under David Cameron: Built to Last?, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 2009), Ch. 7, p. 98
See also Matthew Taylor, ‘Likeability to electability’, Comment is Free, The Guardian, 17 July 2008: ‘Deliberately, boldly and often in the face of sotto voce carping from his own side, Cameron has decontaminated the Tory brand’. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/17/davidcameron.conservatives
Matt Beech, ‘Cameron and Conservative ideology’, cited in Simon Lee and Matt Beech (eds.), The Conservatives under David Cameron: Built to Last?, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 2009), Ch. 2, p. 21
See Anthony Seldon and Peter Snowdon, ‘The barren years: 1997–2005’, cited in Stuart Ball and Anthony Seldon (eds.), Recovering Power: The Conservatives in Opposition Since 1867, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2005), Ch. 11
Nick Ellison, ‘The Conservative Party and public expenditure’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 2, p. 59
Andrew Rawnsley, The End of the Party: The Rise and Fall of New Labour, (Penguin, London, 2010), Ch. 35, p. 603
Stephen Driver, ‘“Fixing our broken society”: David Cameron’s Post-Thatcherite Social Policy’, cited in Simon Lee and Matt Beech (eds.), The Conservatives under David Cameron: Built to Last?, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 2009), Ch. 6, p. 95
Paul Pierson, Dismantling the Welfare State: Reagan, Thatcher and the Politics of Retrenchment, (Cambridge University Press, 1994), Introduction, page 1
Andrew Gamble, The Free Economy and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism, (Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2nd edn., 1994), Ch. 1, p. 21
Evidence of this can be seen in Kavanagh and Cowley’s analysis of Cameron’s new approach to policy after 2005: ‘Several internal party studies had demonstrated that many voters still viewed new Conservative policies and statements through the prism of the party’s unattractive brand… (and) that Thatcherism had concentrated too much on economy and wealth creation’. Dennis Kavanagh and Philip Cowley, The British General Election of 2010, (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2010), Ch. 4, p. 66–67
Nick Ellison, ‘The Conservative Party and public expenditure’, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), Ch. 2, p. 58
Nick Ellison, cited in Hugh Bochel (ed.), The Conservative Party and Social Policy, (The Policy Press, University of Bristol, 2011), p. 59
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Ben Williams
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Williams, B. (2015). The ‘New Right’ and its impact on Conservative social policy. In: The Evolution Of Conservative Party Social Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137445810_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137445810_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49587-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-44581-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political Science CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)