Conservatism for the democratic age (EPUB) von David Thackeray

This book offers a new interpretation of the Conservative party’s revival and adaptation to democratic politics in the early twentieth century. New insights are provided into how the Conservatives met the challenges provided by class, gender and regional identities and the means by which the party adapted to innovations made by their opponents.

Introduction: Politics in a democratic ageEdwardian politics1. Responding to the Edwardian crisis of Unionism2. The working mans pint and the housewifes budget3. The challenge of class politics4. Cultures of UnionismThe First World War5. Rowdiness and respectability6. Labour, civic associations and the new democracy7. Country before partyFrom the Armistice to Baldwin8. The peaceable man and the prudent housewife9. The multiple identities of anti-socialism10. Baldwins party?ConclusionBiographical AppendixBibliography

This book offers a new interpretation of the Conservative partys revival and adaptation to democratic politics in the early twentieth century. We cannot appreciate the Conservatives unique success in British politics without exploring the dramatic cultural transformation which occurred within the party during the early decades of the century. This was a seminal period in which key features of the modern Conservative party emerged: a mass womens organisation, a focus on addressing the voter as a consumer, targeted electioneering strategies, and the use of modern media to speak to a mass audience.This book provides the first substantial attempt to assess the Conservatives adaptation to democracy across the early twentieth century from a cultural perspective and will appeal to academics and students with an interest in the history of political communication, gender and class in modern Britain.

David Thackeray is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Exeter