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 publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978-1-349-33952-5 ISBN 978-0-230-36748-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230367487 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne 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.