Essay on The Conservative Party of Britain

Submitted By Mariobenitorojas
Words: 1084
Pages: 5

The Conservative Party of Britain Britain, as all other countries have gone through an immense change over time. This change does not limit itself in any aspect but the main focus is politics. Today it is taken for granted that Britain is a monarchy. So many people have become so accustomed to this that there seems no other way for this country to exist. The monarch today is accepted as merely a figure head, granted she has some powers. It was not like this though; there was a time when the monarch ruled supreme. There was a time before political parties. In order to find the origin of political parties, one must go back a long time. The trip starts with James II. By this time, the king had been losing some power to Parliament little by little in order to pay off debts and other things such as this. At the time of his death trouble came to Parliament. His death would be followed by religious and constitutional conflicts. It would escalate to the point where two opposing sides formed, the Royalists and the Parliamentary.
The Royalists, or Court, were also named Tories (an Irish brigand). This name fit due to the fact that the king’s followers were willing to use Irish troops to secure the succession of James II. Parliamentary, or Court, were given the name Whigs, a shortening of Whiggamores (a Scottish Presbyterian rebel). These names would stick and are even used today from time to time. This was the first of many arguments that would serve to split the Parliament into political parties. Many reform acts, laws, and bills would affect the Tory party but the name would not happen until much later. That change from the Tory Party to the Conservative Party would come in the late 19th century and early 20th century. With the emergence of political parties, people’s opinions were skewed. Some were completely in favor of them and believed they were for the best. Others believed that parties were nothing but bad ideas. These people felt that an individual’s voice would not be heard in the party. Rather, the voice of the party leader would over power it. Also, the fear that Members of Parliament would be too controlled scared some. The fear was that the parties would have power over the Members and therefore influence his or her decision. This was due to the fact that Members of Parliament were seen as wise and just; the parties would interfere with each Member’s wisdom and clear judgment. All of these fears would eventually be put at ease as the parties came for very important reasons. In the 1880’s spending limits were placed at elections, so parties formed to persuade, rather than bribe, supporters. Parties also served to distributed propaganda to a new wave of literate people in Britain. It was always felt that there needed to be a tool in place to hold Members of Parliament accountable and political parties served as this.
Most importantly was the fact that all parties formed for electoral purposes. Every political party has certain standards; they may even be called guidelines. The Conservative Party is no exception to this. First, it is very important to know who typically supports the party. Big businesses are the main supporters due to the fact that this party favors business interests. This could be paralleled to the Republican Party in the United States of America. This party is definitely one of the most capitalist of all and, possibly by coincidence, is one of the two major parties. There are also some pillars Conservatives believe in. Support of education, family, and religion is the first of these. Second, when society is operating correctly, it is a union of all the citizens and each has a moral obligation to his or her neighbor. Included in this is national unity. The third pillar is that no everyone was created equal. Some people are born into a better situation than others. It is imperative that those who do have more help those who do not; the haves must help the have-nots. Fourth, the party’s theory of