There are numerous reasons why Conservatives have supported One Nation principles, with the tradition dating back to early Conservative philosophy in the 19th century. Whether back then or today, the principle aim is to ensure national unity and stability, by ensuring all are, and all feel included in society and thus do not feel a need to 'rise up' or revolt. In the 19th century, One Nation Conservative, and Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli was desperate to ensure the working class felt included in society, and did not feel the need to rise up and overthrow the state, as was being said by Karl Marx in the 1848 Communist Manifesto. Disraeli demonstrated this with the quote "when the cottages are happy, the castle is safe", showing a commitment to 'one' society, and that if the less well off were kept happy, there would be no revolution. He followed this through with the 1867 Great Reform Act - extending the franchise to some working people, again to give them the feeling of being part of society and ensuring there was 'One Nation'.In modern times, Conservatives have demonstrated very similar ideals, just with slightly different examples. The working class/less well off were not going to revolt, but some Conservatives feel it is essential to relate to those less fortunate to ensure political support at elections, given universal franchise. In the Thatcher era, Ken Clarke made clear his fears Neo-liberalism was dividing the nation into two with the 'have and have-nots', as a result of the extreme rolling back of the state by Mrs Thatcher. More recently, both current and previous Conservative Prime Ministers have demonstrated one nation principles. David Cameron's 'Big Society Project' wanted to bring what was seen as a 'Broken Britain' into one-nation. Also, in Theresa May's Downing Street Speech in July 2016, she advocated a 'shared society' aimed at those "just about managing' (JAMs), again showing the intention of bringing society closer together, and helping those less fortunate. Therefore, there are clear examples, and clear reasons why senior Conservatives have supported One-Nation principles.
3598 Views
See similar Government and Politics A Level tutors