Conservative Party
Conservative Party (officially Conservative and Unionist Party) Oldest political party in Britain. Its origins lie in the transformation of the early 19th-century Tory Party into the Conservative Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s. Until the late 19th century, it was mainly a party of landed interests, electorally dependent on the county constituencies. After the Reform Act (1867) and the establishment of a Central Office in 1870, the urban and commercial element in the party increased. In 1886, the split in the Liberal Party over Irish home rule brought Liberal Unionists into the party. It was in power for 31 of the 71 years between 1834 and 1905, and for most of the 1920s and 1930s – either alone or in coalition. It held office in 1951–64 and 1970–74. In 1979, the party swung to the right under the leadership (1975–90) of Margaret Thatcher. With the support of traditional Labour Party voters, it was able (under Thatcher and John Major) to win four consecutive elections. Following electoral defeat in 1997, William Hague became the youngest leader of the party since William Pitt (the Younger). Ian Duncan Smith succeeded Hague after a further electoral defeat in 2001.
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Conservative Party