Choosing the Tory Leader: Conservative Party Leadership Elections from Heath to Cameron (International Library of Political Studies)

the Means By Which The Conservative Party Have Determined Their Party Leadership Have Produced Some Of The Most Dramatic Political Theatre Of The Last Four Decades. We Have Seen The Conservative Party's Increasing Inability, Especially In The Post-thatcher Era, To Agree On How To Select A Leader And, Once Selected, Whether That Person Should Remain As Leader. Here Timothy Heppell Observes How The Dominance Of Ideology Has Been Immensely Disadvantageous To Post-thatcherite Conservatism. Rather Than Empowering Incumbents To Project Their Leadership Credentials Outwards To The Electorate And Against Their Labour Counterpart, Successive Conservative Party Leaders Have Been Increasingly Forced To Look Inwards, Devoting Crucial Time To The Complexities Of Intra-party Management And The Threats Against Them From Rivals From Within The Parliamentary Party. integrating Debates On Leadership Election Rules With The Centrality Of Ideology And Pragmatism In Leadership Selection, 'choosing The Tory Leader' Gives A Comprehensive And Timely Examination Of Conservative Party Leadership Elections Since 1965. "The means by which the Conservative Party have determined their party leadership has produced some of the most dramatic political theatre of the last four decades. The disputed succession to Harold Macmillan and the discrediting of the magic circle, the procedural changes designed to evict Edward Heath, the brutal political assassination of Margaret Thatcher, the bizarre resignation and immediate re-election of John Major, the putsch against lain Duncan-Smith and the ritual acclamation of Michael Howard, only to have him replaced by the unexpected election of David Cameron have demonstrated the capacity of the Conservatives for political intrigue.In this new evaluation Timothy Heppell assesses the way in which the Conservative Party have determined their leadership since the 1960s. By considering the events that led to each leadership election, the candidates standing and their campaigning strategies, he explains how and why respective victors were elected. He argues the Conservatives have been maladroit when constructing their electoral procedures, they have returned unexpected party leaders, many of whom were to suffer from crises of legitimacy and accusations that they were default leaders. He observes how the dominance of ideology, as a destabilising influence on incumbents and a voting determinant in leadership elections, has been immensely disadvantageous to post-Thatcherite Conservatism.Rather than empowering incumbents to project their leadership credentials outwards to the electorate and against their Labour counterpart, successive post-Thatcherite Conservative party leaders have been forced to look inwards, devoting crucial time to the complexities of intra-party management and the threats against them from rivals from within the parliamentary party. Heppell concludes by asking whether the undisputed mandate and ideological pragmatism of David Cameron indicates that the Conservatives are learning from these mistakes in their own recent past."--Bloomsbury Publishing. The means by which the Conservative Party have determined their party leadership have produced some of the most dramatic political theatre of the last four decades. We have seen the Conservative Party's increasing inability, especially in the post-Thatcher era, to agree on how to select a leader and, once selected, whether that person should remain as leader. Here Timothy Heppell observes how the dominance of ideology has been immensely disadvantageous to post-Thatcherite Conservatism. Rather than empowering incumbents to project their leadership credentials outwards to the electorate and against their Labour counterpart, successive Conservative party leaders have been increasingly forced to look inwards, devoting crucial time to the complexities of intra-party management and the threats against them from rivals from within the parliamentary party. Integrating debates on leadership election rules with the centrality of ideology and pragmatism in leadership selection, 'Choosing the Tory Leader' gives a comprehensive and timely examination of Conservative Party leadership elections since 1965. Contents......Page 6 List of Tables......Page 9 Preface by Professor Andrew Taylor......Page 14 1. Introduction......Page 16 2. The War of the Macmillan Succession: The Catalyst for Electing the Party Leader......Page 28 3. Edward Heath: The First Democratic Leader of the Conservative Party......Page 48 4. The Peasants Revolt? The Election of Margaret Thatcher......Page 66 5. Treachery with a Smile on its Face: The Downfall of Margaret Thatcher......Page 86 6. Put Up or Shut Up: John Redwood Challenges John Major......Page 110 7. You Cannot Be Serious: The Election of William Hague......Page 130 8. The Quiet Man Emerges: The Election of Iain Duncan Smith......Page 146 9. Back to the Future: Michael Howard becomes Conservative Party Leader......Page 170 10. The Triumph of the Modernizers: The Election of David Cameron......Page 186 11. Conclusion......Page 210 12. Notes......Page 226 Appendix......Page 252 Bibliography......Page 256 Index......Page 266