Disclaimer – I would consider myself a left-wing moderate and pragmatist. While I will try to be objective and impartial one must always bear that in mind when reading further. My bias may subconsciously select words for me.
It is quite apparent to me, from my years in education, that the majority of people do not have a clue as to what the political parties stand for. Their philosophy has become shrouded in obfuscation. All the politicians are interested in is power and that means votes. In order to get elected they have to compromise and disguise their intent. That is politics.
I am attempting to state clearly, simply and objectively what the main parties stand for and where they came from.
The Conservative/Tory Party.
The Tory party is a centre-right party when had its origins in the 18th Century.
Back in the 18th Century hardly anyone had the vote. You had to own land in order to vote. Politics was dominated by the establishment of landowners/businessmen who organised the country for their own interests.
The Tories started out as a faction in the Whig party. They were supporters of William Pitt the Younger who became known as Tories (a derogatory term they adopted for themselves) circa 1812.
The Conservative term arose circa 1843 and is associated with Sir Robert Peel.
The Tory ethos is to maintain the establishment. It can be summed up as ‘God, King and Country’. As such they are opposed to radical liberalism and reform and are in favour of the Free Market Economy. They do not believe in intervention.
Tories believe in the paternal obligation of the Upper Classes to look after the interests of the Lower Classes.
They believe in giving tax cuts and restraining government spending.
They believe the money going to the wealthy will ‘trickle down’ to the poor.
They believe that if there are big profits there will be big investments which will create a thriving economy and ultimately everyone will benefit. The country will prosper.
Their premise is to support business through deregulation, privatisation and a flexible labour market.
Nb. No doubt my political friends of a right-wing bias will put me right on a few of my assertions!