Choosing the Tory Leader Conservative Party Leadership Elections from Heath to Cameron

by Heppell, Timothy

• ISBN13: 9781845114862
• ISBN10: 1845114868
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-15
• Publisher: Tauris Academic Studies

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Timothy Heppell is Senior Lecturer in British Politics at the University of Huddersfield.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. viii
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The War of the Macmillan Succession: The Catalyst for Electing the Party Leader	p. 13
The Resignation of Harold Macmillan	p. 16
The Lack of an Obviously Acceptable Successor	p. 18
Bias in the Customary Processes of Consultation?	p. 20
The Outmanoeuvring of R.A. Butler	p. 23
The Customary Processes in Disrepute: A Failure of Process and Outcome	p. 26
Conclusion	p. 29
Edward Heath: The First Democratic Leader of the Conservative Party	p. 33
The Resignation of Alec Douglas-Home	p. 34
Three Candidates Emerge	p. 37
How and why did Edward Heath Win?	p. 41
Conclusion	p. 49
The Peasants Revolt? The Election of Margaret Thatcher	p. 51
The Refusal of Edward Heath to Resign	p. 53
The Challenge of Margaret Thatcher	p. 58
The Ballots: Rejecting Edward Heath and Electing Margaret Thatcher	p. 61
Explaining the Election of Margaret Thatcher	p. 64
The Influence of Personality: The Anti-Heath Interpretation	p. 64
The Influence of Ideas: The Ideological Explanation	p. 66
Conclusion	p. 68
Treachery with a Smile on its Face: The Downfall of Margaret Thatcher	p. 71
The Lightweight Challenge of Anthony Meyer	p. 72
The Heavyweight Challenge of Michael Heseltine	p. 75
The Margaret Thatcher versus Michael Heseltine Ballot	p. 80
The Resignation of Margaret Thatcher	p. 83
The Default Victory of John Major	p. 85
Why Margaret Thatcher and Michael Heseltine Lost and John Major Triumphed	p. 88
Conclusion	p. 92
Put Up or Shut Up: John Redwood Challenges John Major	p. 95
The Multiple Crises of the Major Government	p. 96
The Critics of John Major: Bastards or Cowards?	p. 100
A Vote of Confidence?	p. 107
Conclusion	p. 113
You Cannot Be Serious: The Election of William Hague	p. 115
The Resignation of John Major	p. 116
Profiling the Multiple Candidates	p. 117
Evaluating the Multiple Ballots	p. 119
Identifying the Multiple Legitimacy Problems of William Hague	p. 123
Conclusion	p. 127
The Quiet Man Emerges: The Election of Iain Duncan Smith	p. 131
The Resignation of William Hague	p. 132
New Leadership Election, New Leadership Election Procedures	p. 136
The Candidates: Two Heavyweights and Three Lightweights	p. 137
The Parliamentary Ballots	p. 141
The Party Membership Ballot	p. 145
A Failure of Process and a Flawed Outcome	p. 147
Conclusion	p. 152
Back to the Future: Michael Howard becomes Conservative Party Leader	p. 155
The Credibility Gap: The Limitations of Iain Duncan Smith	p. 156
The Procedural Dilemma	p. 162
The Brutal Execution	p. 165
The Unopposed Coronation	p. 167
Conclusion	p. 169
The Triumph of the Modernizers: The Election of David Cameron	p. 171
The Prolonged Resignation of Michael Howard	p. 174
Four Candidates Emerge	p. 177
The Parliamentary Ballots	p. 180
The Party Membership Ballot	p. 184
Explaining the Modernizers Triumph	p. 188
Conclusion	p. 192
Conclusion	p. 195
Notes	p. 211
Appendix	p. 237
Bibliography	p. 241
Index	p. 251
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.