Are The Conservatives Still True To Its Roots?

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To what extent is the Conservative Party still true to its traditional roots? (25 marks) Conservatives are seen to be pragmatic. That is, while ideologues are people who dream about a future when life will be transformed, conservatives look at the concrete facts of any given situation. For conservatism, some argue, politics is about taking decisions that are best under the circumstances rather than hoping for perfection. Conservatives are also known for their understanding of human nature; they warn that human beings are very difficult to predict, they are creatures of passion as well as reason. Other beliefs held by conservatives are: tradition and preservation, one nation, nation state, individuality and property and wealth. I personally believe that the current Conservative Party, under the leadership of David Cameron, is quite true to its traditional roots. A value which I think the modern Conservative Party still adheres to is one nation. This is the belief that although individuals and families chase their own goals, people have a responsibility to society as a whole (not vandalising etc). Former leader Disraeli understood that Conservatives needed to appeal to all of society not just those who owned property. Thatcher encouraged the mass public to look after their area by letting people buy their council houses, by owning part of these houses then people would want to look after the area more. Cameron has rebranded one nation as the ‘Big Society’ and after the recent riots in cities across England Cameron told the press and parliament that we had to get back to the ‘Big Society’ and core family values if we did not want this to happen again. Margaret Thatcher’s policy on council housing also adhered to the ideology of property and wealth. If an individual has property then naturally they would want to protect it and make it a nice place to be around.
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