With the emphasis on loyalty and unity and an aversion to ideological disputation the Parliamentary Conservative Party (PCP) has traditionally been described as a party of tendencies, rather than factions. The Cowley and Norton study of the ideological and factional basis of rebellion argues that the 1992–97 PCP adhered to the party of tendencies definition. However, through the development of a new three-dimensional, eight-fold typology of Conservatism, that involves behavioural and attitudinal mapping, it can be demonstrated that between 1992 and 1997 the PCP did display evidence of factionalism.
References
1.
AdamsI. (1998) Ideology and Politics in Britain Today (Manchester: Manchester University Press).
2.
BakerD.GambleA.LudlamS. (1993) ‘1846 … 1906 … 1996? Conservative splits and European integration’, Political Quarterly, 64, 420–434.
3.
BakerD.GambleA.LudlamS. (1994) ‘Mapping Conservative fault lines: Problems of typology’, in DunleavyP.StaynerG. (eds), Contemporary Political Studies 1994. (Exeter: University of Exeter Press).
4.
BakerD.SeawrightD. (eds) (1998) Britain for or against Europe: British Politics and the Question of European Integration (Oxford: Clarendon).
5.
BarnesJ. (1993) ‘Ideology and faction’, in SeldonA.BallS. (eds), Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
6.
BulpittJ. (1992) ‘Conservative leadership and the Euro-ratchet’, Political Quarterly, 63, 258–277.
7.
CowleyP. (1996) ‘How did he do that? The second round of the 1990 Conservative Leadership Election’, in BroughtonD. (ed.), British Election and Parties Yearbook, 1996. (London: Frank Cass).
8.
CowleyP.NortonP. (1996) Are Conservative MPs revolting? Dissension by Government MPs in the British House of Commons 1979–1996 (Hull: Centre for Legislative Studies).
9.
CowleyP.GarryJ. (1998) ‘The British Conservative Party and Europe: The choosing of John Major’, British Journal of Political Science, 28, 473–499.
10.
CowleyP.NortonP. (1999) ‘Rebels and rebellions: Conservative MPs in the 1992 Parliament’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 1, 84–105.
11.
CoxallW.RobinsL. (1994) Contemporary British Politics (London: Macmillan).
12.
DunleavyP. (1993) ‘The political parties’ in DunleavyP. (eds), Developments in British Politics 4. (London: Macmillan).
13.
GambleA. (1996a) ‘An ideological party’ in LudlamS.SmithM. 9eds), Contemporary British Conservatism. (London: Macmillan).
14.
GambleA. (1996b) ‘The party and economic policy’, in NortonP. (ed.), The Conservative Party. (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf).
15.
GarryJ. (1995) ‘The British Conservative Party: Divisions over European policy’, West European Politics, 18, 170–189.
16.
GormanT. (1993) The Bastards: Dirty Tricks and the Challenge to Europe (London: Pan).
17.
HagueR.BerringtonH. (1998) ‘Europe, Thatcherism and Traditionalism: Opinion, Rebellion and the Maastricht Treaty in the backbench Conservative Party’, in BerringtonH. (ed.), The Politics of Paradox. (London: Frank Cass).
18.
LudlamS. (1996) ‘The sceptre haunting Conservatism: Europe and backbench rebellion’ in LudlamS.SmithM. (eds), Contemporary British Conservatism. (London: Macmillan).
19.
LudlamS.SmithM. (1996) Contemporary British Conservatism (London: Macmillan).
20.
McKieD. (1994) The Guardian Political Almanac 1994–95 (London: Fourth Estate).
21.
MajorJ. (1999) The Autobiography (London: Harper Collins).
22.
MorrisP. (1996) ‘The Conservative Party and British politics’, in GaffneyJ. (ed.), Political Parties and the European Union. (London: Routledge).
23.
NortonP.AugheyA. (1981) Conservatives and Conservatism (London: Temple Smith).
24.
NortonP. (1990), ‘The lady's not for turning but what about the rest’ Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party 1979–1989’, Parliamentary Affairs, 43, 41–58.
25.
NortonP. (1996) ‘Factions and tendencies in the Conservative Party’ in MargettsH.SmythG. (eds), Turning Japanese? Britain with a Permanent Party of Government. (London: Lawrence and Wishart).
26.
NortonP. (1998) ‘The Conservative Party: In office but not in power’, in KingA. (eds), New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls. (Chatham NJ: Chatham House).
27.
PeeleG. (1997) ‘The political parties’ in DunleavyP. (eds), Developments in British Politics 5. (London: Sphere).
28.
ReadM.MarshD. (1997), ‘The Family Law Bill: Conservative Party splits and Labour Party cohesion’, Parliamentary Affairs, 50, 263–279.
29.
RoseR. (1964) ‘Parties, factions and tendencies in Britain’, Political Studies, 12, 33–46.
30.
WebbP. (1997) ‘Attitudinal clustering within British parliamentary elites: Patterns of intra-party and cross-party alignments’, West European Politics, 20, 89–110.
