Boris Johnson and beyond: the revival of One
Nation Conservatism?

Hickson, K; Williams, B

Abstract

The election of Boris Johnson with a substantial parliamentary majority in December 2019 featured the Conservative Party gaining a large number of previously safe Labour seats located in
poorer, post-industrial areas (the so-called “Red Wall”). This specific electoral context, together with the stated aim of “levelling up” and the increased role for the central state necessitated by
the Covid pandemic, created the opportunity for an ideological shift within the Conservative Party from Thatcherism to a revived form of One Nation Conservatism. However, the subsequent leadership contest of 2022 and Liz Truss’s disastrous attempt to revive economic liberalism has revealed the extent to which this was not achieved. The extent to which Johnson can be defined as a One Nation Conservative or be said to have left behind a One Nation legacy are evaluated in this article.

Citation

Nation Conservatism?

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 27, 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 1, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 1, 2023
• Journal: French Journal of British Studies
• Print ISSN: 2429-4373
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 255-267
• Keywords: Boris Johnson, Conservatism, Conservative Party, One Nation
• Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.4000/rfcb.10621