The ‘New Right’ and its legacy for British conservatism

Williams, B

Abstract

New Right theories have had a major impact on British politics since the emergence of Thatcherism and the end of the so-called ‘years of consensus’ in the mid-1970s. In radically rejecting the conventions of postwar politics in terms of the management of both economic and social policies, the ideas of the New Right initially came to significantly shape the policies of the Thatcher government (1979–90), and indeed have continued to wield influence over other administrations in subsequent years. However, to what degree this influence has been retained as we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century is a matter of conjecture, specifically in the wake of Conservative Party ‘modernization’, as well as the advent of major crises such as the 2007/8 economic crash and the Covid-19 pandemic. Within this context, this article seeks to assess and analyse the ongoing legacy of the New Right and its impact on British Conservatism over this sustained historical period.

Citation

Williams, B. (2021). The ‘New Right’ and its legacy for British conservatism. Journal of Political Ideologies, https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2021.1979139

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 26, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 16, 2021
• Publication Date: Sep 16, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 16, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Political Ideologies
• Print ISSN: 1356-9317
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9613
• Publisher: Routledge
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2021.1979139
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2021.1979139
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13569317.asp