One Nation, One Nation Conservatism, or Tory Democracy is a term used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to one wing of the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ...

The term denotes a political stance aspiring towards unity of the citizenry in the nation, as well as harmony between divergent classes and interest groups, as opposed to the societal polarization seen through the class warfare of old Labour's militant socialism, or of Margaret Thatcher free-market economic reforms. Harold Macmillan, British prime minister from 1957 to 1963, and his rival Rab Butler, were leading figures of One Nation Conservatism in the 1950s and 1960s. Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG, CH, PC, DL (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), who invariably signed his name R. A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician. ...

The term derives indirectly from one of Benjamin Disraeli's political novels, Sybil, or the Two Nations, in which he described Britain as "Two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets: the rich and the poor." Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (December 21, 1804 - April 24, British Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and author. ... Sybil, or The Two Nations Published in the same year as Frederick Engelss The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Sybil (1845) traces the plight of the working classes of England. ...

Lord Randolph Churchill would also use the term "Tory Democracy" in this Disraelian sense in the late-Victorian era. Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British statesman. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian Era of Great Britain marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...

One Nation Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher

One Nation Conservatism fell into disfavour in the mid 1970s. The rising generation of Conservative politicians, represented by such figures as Margaret Thatcher, Keith Joseph, and John Nott, felt that the old model of One-Nation Tory paternalism, as practised by Harold Macmillan and Ted Heath, had, by 1979, failed. Its political failure had been evident in the Conservative's losing four out of the past five general elections, and its socio-economic failure was manifest in the high unemployment, galloping inflation, and crushing tax burdens existing in the UK of the 1970s. The new breed (referred to as the "dries", as opposed to the One Nation "wets") believed that One Nation Conservatism had been mistaken in not challenging the post-World War II welfare-state consensus, and that a radical new approach to governing was necessary if the United Kingdom was to ever break out of the pattern of decline that had come to a head in the 1979 Winter of Discontent. Unsurprisingly, One Nation Conservatives (e.g. Ted Heath) were often the most vocal critics of Thatcher's policies within the British Conservative Party. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG OM FRS PC (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ... Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, 2nd Bt. ... The Right Honourable Sir John William Frederic Nott (born February 1, 1932 in Bideford, Devon) was a British Conservative Party politician prominent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... You might be looking for: Edward Heath (1916–2005) — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... The Winter of Discontent is a nickname given to the British winter of 1978–79, during which there were widespread strikes by Trade unions demanding larger pay rises for their members. ...

In his 2000 Macmillan Lecture, the Conservative front-bencher Damian Green MP asked "Who Needs One Nation Conservatism?" He answered: "My answer to the question posed tonight, 'Who needs One Nation Conservatism?' is first the Conservative Party, and secondly the British people. The current public debate on this topic is most peculiar. Many of those who for years have led the forces of One Nation Conservatism are now excoriated as dinosaurs by certain commentators. At the same time the One Nation label has never been so much in demand. Tony Blair wastes no opportunity to try on, at least in his rhetoric, this comfortable old Tory garment. Rather more convincing is the Conservative Party's former leader William Hague, who on 26 January 2001 said, 'The Conservative Party I feel at home in is the party of One Nation reflecting the whole nation'." Damian Howard Green (born January 17, 1956) is an English Conservative Party (UK) politician, and Member of Parliament for Ashford (UK Parliament constituency) in Kent. ... Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953)[1], known as Tony Blair, is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the UK Labour Party, and Member of the UK Parliament for the constituency of Sedgefield in North... This article is about the British politician William Hague; there is also a fictional character in sci-fi series Babylon 5 known as General William Hague. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

As this quotation illustrates, many Conservatives (such as William Hague) have tried since their electoral defeat in 1997 to reclaim the "One Nation" ideal for their party, but have until recently found their way blocked by Tony Blair's New Labour Third Way agenda. David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader since 2005, appears early on to be having more success than his recent predecessors in recapturing the support of the British electorate. New Labour is an alternative name of the British political Labour Party. ... Third way can refer to: The Third Way, an economic and political idea that positions itself between democratic socialism and laissez-faire capitalism, combining the ordoliberal social market with neo-liberalism. ... David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician, Leader of the Conservative Party, and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. ...

Canada

Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, was heavily influenced by the ideals of the One Nation movement. Gad Horowitz would trace the ideological development in Canada, and would coin the term Red Tory to describe it. Canandian philosopher George Grant stated that, "One cannot understand the Conservatism of Canada without thinking of Disraeli." Stephen Harper is the current Prime Minister of Canada. ... 70. ... Gad Horowitz (b. ... The Red Tory Tradition: Ancient Roots-New Routes, by Ron Dart Red Tory is a term given to a political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada. ... The George Grant Reader. ...

"One Nation" was also used in the Progressive Conservative Party in opposition to the proposed deux nations policy. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC) (In French: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a Canadian centre-right conservative political party that existed from 1867 to 2003. ...

References: Canada section

• Grant, George, Globe and Mail, Saturday May 8, 1982, pg 15

External links

• For One Nation, then and now (Tory Reform Group website)
• Who needs One Nation Conservatism? Macmillan Lecture by Damian Green MP