CONSERVATIVE PARTY

byname Tories in the United Kingdom, a political party whose guiding principles include the promotion of private property and enterprise, the maintenance of a strong military, and the preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. Since World War I the Conservative Party and its principal opponent, the Labour Party, have dominated British political life. Professor the Lord Norton of Louth Paul David Webb Additional reading Useful historical overviews can be found in Robert Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Major, rev. ed. (1997); and John Ramsden, An Appetite for Power (1998). A good introductory text covering the history, philosophy, organization, and policies of the party is Philip Norton (ed.), The Conservative Party (1996). Conservative Party history since World War II is discussed in Stuart Ball (ed.), The Conservative Party Since 1945 (1998). An impressively detailed collection of essays on most aspects of the party's history is provided by Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball (eds.), Conservative Century: The Conservative Party Since 1900 (1994), which includes a valuable and lengthy bibliographic essay. Professor the Lord Norton of Louth