For other uses of the term One Nation, see One Nation (disambiguation)

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 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.

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."

Lord Randolph Churchill would also use the term "Tory Democracy" in this Disraelian sense in the late-Victorian era.

One Nation Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher

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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 practiced 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 U.K. 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 Kingsdom 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.

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'." 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.

Canada

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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."

"One Nation" was also used in the Progressive Conservative Party in opposition to the proposed deux nations policy.

References: Canada section

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

External links

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

UK Conservative Party