Tories

Tories
Name	Tories
Founded	17th century
Ideology	Conservatism
Country	United Kingdom; Canada; United States (historical)

Tories are political adherents historically associated with conservative, traditionalist, and royalist positions originating in the British Isles in the 17th century. The label has been applied to a variety of parties, factions, and movements in England, Scotland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, and colonial Thirteen Colonies contexts, influencing figures such as Robert Walpole, Benjamin Disraeli, Winston Churchill, John A. Macdonald, and Sir Robert Borden. The term has been invoked in relation to major institutions including the Parliament of England, Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the House of Commons of Canada.

Origins and Etymology

The term emerged during the Exclusion Crisis and the reign of Charles II of England and James II of England in the 1670s and 1680s, associated with supporters of the Stuart monarchy and opponents of the Whig Junto and the Exclusionists. Contemporary pamphlets and broadsides referenced events such as the Popish Plot and debates around the Glorious Revolution of 1688, connecting partisan lines to actors like Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. Etymological accounts trace the label to Irish Gaelic roots and to pejorative usage in pamphleteering tied to episodes such as the Williamite War in Ireland and controversies involving the Test Acts.

Historical Development

In late 17th- and 18th-century Great Britain, adherents aligned with royal prerogative and the Anglican establishment during crises including the Jacobite risings and the Act of Union 1707. The 18th century saw figures like William Pitt the Younger and Henry Addington associated with alternating coalition arrangements in the Parliament of Great Britain. By the 19th century the label came to denote organized party structures under leaders such as Benjamin Disraeli and institutions like the Conservative Party (UK), responding to events including the Reform Act 1832, the Corn Laws debates, and the Second Reform Act. In colonial settings, conservative currents shaped governance in Upper Canada and later Canada West, producing leaders like John A. Macdonald who navigated issues from the British North America Act, 1867 to the North-West Rebellion. In the United States, the term appeared in Revolutionary-era polemics and Loyalist alignments tied to the American Revolutionary War and figures such as Lord Cornwallis.

Political Ideology and Principles

Historically conservative principles associated with the label emphasized allegiance to monarchy, the established Church of England, landed interests, and gradualism in response to social and economic change. Key policy debates engaged with the Poor Laws, tariff policy exemplified by the Corn Laws, and administrative reforms such as the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Intellectual patrons included thinkers in the tradition surrounding Edmund Burke, whose reactions to the French Revolution informed parliamentary strategy. Colonial and dominion variations balanced imperial loyalty with local governance challenges during crises like the Irish Home Rule debates and constitutional episodes such as the Statute of Westminster 1931.

Major Parties and Factions

In Britain, organized successors included the Conservative Party (UK), with internal currents represented by figures such as Benjamin Disraeli and Arthur Balfour, and later divides between One Nation Conservatism proponents and Thatcherism adherents like Margaret Thatcher. Scottish and Welsh conservative groupings intersected with regional institutions including the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. In Canada, conservative formations coalesced into the Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), later the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the modern Conservative Party of Canada (federal), with provincial counterparts like the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. Global imperial dimensions engaged parties in settler colonies, illustrated by alliances in Australia and New Zealand contexts, and interactions with Unionist currents in Northern Ireland politics, involving entities such as the Ulster Unionist Party.

Key Figures and Leadership

Prominent leaders historically associated with the conservative tradition include British statesmen Robert Walpole, William Pitt the Younger, Benjamin Disraeli, Arthur Balfour, Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher; Canadian leaders include John A. Macdonald, Sir Robert Borden, and John Diefenbaker. Other notable personalities spanning military, legal, and intellectual spheres include Duke of Wellington, Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, A. J. Balfour, Stanley Baldwin, and colonial administrators such as Lord Durham. In modern party politics, figures like David Cameron, Theresa May, and Rishi Sunak represent later leadership iterations.

Electoral Performance and Influence

Electoral fortunes have fluctuated with landmark contests including the General election, 1868, the General election, 1906, the General election, 1945, and the General election, 2019 in the United Kingdom, as well as federal elections in Canada such as the 1921 Canadian federal election, the 1957 Canadian federal election, and the 2015 Canadian federal election. Influence extended through legislation and institutional reforms from the Reform Act 1867 to postwar welfare debates and neoliberal reforms in the late 20th century. Internationally, conservative-aligned governments shaped imperial policy during the Second Boer War and constitutional responses to crises such as the Suez Crisis.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques have focused on resistance to electoral expansion exemplified by opposition to the Reform Act 1832, positions on colonial governance during the Irish Famine, and debates over social policy in the wake of industrialization. Controversies include internal scandals and policy backlashes during periods like the Profumo affair, disputes over European Union relations culminating in the Brexit referendum, and accusations concerning social inequality in eras of market liberalization tied to Thatcherism. Imperial-era policies prompted enduring disputes around issues such as home rule for Ireland and responses to settler–indigenous relations in dominions including Canada and Australia.

Category:Conservatism Category:Political movements