To what extent has the Conservative party retained traditional conservative principles?

One way the party has retained conservative principles is through continued eurosceptism. Traditionally the party has been very euro-sceptic initially not wanting to join the EU and later having a party split on the idea of a EU currency, this trend has to some extent continued with Cameron who has on several occasions referred to the EU as the ‘European dictatorship’ and is often very critical of European parliament and recently vetoed a European treaty which caused fears amongst many members of parliament that it could force a breakaway from Europe all together. This shows the anti-europe feelings amongst camerons conservatives even though they are in a coalition with the pro Europe lib dems which would suggest the euro scepticism is lessened due to the lib dems presence so it would suggest that there is an even bigger euro scepticism amongst Camerons conservatives.

Another way the party has deviated from traditional conservative principles is through education. In contrast with the traditional elitist view on education by the conservatives, under Cameron there has been a strong emphasis on the idea that everybody should be able to go to uni if their ability allows them too, supporting labours policies on scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and also attempting to establish more apprentiship jobs and work experience jobs to encourage young people who perhaps wouldn’t go to university to learn skills that would provide a better future for them. However, the fact remains that the vast majority of Cameron’s conservatives graduated from private schools which does make the overview of the party seem very elitist but, its policies and support for scholarship programmes seem to challenge this idea and show that perhaps the conservative party has changed from that traditional view.

Another way the party has retained its traditional principles is the fact that the party is still very traditionalist. The conservative party has always been very traditionalist in its views and in many ways it still is today, little or no comment is made on social issues such as gay adoption, the party supports traditional institutions such as the house of lords and the electoral system, there is also a strong emphasis on the nuclear family (husband, wife, children). These make it seem that the party is still very much traditionalist in social senses and in the political system despite making the appearance of modernising through using websites and webcams to illustrate party policies. This shows a retention of the partys tradition.

Overall it can be seen whilst the party has changed in many ways with the times it doesn’t change the major fabric and machinery of the party and the party has stayed the same at heart despite several changes which could perhaps be seen due to Cameron’s beliefs himself rather than a party wide change i.e policies on the environment.