Conservative Party

Latest news on the Conservative Party, the current governing political party in the UK, also known as the Tory Party, or simply the Conservatives.

The Conservatives are often said to sit on the centre-right of the political spectrum, and have been in government on many occasions since being formed in 1834.

The Conservative Party won the 2019 general election with Boris Johnson as leader, claiming an overall majority in the House of Commons. In 2022 Johnson was forced to stand down following a rebellion in the party, and was succeeded as leader and prime minister by Liz Truss. She announced her resignation on 20 October 2022 and was replaced by Rishi Sunak after she only lasted 50 days as PM.

The Conservatives have been in power since the 2010 election, which led to a Tory government via a coalition agreement with the Liberal Democrats. This ended 13 years of Labour governing, following successive Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997.

The Conservative Party has generally adopted liberal economic policies favouring free markets, including deregulation, privatisation, and marketisation, since the 1980s, although historically it advocated for protectionism. The party is British unionist, opposing a united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independence, and has been critical of devolution.

The United Kingdom held a referendum on whether to leave the European Union, and subsequently left the EU, under Conservative governments.