I like
Webster's decision to call the
Conservative Party '
English History' rather than '
British Politics'. :-)
The Conservative party is the mainstream right-wing party of British politics. They ran the country for eighteen years, from 1979 to 1997, under
Margaret Thatcher and
John Major. The current leader (May 2001) is
William Hague, but he may not retain the position if he suffers a crushing defeat in the forthcoming election. The Conservatives are traditionally a pro-capitalist party, garnering support from big business and successful executives.
They are sometimes alluded to as the
Tory party, which was an earlier movement from which they grew.