1 - Introduction: The Conservative governments from Cameron to Sunak (2015– 23)

Summary

Introduction

This book considers the evolution of the Conservative Party's social policies following the 2015 general election. The period from 2015 was remarkable in a number of respects, including the Brexit process, the COVID-19 pandemic and the turnover of prime ministers, each of which had implications for the development and implementation of social policies. The 2015 election led to a Conservative government with a narrow majority in the House of Commons, and this was followed by another general election in 2017, when the Conservatives lost their majority, and subsequently by the 2019 general election, which resulted in a substantial Conservative majority of 80 seats. However, those Conservative governments were subject to significant new influences over which they had only limited control, with many of the consequences of the Brexit referendum and the COVID-19 pandemic being notable examples, while other key developments, such as ‘austerity’ and attempts at ‘levelling up’, were much more clearly driven by decisions within the Conservative Party and governments themselves. One of the ramifications of these developments was that the Conservative Party had five leaders (and the UK, five prime ministers) within seven years, with equally rapid turnover in many Cabinet positions, and each individual arguably had different preferences that would be expected to influence the shape of social policy, as is discussed later.

This chapter seeks to provide the context, and to some extent a framework, for the chapters that follow, through:

• • briefly considering the main features of policy and underlying themes in the social policies of the Conservative governments from 2015;

• • examining the extent to which the Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak administrations of 2015 onwards had similar approaches to social policy compared with each other, and with their immediate predecessor, the Coalition government;

• • outlining the major influences on Conservative policy during the period, including in relation to both key philosophical positions and the impact of events; and

• • considering the implications of developments under the Conservatives for social policy in the UK in the post-Brexit and COVID-19 era.