Book contents
- Popular Conservatism and the Culture of National Government in Inter-War Britain
- Popular Conservatism and the Culture of National Government in Inter-War Britain
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 The National Government and Interwar Conservatism: The Historical Task
- Part I Rethinking Interwar Conservatism
- 2 Local Politics and the Limits of Baldwinite Conservatism, 1918–1931
- 3 Conservatives and the Politics of National Recovery, 1931–1937
- Part II Popular Conservatism and the National Government
- Part III Reputations of Government
- Appendix Parties’ Share of the Vote in the Constituency Case-Study Areas, 1918–1945
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Local Politics and the Limits of Baldwinite Conservatism, 1918–1931
from Part I - Rethinking Interwar Conservatism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2020
- Popular Conservatism and the Culture of National Government in Inter-War Britain
- Popular Conservatism and the Culture of National Government in Inter-War Britain
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 The National Government and Interwar Conservatism: The Historical Task
- Part I Rethinking Interwar Conservatism
- 2 Local Politics and the Limits of Baldwinite Conservatism, 1918–1931
- 3 Conservatives and the Politics of National Recovery, 1931–1937
- Part II Popular Conservatism and the National Government
- Part III Reputations of Government
- Appendix Parties’ Share of the Vote in the Constituency Case-Study Areas, 1918–1945
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Existing accounts of how the Conservative party responded to the challenges of mass democracy after 1918 draw heavily on Stanley Baldwin’s leadership. Chapter 2 explores how local Conservative parties related to this Baldwinite public appeal, which was created in their party’s name using the latest mass-media technology but which they often found at odds with their own conception of popular Conservatism. It considers how activists sought to rehabilitate a ‘politics of place’ after 1918, shaping their own policy appeals, choice of language and public identity according to local political traditions and the perceived interests of the local electorate. It argues that the Conservatives’ experience of the 1920s was therefore marked by an uneasy asymmetry of appeals at national and local levels and highlights the mixed reception and doubts about the effectiveness of Baldwinite Conservatism. In doing so, it brings to the fore the attitudes with which Conservative activists approached the formation of the National Government in 1931.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020