Blue Collar Conservative Caucus | |
|---|---|
| President | Esther McVey |
| Chairperson | Ben Bradley |
| Founded | 2012 by Esther McVey |
| Ideology | Conservatism Right-wing populism Social conservatism Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| National affiliation | Conservative Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| House of Commons (Conservative seats) | 130 / 345 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Blue Collar Conservatives are a pressure group and caucus of Conservative Party Members of Parliament who identify as working class conservatives. It was founded in 2012 by former cabinet minister Esther McVey and a former conservative parliamentary candidate for Workington and Fujitsu UK’s head of corporate affairs, Clark Vasey. [1] [2] [3] It was relaunched at the beginning of the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election by Esther McVey, Ben Bradley, the MP for Mansfield since 2017, and Scott Mann, the MP for North Cornwall since 2015. The relaunch was reported to have rivalled the recent establishment of the One Nation Conservatives. [4]
As a group, they aim to "champion working people and develop a conservative agenda to benefit the voters and communities most neglected by Labour". In the weeks prior to becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said, "the blue-collar conservatism agenda – particularly in relation to supporting schools, police and other public services [...] is something I've already signalled I want to take forward in government." [5] The New Statesman has described the caucus as an influential grouping within the parliamentary party. [6]
In October 2022, Esther McVey stood down as chair and was replaced by Lee Anderson.[ citation needed ]
The group focus their campaigning on empowering blue-collar workers and other working-class people. They have also campaigned on Brexit, public services, Education in the United Kingdom and law enforcement. [7] The values of the caucus focus on "Conservative Values, Practical Delivery" and were attributed to the result of the 2019 general election, where the Conservatives won many seats in the "Red wall". [8] [9]
Many in the caucus have supported cancelling High Speed 2. [10] [11]
According to the group's website; the members/supporters of the caucus include: [12]
Since its relaunch, the group travelled to pubs across the country holding open events called 'Blue Collar Conversations' in which UK cabinet ministers and MPs discussed ideas and policies in an informal setting with members of the public. Speaking at one of those events, a member of the group is reported to have said: "The party needs to adopt the blue-collar Conservatism approach – travel to pubs across the country and reach out to the people… a pub-ocracy!" [13]
The group then launched a weekly podcast of the same name. The podcast is described as "a space to champion working people". New episodes are released every Sunday and cover a range of topical issues, from crime and justice to care homes and football, and the cosmetic industry to education. The podcast is hosted by Esther McVey and guests have included Nick Knowles, Ching He Huang, Toby Young, Linda Yueh, Tom Harwood, Chris Wright, Mark Radcliffe and Bradford City A.F.C.; however, the podcast prides itself on also providing a platform for everyday working people. [14]
One-nation conservatism, also known as one-nationism or Tory democracy, is a paternalistic form of British political conservatism. It advocates the preservation of established institutions and traditional principles within a political democracy, in combination with social and economic programmes designed to benefit the ordinary person. According to this political philosophy, society should be allowed to develop in an organic way, rather than being engineered. It argues that members of society have obligations towards each other and particularly emphasises paternalism, meaning that those who are privileged and wealthy should pass on their benefits. It argues that this elite should work to reconcile the interests of all social classes, including labour and management, rather than identifying the good of society solely with the interests of the business class.
Sir Gary Nicholas Streeter is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Since 1997 he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Devon, previously holding the nearby seat of Plymouth Sutton between 1992 and 1997. Since the convening of the Fifty-fifth Parliament, Streeter has been the longest currently serving MP representing a constituency in the county of Devon.
Sir Philip Andrew Davies is a British Conservative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley in West Yorkshire since the 2005 general election.
Esther Louise Mcvey, Lady Davies, is a British politician and television presenter serving as Minister of State without Portfolio since 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since the 2017 general election, having previously been the MP for Wirral West from 2010 to 2015. She previously served in cabinet as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2018 and Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2019 to 2020.
LGBT+ Conservatives is an organisation for LGBT conservatism in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated and is the official LGBT wing of the Conservative Party. The current advocacy group can trace its roots back to the Conservative Group for Homosexual Equality which was later renamed the Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality. The group was eventually disbanded and the new LGBTory group was formed, changing its name in 2016 to LGBT+ Conservatives.
Andrew Iain Lewer is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Northampton South since the 2017 general election. He has previously served as Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands from 2014 to 2017.
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Faversham and Mid Kent since 2015.
Maria Colette Caulfield is a British politician and nurse serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women's Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women since October 2022.
William Peter Wragg is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester since 2015. As a member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as a vice-chairman of its 1922 Committee. Since April 2024 he has sat as an Independent.
The 2019 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered when Theresa May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June and as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom once a successor had been elected. Nominations opened on 10 June; 10 candidates were nominated. The first ballot of members of Parliament (MPs) took place on 13 June, with exhaustive ballots of MPs also taking place on 18, 19 and 20 June, reducing the candidates to two. The general membership of the party elected the leader by postal ballot; the result was announced on 23 July, with Boris Johnson being elected with almost twice as many votes as his opponent Jeremy Hunt.
This is a list of endorsements for declared candidates for the 2019 leadership election for the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom.
On 3 September 2019, the British Conservative Party withdrew the whip from 21 of its MPs who had supported an emergency motion to allow the House of Commons to undertake proceedings on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on 4 September. In the hours after the vote, the Chief Whip Mark Spencer informed the rebel MPs that they were no longer entitled to sit as Conservatives. This led to the loss of the Conservative/DUP majority in the Commons.
The One Nation Conservatives is a UK parliamentary caucus of Conservative Party Members of Parliament who identify as one-nation conservatives.
Lee Anderson is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield since 2019. Elected as a member of the Conservative Party, he defected to Reform UK in March 2024 after having the whip suspended. He is Reform UK's first and only MP.
Sarah Elizabeth Dines is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Derbyshire Dales since the 2019 general election. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding from October 2022 to November 2023. She served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from September to October 2022.
Dehenna Sheridan Davison is a British Conservative Party politician and former broadcaster. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishop Auckland since the 2019 general election. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up between September 2022 and September 2023.
Anthony James Holland Mangnall, is a British Conservative Party politician, who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Totnes since 2019.
The Northern Research Group (NRG) is a group founded by a number of Conservative MPs in the United Kingdom who were elected to represent constituencies in northern England, Wales and the Scottish borders in the 2019 general election to pressure government for greater investment in the north. The group is chaired by Conservative Jake Berry, a former Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse, and is modelled on the European Research Group, a group of MPs dedicated to exiting the European Union. Other members include David Davis, Esther McVey, David Jones and David Mundell, who have also served as ministers in previous Conservative Governments. Gordon Rayner, of The Telegraph, has described the Northern Research Group as "a party within a party" and the "biggest threat to Boris Johnson's authority since he came to power". As of October 2020 the Northern Research Group had 55 members.
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following a series of political controversies.
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