The Bottom Line is Winning Elections

The Conservative party has been labelled, and occasionally styles itself, as the most successful political organisation in the democratic world. For well over a century, it has been phenomenally effective at reinventing itself and, arguably in consequence, winning elections. This lecture digs into the party’s past – examining its grassroots as well as its leadership – to highlight some of the reasons for its past success. Moreover, at a time when its animating ideas appear under sustained attack, it may perhaps reveal a few lessons for the party in its hazardous present