Wales is often considered to be one of the most anti-Conservative parts of Britain, with the party unable to connect with voters. The Conservative Party in Wales, 19451997 offers a more nuanced perspective as the first book-length study of Wales's second political party in the decades after the Second World War. From the places where Conservatism was often successful, the book questions why it failed to find any purchase in other parts of Wales, discussing how the party communicated its policies, who its candidates were, and how the party deliberately crafted specific policies 'for the nation'
from introducing the first Minister for Welsh Affairs to making Welsh a compulsory subject in schools. Adopting an holistic approach to the party, the book scrutinises activists and prominent Tories at the grassroots, asking what they reveal about understudied aspects of Welsh history, particularly the lives of the Anglicised and socially conservative middle class.
By:
Sam Blaxland
Imprint: University of Wales Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 138mm,
Spine: 17mm
ISBN: 9781837720811
ISBN 10: 1837720819
Series: Studies in Welsh History
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 05 July 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: No Longer Our Product
Preface and acknowledgements List of figures List of tables Abbreviations Note on terms and place names Note on interviews and oral contributions Introduction Chapter One: Defeat and the Response to Labour, 1945–1951 Chapter Two: Affluence and a Changing Wales, 1951–1964 Chapter Three: Modernity and Localism: 1964–1975 Chapter Four: Thatcherism and its Legacy, 1975–1997 Conclusion Bibliography
Sam Blaxland is a postdoctoral fellow and tutor in modern history at Swansea University in Wales.
Reviews for The Conservative Party in Wales, 1945-1997
""Drawing on Conservative Party archives, with many details that have not previously been published, Blaxland's book provides an insightful and nuanced view of the party in Wales during a period of great social change.""-- ""Nation.Cymru""
