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Opposition in a Changing Political Environment: Leadership and the Conservative Party, 1997-2010

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Opposition in a Changing Political Environment: Leadership and the Conservative Party, 1997-2010 Durham E-Theses Opposition in a Changing Political Environment: Leadership and the Conservative Party, 1997-2010 HARRIS, BEN,DAVID,ALEXANDER How to cite: HARRIS, BEN,DAVID,ALEXANDER (2010) Opposition in a Changing Political Environment: Leadership and the Conservative Party, 1997-2010, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/732/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Ben Harris Opposition in a Changing Political Environment: Leadership and the Conservative Party, 1997-2010 Abstract This thesis examines the changing nature of opposition within the British political system through a study of the balance of power between the Conservative Party and its leader in their most recent period in opposition from 1997 to 2010. A literature on the place of the opposition within the British political system was developed as part of post-1945 studies of the Westminster Model. However, despite dramatic changes in the political environment and the increasing rejection of the Westminster Model, more recent discussion has neglected systematic study of opposition. More recent writing on the Conservative Party has not been used to examine claims about the changing form and function of opposition, but has assumed the importance of the decisions of particular actors. In order to study the recent Conservative Party with a view to developing our understanding of opposition and the expectations upon its leader, the thesis identifies the change in the political environment as central. It suggests dealing with this by utilizing a conceptual framework derived from Presidentialisation theory. This offers a conceptualisation of the political system as a whole, identifying the increasing importance of leadership at its heart. Adapting this to the study of opposition suggests examination of three crucial components of leadership activity: the relationship between the party and the leader, the place of the leader within general elections and the place of the leader and opposition within the wider political environment including executive actions. Examination of these areas highlights the substantial ways in which power has moved from the leader to the party alongside the additional resources which the leader can command. It concludes that whilst the changing political environment may have served to make the leader of the opposition appear more powerful and prominent, there are significant structural constraints which prevent the exercise of this power. 1 Opposition in a Changing Political Environment: Leadership and the Conservative Party, 1997-2010 Ben David Alexander Harris A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Research conducted in the School of Government and International Affairs Submitted to Durham University 2010 2 Contents List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................. 8 List of Abbreviations........................................................................................................... 9 Statement of Copyright ..................................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 11 Dedication ......................................................................................................................... 12 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Problematic ......................................................................................................... 13 1.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 14 1.3 Rationale and Structure ...................................................................................... 15 1.4 Methods and Methodology ................................................................................. 20 2 Review of the Literature about Opposition ............................................................... 22 2.1 The Development of the Westminster Model and Opposition ........................... 22 2.2 Challenges to the Westminster Model ................................................................ 28 2.2.1 Changes in the Electorate ............................................................................ 28 2.2.2 Valence Politics and the „Centre Ground‟ .................................................. 31 3 2.2.3 Changing Media Coverage .......................................................................... 33 2.2.4 The Decline of Parliament .......................................................................... 37 2.2.5 The Retrenchment of the Westminster Model ............................................ 39 2.3 The Conservatives in Opposition Since 1997 .................................................... 41 2.3.1 Electoral Struggles ...................................................................................... 42 2.3.2 The Leaders ................................................................................................. 45 2.3.3 Feuds at the Top .......................................................................................... 49 2.3.4 Policy and Ideology..................................................................................... 50 2.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 53 3 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................. 54 3.1 The Development of Presidentialisation ............................................................ 54 3.2 Conceptualising Presidentialisation.................................................................... 66 3.2.1 The Meaning of Presidentialisation: ........................................................... 66 3.2.2 Causes of Presidentialisation: ..................................................................... 72 3.2.3 Effects of Presidentialisation: ..................................................................... 77 3.2.4 Relevance to this Thesis .............................................................................. 82 4 3.3 The Conceptual Framework of This Thesis ....................................................... 89 4 Parties and Leaders ................................................................................................... 95 4.1 Power in the Party .............................................................................................. 96 4.1.1 Leadership Elections and the Changing Power Structure of the Party ....... 99 4.2 The Intra Party Balance Between Party and Leader ......................................... 107 4.2.1 Formal Changes In The Party ................................................................... 107 4.2.2 Other Ways of Altering the Intra Party Balance ....................................... 115 4.3 Leader Competing for the Mandate .................................................................. 131 4.4 Concentration of Power Resources in the Leader‟s Office .............................. 138 4.5 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 143 5 Leaders and Elections ............................................................................................. 147 5.1 Overview of the 2001 and 2005 Campaigns .................................................... 148 5.2 Dynamics of Election Campaigning and Leadership ....................................... 150 5.2.1 The 2001 Campaign .................................................................................. 153 5.2.2 The 2005 Campaign: ................................................................................. 161 5.3 Media Coverage of Politics and the Leader of the Opposition ........................ 167 5 5.3.1 The 2001 Campaign .................................................................................. 168 5.3.2 The 2005 Campaign .................................................................................. 172 5.4 Growing significance of leader effects in voting behaviour ............................ 176 5.5 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 179 6 The Leader of the Opposition and the Wider Environment .................................... 182 6.1 The Leadership Arena ...................................................................................... 184 6.1.1 Empathy With The Public ......................................................................... 184 6.1.2 Demonstrating
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