Everything about Tories totally explained
In the political tradition of some
English-speaking countries, the term
Tory has referred to a variety of
political parties and
creeds since it was used in the late
17th century to describe opponents to the
Whigs. The term was originally used to refer to an Irish outlaw.
English and British Tories from the time of the
Glorious Revolution up until the
Reform Bill of 1832 were characterized by strong
monarchist tendencies, support of the
Church of England, and hostility to reform, while the
Tory Party was an actual organization which held power intermittently throughout the same period.
After 1832 and supersession of the Tory Party by the
Conservative Party "Tory" has become shorthand for a member of the Conservative Party or for the party in general, sometimes but by no means always as a term of abuse. Many Conservatives still call themselves "Tory" to differentiate themselves from opponents. The name "Captain Tory" is given to staunch Conservative supporters in the North East of England.
The term has also been used in
North America, where Tory can describe the
Conservative Party of Canada. During the
American Revolutionary War it described
colonists who sided with Great Britain against the revolutionaries, while another nickname for them at this time was lobsterbacks, referring to the red coats of British soldiers. The term was also used during the
American Civil War, when supporters of the
Confederacy extended the term to Southern
Unionists.
United Kingdom
Tory is the most common colloquial term for members and supporters of the
Conservative Party. The party as a whole is thus referred to as 'the Tories'.
Historically, the term
Tory has been applied in various ways to supporters of the British monarchy. The word comes from the
Middle Irish word
tóraidhe, modern
Irish tóraí —
outlaw, robber, from the Irish word
tóir, meaning 'pursuit', since outlaws were "pursued men".
Canada
The term was used to designate the pre-Confederation British ruling classes of
Upper Canada and
Lower Canada, known as the
Family Compact and the
Château Clique, an elite within the governing classes, and often members within a section of society known as the
United Empire Loyalists.
In post-Confederation Canada the terms "
Red Tory" and "
Blue Tory" have long been used to describe the two wings of the
Conservative and previously the
Progressive Conservative (PC) parties. The diadic tensions originally arose out of the 1854 political union of British-Canadian Tories, French-Canadian traditionalists, and the
Monarchist and
Loyalist leaning sections of the emerging commercial classes at the time - many of whom were uncomfortable with the pro-American and
annexationist tendencies within the liberal
Grits. Tory strength and prominence in the political culture was a feature of life in
Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island,
Ontario, and
Manitoba.
By the 1930s, the factions within Canadian Toryism were associated with either the urban business elites, or with rural traditionalists from the country's hinterland. Over time, however, the term Blue Tory has come to embody the more ideologically
neo-liberal (in the manner of
Margaret Thatcher and
Ronald Reagan) elements in the party, while a Red Tory is a member of the more moderate wing of the party (in the manner of
John Farthing and
George Grant). They are generally unified by their adherence to the monarchy in Canada.
Throughout the course of Canadian history, the Conservative Party was generally controlled by MacDonaldian Tory elements, which in Canada meant an adherence to the English-Canadian traditions of Monarchy, Empire-Commonwealth, parliamentary government, nationalism, protectionism, social reform, and eventually, acceptance of the necessity of the welfare state. By the 1970s the Progressive Conservative Party was a Keynesian-consensus party.
With the onset of
stagflation in the 1970s, some Canadian Tories came under the influence of neo-liberal developments in Great Britain and the United States, which highlighted the need for privatization and supply-side interventions. In Canada, these tories have been labeled
neoconservatives - which has a somewhat different connotation in the US. By the early 1980s there was no clear neoconservative in the Tory leadership cadre, but
Brian Mulroney, who became leader in 1983, eventually came to adopt many policies from the Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan governments.
As Mulroney took the
Progressive Conservative Party further in this direction, with policy innovations in the areas of deregulation, privatization, free-trade, and a consumption tax called the
Goods and Services Tax (GST), many traditionally-minded Tories became concerned that a political and cultural schism was occurring within the party.
The 1986 creation of the
Reform Party of Canada attracted some of the neo-liberals and social conservatives away from the Tory party, and as some of the neoconservative policies of the Mulroney government proved unpopular, some of the provincial-rights elements moved towards Reform as well. In 1993, Mulroney resigned, rather than fight an election based on his record after almost nine years in power. This left the PCs in disarray and scrambling to understand how to make toryism relevant in provinces such as
Quebec,
Saskatchewan,
Alberta, and
British Columbia that had never had a strong tory tradition and political culture.
Thereafter in the 1990s, the PCs were a small party in the
Canadian House of Commons, and could only exert legislative pressure on the government through their power in the
Senate of Canada. Eventually, through death and retirements, this power waned.
Joe Clark returned as leader, but the schism with the Reformers effectively watered down the combined Blue and Red Tory vote in Canada.
By the late 1990s, there was some talk of the necessity of uniting the right in Canada, if there was any hope of deterring further Liberal majorities. Many tories - both red and blue - were opposed to any such notion, while others took the view that all would have to be pragmatic if there was any hope of reviving a strong party system. The
Canadian Alliance party (as the Reform Party had become), and some leading tories came together on an informal basis to see if they could find common ground. While the Tory Leader Joe Clark rebuffed the notion, the talks moved ahead and eventually in December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative parties voted to disband and integrate into a new party called the Conservative Party of Canada.
After the merger of the PCs with the Canadian Alliance in 2003, there was some debate as to whether the "Tory" appellation should survive at the federal level. Although it was widely believed that some Alliance members would take offence to the term, it was officially accepted by the newly-merged party during the
2004 leadership convention.
Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and the Prime Minister as a result of the
January 23,
2006 election, regularly refers to himself as a Tory and has suggested that the new party is a natural evolution of the conservative political movement in Canada. However, many former Progressive Conservatives who opposed the merger take offence to the new party using the term, as do some members of the former Reform/Alliance wing who don't wish to be associated with the "Tory" governments of Canada's past, or the values of traditional Tory thought.
American Revolution
Before the War of Independence, the founders of
Anglican and
Catholic colonies were generally well disposed towards the Stuart dynasty. Their affections were alienated by a new, foreign dynasty which seemed to little know or care for the Tudor-Stuart legacy in the New World. Those who founded the Puritan colonies of New England were Cromwellians and Orangists.
It is interesting to note the chief allies of the American Patriots were Whigs such as
Charles James Fox and
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, each with direct ties to the House of Stuart and probably resentful of the Hanoverian succession--with its dire consequences in the old colonial empire in North America.
The term Tory or Loyalist was used in the
American Revolution to describe those who remained loyal to the British Crown. Since early in the eighteenth century, Tory had described those upholding the right of the Kings over parliament. During the revolution, particularly after the
Declaration of Independence in 1776 this use was extended to cover anyone who remained loyal to the British Crown. At the beginning of the war, it was estimated that as much as 40% of the American population were Tories. Those Loyalists who settled in
Canada,
Nova Scotia, or the
Bahamas after the American Revolution are known as
United Empire Loyalists.
Tory was frequently used as a revolutionary's pejorative, for example, a "Tory militia" was a militia unit which took the British side during the War.
The British term
Whig, referring to the anti-Tory political movement in England, had a much longer life in the American political discourse, especially through the
United States Whig Party.
Further Information
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