ABSTRACT
In spite of its pre-war divisions, the Conservative Party was the only major British political party to remain overwhelmingly united over the war. As has been seen, this was on the issue of the causes of war and the necessity of pursuing it through to victory. But, more pertinently, on all the major questions regarding state intervention, the party’s solidarity was retained: national service, press censorship, increased war taxation, the Defence of the Realm Acts. Although opinions may have differed as to the helpfulness of certain issues, the ethical entitlement of the state to pursue such policies was challenged only rarely. Where divisions did emerge, such as over the failure of the party leadership to insist upon the adoption of the protectionist resolutions of the Paris Economic Conference, the reasons were overwhelmingly political, not ideological. For this reason, and the unifying impact that a national dynamic impressed upon the party’s economic and social image of the post-war world, the Conservative Party was not disposed towards internal division as were the Liberal or Labour parties. Furthermore, this unity on wartime collectivism should not be underestimated: it allowed, at the very least, for the postponement of any party divisions until the post-war period, it permitted the party to play its patriotism to the fore and it ensured the party was able to appeal to a new electorate with one voice.
