The Conservatives plus the Liberal Democrats equals liberal Conservatism? A study of political manifestos

Abstract: This essay is a study of political manifestos using ideal types. The object of the essay is to establish to what extent the manifestos of analysis resemble the ideal types of conservatism and liberalism. The objects of study are the 2010 British Conservative election manifesto and the 2010 Programme for government that was co-authored by election winning coalition partners, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. Firstly the essay analyses the Conservative 2010 election manifesto by applying the ideal types of conservatism and liberalism to it. Secondly it analyses the Programme for government to establish whether or not the Conservatives, as the biggest coalition party, have made any compromises toward liberalism. The essay finds the Conservative election manifesto to be a genuinely conservative document. The ideological content of the Programme for government show signs of liberalism but is a predominantly conservative document.