From Crisis to Coalition The Conservative Party, 1997-2010 [Hardcover]

In 2010 the Conservative Party returned to office after over a decade of largely ineffective opposition to New Labour. This book explains why it took so long to recover, and why the party was unable to win an overall majority despite the charismatic leadership of David Cameron. It covers all aspects of Conservative Party politics since 1997.Introduction The Art of Losing Elections: the Conservative Party and 'statecraft', 1997-2005 The Conservative Party and Public Opinion, 1997-2010 Modernisation and its Critics: Ideological Repositioning under David Cameron, 2005-10 Building the House: Developing Conservative Policy, 2005-10 A 21st Century Party? Conservative 'Modernisation' and Organisational Reform, 1997-2010 The Conservatives in the 2010 General Election, and its Aftermath The Art of the Political Comeback: New Labour and Cameron's Conservatives Bibliography

'...this book is a welcome and useful addition to the scholarly work on the Conservative Party...Whilst retaining its academic credibility, the book is written in an accessible style which will ensure that it can appeal to a wide audience...Any student, or fellow academic seeking to analyse the recovering of the Conservatives under Cameron, would be seriously remiss if they did not engage with this work. In terms of how it fits in with the existing scholarly work on the Conservatives, and also on opposition politics, the book clearly has a huge value.' - Timothy Heppell, University of Leeds, Contemporary British History

PETER DOREY?is Reader in British Politics at Cardiff University, UK. He has published extensively on aspects of the Conservative Party and his twelve books include The Conservative Party and the Trade Unions (1995), The Major Premiership (Editor, Palgrave Macmillan, 1999), British Conservatism and Trade Unionism, 1945-1964 (2009) and British Conservatism: The Politics and Philosophy of Inequality