Conservative Party

This article is a part of the Politics and Government of Ibagli series.
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The Conservative Party of Ibagli is the largest right-of-centre political party in Ibagli. It currently holds the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons, and is consequentially the party of opposition. The current leader of the party is Alex Foster.

History

The Conservative Party was formed in 1949 as a result of the merger of the Ibaglian Democratic Union and the Progressive Party. The new party, led by John Warner, was successful in the 1949 election. The party was defeated in the next two elections, including the first election to the new House of Commons. Jack Weston was elected leader in 1956, but was defeated in 1958 in a leadership challenge by Joseph Kenilworth.

Kenilworth Era

The Conservative Party, now under Kenilworth's leadership, saw success in the 1959 General Election, winning 33 seats in the House. During Kenilworth's first term in office, the party adopted policies that were socially conservative and economically centre-left. The first backbench rebellion within the party came in 1960, when Kenilworth's plan to nationalise the railroads was rejected by nearly half of Conservative MPs, but passed with support from the Liberal Party.

In 1961, Kenilworth lobbied for the readmission of apartheid-era South Africa into the Commonwealth. This was the first in a series of moves that many believe caused the party of the era to be seen as racist. In the 1963 General Election, the party won 46 seats in the House of Commons, which is still the largest number of seats ever won by an Ibaglian political party. In 1965, Kenilworth created a commission to explore the future of the Senate. Though abolition of the upper house was supported by the party, it was not seen as a priority.

During Kenilworth's third term, the priorities of the party began to slide towards social and economic conservatism. Though the party had always supported socially conservative policies, they had never been seen as a priority of the party. After the 1967 General Election, several MPs crossed the aisle to the Liberal Party, which had similar economic policy but was not socially conservative. Conservative MP Steven Spell crossed the aisle in January 1970, becoming a part of Henry LeVeque's shadow cabinet.

The government's handling of the Aboriginal riots of 1970 caused the party to lose popularity with the public. Public opinion of the party continued to slide until the 1972 General Election, when the Conservative Party suffered its worst defeat ever, winning only 8 seats in the House, and receiving only 30% of the popular vote.

Post-Kenilworth

After the resignation of Kenilworth, the party sought to distance itself from his policies, electing moderate William Parrin to lead the party. Parrin resigned the leadership in 1975 after conflicts with the party administration. Later that year, the party elected Mark Rockington as its leader.

In the 1976 General Election, the public, though they supported many of the programs of the LeVeque government, but there was only lukewarm support for the higher levels of taxation needed to support the programs. The party won 29 seats in the House, and formed a coalition with the Social Credit Party. The coalition broke up in 1977, prompting a new election. The party lost the election, winning 17 seats in the House.

In 1979, Rockington resigned from the leadership. Charles Forrester was elected by the party to replace him.

1980s

The party won the 1981 General Election with its platform based on reduction of nonessential programs and the lowering of taxes. In 1984 the party privatised the railroads. This was largely seen as a mistake, as the 3 corporations created became insolvent within six years, necessitating their renationalisation. In 1985, Forrester was reelected.

Forrester died suddenly of a heart attack in 1989. Governor-General Sir Henry LeVeque appointed Minister of Finance Thomas Harlington Prime Minister until the party elected a leader. Harlington was not popular with the public, but was elected as the leader of the party in order to avoid a second change of government close to an election.

The party lost the 1989 General Election. Harlington resigned shortly thereafter, and John Goodwin was selected as the next leader.

Goodwin era

As the scandal-ridden Hunter administration declined in the polls, Goodwin was able to push the Conservative Party as the party of morals and dignity. The party won the 1994 General Election, and was reelected in 1999.

The party lost the general election held in 2004. The next year, Goodwin narrowly lost a leadership challenge by Marcus Smallegan.

Split

Shortly after Smallegan's election as leader, several MPs left the Conservative Party to sit as independent members. They later announced that they would sit as the Ibaglian Democratic Union, symbolically taking up the name of one of the two parties that merged to form the Conservatives. The Conservative Party announced that it would sue for trademark infringement, however, and the independent MPs opted to sit as an informal party.

In the January 2006 General Election, the Conservative Party won 23 seats. Independent-IDU members won 7 seats. Smallegan and Independent-IDU "leader" Clinton Roser announced that the Conservative Party and the independent MPs would form the Conservative Alliance of Ibagli. Smallegan was subsequently appointed Prime Minister. The ministry held power for just under one month, as the government was defeated by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the Green Party. The Conservative Alliance was dissolved shortly after Smallegan left office.

Reunification

Smallegan resigned the leadership in mid-2006. He appointed Robert Clarke interim leader. A leadership convention was scheduled for November 2006. In September, the Independent-IDU members announced that they would return to the Conservative Party. In October 2006, the Conservative Party and the Green Party successfully voted down a motion of confidence in the government of Roger Pollack. The leadership convention was moved forward by several weeks. Former leader and Prime Minister Sir John Goodwin was unanimously elected. The Conservative Party was victorious in the November 2006 General Election.

Conservative Party Today

Policies

Since the election of Charles Forrester in 1981, the party has focused on policies that are fiscally conservative and socially moderate. Though the party opposed many social reforms brought forth by the Liberals during the LeVeque, Hunter, and McNeese governments, they have not worked to repeal them during any of the intervening periods.

Until 2006, the Conservative Party was officially in favour of the abolition of the Senate. The party dropped all mention of the Senate from its platform in 2006, however.

Though several Conservative MPs are opposed to Ibagli's universal healthcare system, the official stance of the party is to preserve and improve the system.

Leaders

Name	Term	Notes
John Warner	1949–1956	Premier (1949–1953)
Jack Weston	1956–1958
Joseph Kenilworth	1958–1972	Prime Minister (1959–1972)
William Parrin	1972–1975
Mark Rockington	1975–1979	Prime Minister (1976–1977)
Charles Forrester	1979–1989	Prime Minister (1981–1989)
Thomas Harlington	1989 (May–November)	Prime Minister (1989)
John Goodwin (interim)	1989–1990
John Goodwin (1st time)	1990–2005	Prime Minister (1994–2004)
Marcus Smallegan	2005–2006	Prime Minister (2006)
Robert Clarke (interim)	2006
Sir John Goodwin (2nd time)	2006–2011	Prime Minister (2006–2011)
Amelia Pietersen	2011–2012	Prime Minister (2011)
Alex Foster	2012–2020
Matthew McDaniels	2020–

Elections

Election	Popular Vote	Seats
1955	41.3%	23
1959	44.2%	33
1963	53.2%	46
1967	49.1%	37
1972	30.1%	8
1976	41.9%	29
1977	40.1%	17
1981	44.5%	38
1985	47.5%	41
1989	44.9%	25
1994	47.9%	37
1999	51.9%	44
2004	38.7%	25
Jan. 2006	27.1%	23
Nov. 2006	42.8%	32
2011	42.9%	24