Закат «нового лейборизма» и возрождение консерваторов в Великобритании в начале XXI века

Вестник Пермского университета. Серия: История. 2017. № 3 (38). С. 138–147.

Kovalev I. G.

The article considers the problem of changes in the political development of Great Britain in the late 2000s. The author assesses the role of the 2008-2010 global financial crisis in the exacerbation of inter-party confrontation and the modernization of organizational structures of the leading political forces in the UK. The reasons for the obvious crisis of the ideas of the New Labour and the revival of the attractiveness of conservatism in the context of the crisis are given. The author describes in detail how the Tories revised their previous ideas and formed the concepts of “new compassionate conservatism” and “great society”. The author states that David Cameron tried to combine the basics of Thatcherism in the economic sphere with the need to solve urgent problems in social development. The role of the leading British think-tanks and experts in the development of new socio-economic policy projects is analyzed. The author traces the efforts of the conservatives to focus on issues important for most Britons, to offer their solutions, to improve the image of the Tories, and to take away the initiative from their political opponents in order to return to power. Based on official party documents and official public statements of the Tory leaders, the paper analyzes the processes of forming and promoting new programs aimed at adjusting the model of socio-economic development of the UK, overcoming the current acute problems of development, and ensuring sustainable growth in the post-crisis period. The interrelation of political battles of the late 2000s with key trends of contemporary political struggle in the UK is demonstrated.

Keywords: Великобритания, Лейбористская партия, Консервативная партия, Дэвид Кэмерон, всеобщие выборы, социально-экономическая модель