Conservative Party of Georgeland

The Conservative Party of Georgeland is the largest and oldest political party in the United Islands of Georgeland. It is the largest by far of any of Georgeland's centre-right parties. The Conservatives are usually referred to, both by themselves and others, as "The Tories". The party is similar to the Britsh Conservative Party. The Conservatives currently form the Opposition in the Georgeland Parliament. They currently hold 122 seats out of 261 in the Georgeland House of Commons. Their present leader is the Hon. Sam Richardson, MP, who has been leader since December 2003. The Conservative Party is a member of the International Democrat Union, the worldwide association of conservative political parties.



Image
The Tories have tried hard to shake the 'blustering' image of the 1980s and 1990s. Prime Minister Campbell Rhodes once described them as 'the party that writes angry letters to the paper'. The party has a reputation for railing against change and social ills but offering little as an alternative. Due to a series of scandals in the 1990s, the Tories have also been plagued by charges of corruption and misdemeanour, much as their British counterparts, though this attitude is changing. In recent years, the Liberal Democrats and their predecessors on the left have tried to paint the Tories as dangerous extremists, who will trample on civil liberties and abolish unions. This message resonates with many due to Tory actions in the past and key elements of the party manifesto. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church on the Conservative Party has also not helped their image, with their opponents painting them as puppets of the Church. While this message is popular with non-Catholics, it only strengthens support among Catholics. With the recent LDP infighting, however, the Conservatives have come to be seen as the inherently stable party and the party with the most discipline and consistent policies. This has won over some voters. The Conservatives have suffered also for their support of the Iraq War to oust Saddam Hussein. Though initially popular among many for this support, as the war dragged on and evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq evaporated, the Tories came to be seen as little more than the Georgeland mouthpiece of the Bush Administration. This image has been reinforced somewhat by Richardson's visits to Washington and meetings with George W. Bush.

2005 election
The Tories won significant gains at the election of 2005, winning ten more seats for a total of 122, their largest total since 1995. The Tories fought a campaign on security and economic prosperity. Though they failed to win government, they came closer to winning power than at any point in the previous decade, leading many to speculate they could well win the 2008 election.

Policies
Main article: Conservative Party of Georgeland Policies

The Conservatives are a party of the right-wing, or possibly centre-right depending on your definition. In general, the Tories believe in small government, a strong military, a pro-U.S. foreign policy, 'traditional family values' and increased security to combat terrorism.

Leaders
(Partial list; TBC) Sir Robert Pearce 1891-1903 Gregory Green 1912-1919 David Turner 1919-1921 (Sir) Frederick Eccles 1921-1932 James Gray 1932-1937 Bertram Powell 1937-1938 Bradford Smith 1950-1953 Stanley Baynes 1953-1965 Thomas Hunter 1965-1966 Zachary Tamworth 1966-1967 Thomas Richardson 1967-1970 Robert Fisch 1975-1983 Eric Edge 1992-1995 Shawn Hedges 1995-1998 Benedict Ingram 1998-1999 Michael Fisch 1999-2001 Mary Byrne 2001-2002 Michael Fisch 2nd time 2002-2003 Sam Richardson 2003-