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Do you agree with these principles? Consider joining us.
Our Beliefs
The Conservative Party is a large and complex organisation, representing and involving people with a diverse range of backgrounds, interests and concerns. It is a broad church, which encourages open debate and accepts differences of opinion.
What unites the Party are the core Conservative principles which provide our foundation.
Freedom
Conservatives believe in less interference from the State - freedom for individuals, families, voluntary groups and businesses.
Enterprise
Conservatives want to keep taxes low and set businesses free from red tape to help Britain compete in the global economy.
Responsibility
Conservatives stand for the rule of law and support for all members of our society. We recognise our duty to protect the environment for future generations.
Nation
Conservatives want to safeguard the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, maintain strong defence and uphold our right to national self-government. We want to be in Europe but not run by Europe. We believe in Constitutional Monarchy and the sovereignty of Parliament.
We believe in the family. But we shouldn’t preach to people about how they live their lives.
We must respond to the challenge of social breakdown by actively supporting marriage through the tax and benefits system. But in a more liberal and less deferential age, we must support all families, for example through childcare, because what matters most is that children are brought up in a stable, loving home.
We believe in personal responsibility. But not in selfish individualism.
So let us tackle the challenge of an increasingly atomised society by showing that personal responsibility is part of a shared responsibility; that we’re all in this together; that there’s a ‘we’ in our politics as well as a ‘me.’
We believe in lower taxes. But not in fostering greed or favouring the rich.
A strong economy needs competitive tax rates and good public infrastructure. So creating economic opportunity for all means fairly sharing the fruits of economic growth between lower taxes and strengthened public services.
We believe in high standards in health and education. But opt-outs and escape routes for the privileged few will never deliver high quality for all.
The challenge is to deliver equal access to first-class public services without burdening today’s generations with higher taxes, or tomorrow’s generations with higher debt. More choice, competition and local autonomy must be matched by strong leadership to raise standards.
We believe in limited government. But rolling back the state must never mean the weak are left behind.
We want civic society to flourish. We must help social enterprises and voluntary organisations do even more to tackle the entrenched problems that affect our communities, believing that there is such a thing as society, it’s just not the same thing as the state.
We believe in national sovereignty. But not in isolation and xenophobia.
Now is the time to fight for an open and flexible Europe, with a high growth, low unemployment future, recognising that Britain has always done best when she engages ethically and enthusiastically with the wider world.
 
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