The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation by Tim Bale

Hardback
304pp
Polity Press

The Conservative Party can lay convincing claim to being the world's most successful political party, not least because it is also one of the most adaptable, often appearing to do and say pretty much whatever it takes to win. But has it now taken things too far? Since the UK voted to leave the EU back in 2016, the Tories have arguably done more than simply re-shape themselves: rather, they seem to have transformed themselves from a mainstream centre-right party into a counter-intuitive combination of radical right-wing populism and market fundamentalism that, some contend, poses a threat to many of the norms of both liberal democracy and economic common sense.In this compelling and persuasively argued book, Tim Bale, one of the country's foremost experts on contemporary British politics, takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the Conservatives' fortunes over the last decade. From the bombshell Brexit referendum, through to the increasingly chaotic premierships of Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, Bale tells a gripping tale of a party that, in just a few short years, has gone from nervous breakdown to top of the world – and back again.