Policy Reform and the Politics of Housing in the British Conservative Party 1924-1929

This paper examines an important period in the development of the modern British Conservative Party. The changing patterns of electoral support in the first decade after the first world war required the Conservatives to recast their policies to appeal to the new electorate. Many historians of this period see the development of policy at this time as signalling a shift in the Party that constituted a form of 'new Conservatism'. This paper looks at on the substance of the welfare policy reforms and, concentrating on housing policy, argues that there is little evidence of fundamental reform. It is argued that far from constituting a reformist agenda, the Conservative welfare policies of the time in fact reflect a simple and pragmatic reading of the fluid and unpredictable political circumstances of the time.