Cameron’s pragmatic responses to the politics of the last year shows that despite his progressive agenda, he is well within the mainstream of Conservative traditions

Abstract

While the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy losses in last week’s council elections, the Conservatives have emerged relatively unscathed, and in some cases made gains. Is it possible that the Tories have moved more towards the centre ground? Peter King investigates ‘progressive Conservatism’, and finds that it is the party’s pragmatism in being in coalition with the Liberal Democrats that has steered it away from its more traditional policies