Home and Politics: Women and Conservative Activism in Early Twentieth-Century Britain

Thackeray offers a new interpretation of the development of Conservative activism in the early twentieth century, outlining how the culture of the Conservative women's organization changed between the creation of the Women's Unionist and Tariff Reform Association in 1906 and Stanley Baldwin's accession to the party leadership in 1923. He also uses case studies of women's activism in Birmingham and Leeds to challenge Ross McKibbin's claim that Conservative success after the war relied on fostering conventional wisdom adverse to the culture of organized labor. Through its attempts to create a more consensual ethos of activism that could appeal to all classes, the women's Conservative organization played a pivotal role in establishing and advancing the discourse of Baldwinite Conservatism in the localities. Reprinted by permission of the University of Chicago Press. © All rights reserved