BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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Conservatives by the extension of the franchise to country
constituencies, areas noted for their strong ties to conservatism.
On a personal level, the negotiations had the added advantage
of demonstrating Salisbury's superior leadership qualities to those of
Northcote.
While Salisbury's talents as an arbiter of domestic
disputes were first indicated in July, 1884 during his meetings with
Churchill regarding the powers of the National Union, his skills were
proven conclusively in his agreement achieved with Gladstone concerning
the Reform bill .8
The pursuit of imperial
interests to the detriment of domestic
reforms reflected a shift away from the ambiguous claims of Tory
Democracy once formulated by Disraeli toward a concerted effort to win
the support of a broad coalition intent on preserving national
institutions threatened from without.
Ultimately Salisbury's approach
would prove extremely effective, transforming the Conservatives from a
minority based, quasi-aristocratic concern to the single most
successful and resilient party in modern British history.
It was
conceived as a reaction to forces contributing to dismemberment and
decline and proved especially effective when combined with the
pragmatic, modern electoral methods of the new democratic age.
The claims of modern democracy necessitated the creation of an
auxiliary army of rank and file supporters.
Salisbury, ever
knowledgeable, if distrustful of the mechanics of the new age, took
steps to ensure that conservative political
associations would provide
8
Marsh, The Discipline of Popular Government, pp. 45-47, 59.