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Abstract

The convergence of a widening social base in the Parliamentary Conservative Party with an increasingly middle class Parliamentary Labour Party has been a persistent observation of postwar élite studies. Claims are frequently made that the Thatcher and Major years have produced a more `classless' Conservative élite. On the basis of new research, it is demonstrated that members of the socio-educational élite continue to enjoy vastly disproportionate access to Conservative parliamentary seats; that they enjoy even more disproportionate access to safe seats; and that they continue to enjoy still more disproportionate access to office in Conservative governments. Furthermore, in the last decade long-term trends to social convergence have gone into reverse.

Keywords

Conservatives élites cohorts parliament elections safe seats

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The Conservative Parliamentary Elite 1964-1994: The End of Social Convergence?

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