# High Tory > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/High_Tory > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/High_Tory.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Tory > Source revision: 1352978285 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Traditionalist variant of Toryism}} {{Toryism |expanded=Variants}} In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, '''High Toryism''' is the old [traditionalist conservatism](/source/traditionalist_conservatism) which is in line with the [Tory](/source/Tory)ism originating in the 16th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the modernising elements of the [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)). Historically, the late 18th-century conservatism derived from the [Whig](/source/Whigs_(British_political_party)) [Edmund Burke](/source/Edmund_Burke) and [William Pitt the Younger](/source/William_Pitt_the_Younger) marks a watershed from the "higher" or legitimist Toryism that was allied to [Jacobitism](/source/Jacobitism). High Toryism has been described by Andrew Heywood as neo-[feudalist](/source/Feudalism){{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aiz8xT-imf8C&q=high+toryism&pg=PA79 | title = Key concepts in politics | first = Andrew | last = Heywood |date=2000-10-17 | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | isbn = 9780312233815 |access-date=2011-12-18}} in its preference for a traditional hierarchical and [patriarchal](/source/patriarchal) society over modern freedom and [equality](/source/Social_equality), as well for holding the traditional [gentry](/source/gentry) as a higher cultural benchmark than the [bourgeoisie](/source/bourgeoisie) and those who have attained their position through commerce or labour. Economically, High Tories generally tend to prefer paternalistic [Tory corporatism](/source/Conservative_corporatism) and [protectionism](/source/protectionism) over the [neo-liberalism](/source/neo-liberalism) and [neo-conservatism](/source/neo-conservatism) that emerged in the 1960s. ==Views and values== ===Historical=== [[File:John Pettie (1839-1893) - Jacobites, 1745 - 03-1362 - Royal Academy of Arts.jpg|right|thumb|250px|[John Pettie](/source/John_Pettie)'s 1874 painting ''[Jacobites, 1745](/source/Jacobites%2C_1745)'' and its romanticised interpretation of [Jacobitism](/source/Jacobitism).]] The High Tory view in the 18th century preferred lowered taxation and deplored [Whig](/source/Whig_(British_political_party)) support for a standing army, an expanding empire and navy, and overseas commerce. The main reason was that these were paid for or subsidised by the new [English Land Tax](/source/English_Land_Tax) that had started in 1692.{{Source?|date=July 2020}} On religious issues, the High Tories usually rallied under the banner of "[Church in Danger](/source/Church_in_Danger)", preferred [High church](/source/High_church) Anglicanism, and many covertly supported [Jacobitism](/source/Jacobitism). The long and generally productive Whig premierships of [Sir Robert Walpole](/source/Robert_Walpole) and [William Pitt the Elder](/source/William_Pitt%2C_1st_Earl_of_Chatham), and the continuance of the [Hanoverian dynasty](/source/House_of_Hanover), caused opinions to change gradually in line with what is now called "[Whig history](/source/Whig_history)".{{Cn|date=February 2025}} The change was noticeable from the 1760s with the premierships of [John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute](/source/John_Stuart%2C_3rd_Earl_of_Bute) and [William Pitt the Younger](/source/William_Pitt_the_Younger). The Land Tax Perpetuation Act 1798 reduced the impact of that tax, though the [landed gentry](/source/landed_gentry)'s privileges were reduced by the [Reform Act 1832](/source/Reform_Act_1832). In the reign of [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria), High Tories now supported the empire and navy, and were personified by the Prime Ministers [Lord Derby](/source/Edward_Smith-Stanley%2C_14th_Earl_of_Derby) and [Lord Salisbury](/source/Robert_Gascoyne-Cecil%2C_3rd_Marquess_of_Salisbury).{{Cn|date=February 2025}} ===Modern=== High Tories prefer the values of the historical landed gentry and [aristocracy](/source/aristocracy), with their ''[noblesse oblige](/source/noblesse_oblige)'' and their self-imposed sense of duty and responsibility to all of society, including the lower classes. Whilst not against private enterprise, they reject the values of the modern commercial business class, which they see as a pursuit of individualistic, unchecked selfishness and greed that destroys a sense of community and holds no regard for religious or high cultural values. Their focus is on maintaining a traditional, rooted society and way of life, which is often as much threatened by modern [capitalism](/source/capitalism) as by [state socialism](/source/state_socialism). A High Tory also favours a strong organic community, in contrast to Whig, liberal and [neoconservative](/source/neoconservatism) individualism. [One-nation conservatism](/source/One_Nation_Conservatism), as influenced by Disraeli and epitomised in leaders such as Balfour, favoured social cohesion, and its adherents support social institutions that maintain harmony between different interest groups and classes.{{Cn|date=February 2025}} Examples of British High Tory views from the 20th century onward would be those of the novelists [Evelyn Waugh](/source/Evelyn_Waugh) and [Anthony Powell](/source/Anthony_Powell), poet [T. S. Eliot](/source/T._S._Eliot), philosopher [Sir Roger Scruton](/source/Roger_Scruton) and Members of Parliament such as [Sir John Biggs-Davison](/source/John_Biggs-Davison),{{citation needed|date = December 2011}} [Lord Amery](/source/Julian_Amery),{{cite book |last1=Wheatcroft |first1=Geoffrey |author-link1=Geoffrey Wheatcroft|year=2005|title=The Strange Death of Tory England|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9jHzn6fRJcC&q=julian+amery+high+tory&pg=PT265|location=London |publisher=[Penguin Books](/source/Penguin_Books)|isbn=9780141018676 |access-date=19 March 2014}} [Alan Clark](/source/Alan_Clark),{{cite web |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/blog/alan-clark-diaries-audio-books-bbc-audio-go/ |title=Alan Clark's big reveal |last1=Elwes |first1=James|date=15 May 2012 |website=[prospectmagazine.co.uk](/source/prospectmagazine.co.uk)|access-date=19 March 2014}} [Enoch Powell](/source/Enoch_Powell),{{Cite book|page=171|year=1989|first=Simon|last=Haseler|publisher=I.B. Tauris|title=Battle For Britain: Thatcher and the New Liberals}} [Sir Peter Tapsell](/source/Peter_Tapsell_(British_politician)){{cite book|page=280|first=Robin|last=Ramsay|title=Politics and Paranoia|year=2008|publisher=Picnic Publishing}} and [Hugh Fraser](/source/Hugh_Fraser_(British_politician)).{{cite news|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-revival-of-tory-philosophy/|title=The revival of Tory philosophy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250412001041/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-revival-of-tory-philosophy/ |archive-date=12 April 2025|date = 17 March 2007|access-date = 12 April 2025|work = [The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)}} The leading pressure-group of High Toryism was possibly the [Conservative Monday Club](/source/Conservative_Monday_Club), described by Labour Prime Minister [Harold Wilson](/source/Harold_Wilson) as "The Conscience of the Tory Party", having been founded in 1961 as a group to support [apartheid](/source/apartheid)-era [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) and [Southern Rhodesia](/source/Southern_Rhodesia), following [Harold Macmillan](/source/Harold_Macmillan)'s opposition to [white minority rule](/source/White_Zimbabweans) in these countries; from the early 1980s, the group has been dominated by the [Thatcherite](/source/Thatcherite) wing which opposed traditionalist High Tories.{{citation needed| date= October 2012}} The journal ''[The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)'' is associated with modern High Toryism.{{Cite web|date=1997-03-31|title=A spectator at The Spectator|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/a-spectator-at-the-spectator-1276077.html|access-date=2020-10-26|website=The Independent|language=en}} The modern High Tory faction within the British Conservative Party would be the [Cornerstone Group](/source/Cornerstone_Group).{{Cn|date=February 2025}} ==Positioning and religious affiliation== A "High Tory" bears some resemblance to [traditionalist conservative](/source/traditionalist_conservatism)s in the United States, particularly [paleoconservatives](/source/paleoconservatives),{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} such as those within the [Republican Study Committee](/source/Republican_Study_Committee). It is difficult and unreliable to make comparisons between High Toryism and other political dispositions internationally.{{Cn|date=February 2025}} "High Tory" has been more than just a political term; it is also used to describe a culture and a way of life. A "High Tory" must have an appreciation of [religion](/source/religion) and [high culture](/source/high_culture). Before the 19th century, High Tories tended to be [high church](/source/high_church) [Anglicans](/source/Church_of_England) and strongly [anti-Catholic](/source/anti-Catholic). However, since the late 19th century and increasingly in the 20th century, High Tories have often been associated with [Anglo-Catholicism](/source/Anglo-Catholicism) and [traditionalist Catholicism](/source/traditionalist_Catholicism). High Toryism is also associated with [agrarianism](/source/agrarianism) and [gentlemanly](/source/gentleman) virtues.{{Cn|date=February 2025}} ==See also== * [Conservative Democratic Alliance](/source/Conservative_Democratic_Alliance) * [Cornerstone Group](/source/Cornerstone_Group) * [London Swinton Circle](/source/London_Swinton_Circle) * [Miguelist](/source/Miguelist) * [Powellism](/source/Powellism) * [Red Tory](/source/Red_Tory) * [Revolutionary Conservative Caucus](/source/Revolutionary_Conservative_Caucus) * [Right Now! (magazine)](/source/Right_Now!_(magazine)) * [Sanfedismo](/source/Sanfedismo) * [Tories (British political party)](/source/Tories_(British_political_party)) * [Traditional Britain Group](/source/Traditional_Britain_Group) * [Traditional conservatism](/source/Traditional_conservatism) * [White movement](/source/White_movement) ==References== {{reflist}} ;General * {{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D37VByMZSaUC&q=High+Toryism&pg=PA314 | title = A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? | first = Boyd | last = Hilton | date = 16 February 2006 | publisher = Clarendon Press | place = UK | page = 314| isbn = 9780198228301 }}. {{Conservatism navbox}} {{Nationalism}} {{Portal bar|Conservatism|Politics|United Kingdom}} Category:Political terminology in the United Kingdom Category:Political movements in the United Kingdom Category:Toryism --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [High Tory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Tory) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Tory?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.