List of British conservatives

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

British conservatism refers to a political and philosophical tradition in the United Kingdom that emphasizes the preservation of established institutions,[1] the rule of law, gradual societal change, traditionalism[2] British Unionism,[3] loyalism, euroscepticism,[4] a free market economy,[5] individualism[6] and a strong belief in personal responsibility.

Along with liberalism and socialism, it is one of the major political ideologies in the UK.

Entries on the list must have achieved notability after the writing of Reflections on the Revolution in France which is often seen as the starting point of conservatism.[7]

Intellectuals, philosophers and historians

Edmund Burke in 1769
Bust of Carlyle in the Hall of Heroes at the Wallace Monument, 1891
Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
Edmund Burke 1729–1797 Philosopher and statesman, generally understood as part of a liberal tradition,[8] but sometimes associated with a 20th-century movement called modern conservatism [9][10][11]
Thomas Carlyle 1795–1881 Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher Philosophy of Thomas Carlyle
Henry Sidgwick 1838–1900 Philosopher and economist [12]
George Saintsbury 1845–1933 Literary critic [13]
F. J. C. Hearnshaw 1869–1946 British historian [14]
C. H. Douglas 1879–1952 British engineer, economist, and historian [15]
Nirad C. Chaudhuri 1897–1999 British Indian memoirist and cultural critic [16]
Friedrich Hayek 1899–1992 Political philosopher and economist [17][18][19][20]
Keith Feiling 1884-1977 British historian [21]
Christopher Dawson 1889–1970 Catholic historian and independent scholar [22]
Herbert Butterfield 1900–1979 British historian and philosopher [23]
Michael Joseph Oakeshott 1901–1990 Philosopher and political theorist [24]
Lord David Cecil 1902–1986 British historian and biographer [25]
Maurice Cranston 1920–1993 Philosopher and political scientist [26]
Maurice Cowling 1926–2005 British historian [27]
Antony Flew 1923–2010 Philosopher [28]
Anthony Quinton 1925–2010 Political and moral philosopher, writer, and metaphysician [29]
Renford Bambrough 1926–1999 Philosopher [30]
Paul Johnson 1928–2023 British historian [31]
Norman Stone 1941–2019 British historian and author [32]
Roger Scruton 1944–2020 Philosopher, writer, and social critic [33]
Anthony O'Hear 1942 – Philosopher [34]
Stephen R. L. Clark 1945 – Philosopher [35]
Theodore Dalrymple 1949 – Psychiatrist and culture critic
Robert Tombs 1949 – British-French historian [36]
Iain McGilchrist 1953 – Psychiatrist and philosopher
Andrew Roberts 1963 – British Historian [37]
Niall Ferguson 1964 – Scottish–American historian [38]
Phillip Blond 1968 – Philosopher [39]

Politicians and office holders

The Roaring Lion, 1941
Margaret Thatcher in 1995
Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
Prime Minister Robert Peel 1788–1850 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1834 to 1835 and later from 1841 to 1846 [40]
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli 1804–1881 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1874 to 1880 [41]
Prime Minister Winston Churchill 1874–1965 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and later from 1951 to 1955 [42]
Prime Minister Edward Heath 1916-2005 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 [43]
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 1925–2013 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 [5]
Prime Minister John Major 1943 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997 [44]
Prime Minister Theresa May 1956 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019 [45][46]
Prime Minister Boris Johnson 1964 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 [47][48]
Prime Minister David Cameron 1966 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 [49][50]
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 1980 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024 [51]

Media personalities, journalists, broadcasters, publishers, editors, radio hosts, columnists and bloggers

Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
T. E. Utley 1921–1988 British journalist and writer [52]
Peregrine Worsthorne 1923–2020 British journalist, writer, and broadcaster [53]
David Pryce-Jones 1936-2025 British author and commentator [54]
Auberon Waugh 1939–2001 British journalist and novelist [55]
Andrew Neil 1949 – Scottish journalist, chairman and broadcaster [56]
Peter Hitchens 1951 – Conservative author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator
Charles Moore 1956 – British journalist and editor
Allison Pearson 1960 – British columnist and author
Tony Gallagher 1963 – British newspaper journalist and editor [57]
Piers Morgan 1965 – Broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality [58]
Tim Davie 1967 – British media executive [57]
Julia Hartley-Brewer 1968 – British radio presenter, political journalist and newspaper columnist [59][60]
Fraser Nelson 1973 – Political journalist and editor [61]
Isabel Oakeshott 1974 or 1975 – British political journalist [62]
Camilla Tominey 1978 – Journalist, broadcaster and news presenter [63][64]
Douglas Murray 1979 – Author, columnist, editor and political commentator [65]

Painters, printmakers, fine-art photographers, visual artists and sculptors

Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
John Constable 1776–1837 English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition [66]
Samuel Palmer 1805–1881 British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker [67]
George Richmond 1809–1896 Painter, portraitist and member of The Ancients [68]
John Everett Millais 1829–1896 One of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood [69][70]
Wyndham Lewis 1882–1957 Painter, art critic and co-founder of the Vorticist movement [71]
L. S. Lowry 1887–1976 Mancunian painter known for his naïve artworks [72][73]
Walter Thomas Monnington 1902–1976 English Painter known for war painting
Francis Bacon 1909–1992 Irish-born British figurative painter [74][75]
Gilbert & George 1942 –

1943 –

 Collaborative performance art duo [76][77][78]
Tracey Emin 1963 – English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork [79][80]

Composers, musicians and record producers

Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
Edward Elgar 1857–1934 English composer best known for his orchestral works including the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches [81][82]
Bill Wyman 1936 - Bassist of The Rolling Stones [83]
Errol Brown 1943–2015 British-Jamaican singer-songwriter and frontman of the soul band Hot Chocolate [84]
Jimmy Page 1944 – Guitarist, writer and composer of the renowned hard rock band Led Zeppelin [85][86][87]
Roger Daltrey 1944 - Co-founder and lead singer of the hard rock band The Who [88][89][90]
John Entwistle 1944–2002 Bassist of the hard rock band The Who [91]
Rod Stewart 1945 – British singer-songwriter and vocalist of blues rock band Faces [92][93]
Eric Clapton 1945 – Highly influential guitarist known for his solo work as well as being a member of blues rock band The Yardbirds and psychedelic rock band Cream [94][86]
Bryan Ferry 1945 – Vocalist and principal songwriter of the art rock band Roxy Music [95]
Roy Wood 1946 – Member and co-founder of rock bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard [96]
Steve Winwood 1948 – English blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter and member rock bands The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith [97][98]
Lynsey de Paul 1948–2014 English singer-songwriter and producer [99]
Kenney Jones 1948 – Drummer of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces [100]
Rick Wakeman 1949 – Keyboardist of the progressive rock band Yes [101]
Mike Oldfield 1953 – Prominent progressive rock musician [102]
John Lydon 1956 – Lead vocalist of the pioneering punk rock band Sex Pistols and frontman of the experimental post-punk band Public Image Ltd [103][104][105][106]
Ian Curtis 1956–1980 Lead singer and lyricist of the prolific post-punk band Joy Division [107][108][109][110]
Mark E. Smith 1957-2018 Frontman and lyricist of the pivotal experimental post-punk band The Fall [111]
Jon Moss 1957 - Drummer of the New Romantic group Culture Club [112]
Bruce Dickinson 1958 - Frontman of the influential heavy metal band Iron Maiden [113]
Morrissey 1959 – Frontman and lyricist of the important indie pop band The Smiths
Tony Hadley 1960 – Lead singer of the New Romantic group Spandau Ballet [114]
Gary Barlow 1971 – Lead singer of the pop group Take That [115]
Kerry Katona 1980 – Original member of the pop group Atomic Kitten [116]
Winston Marshall 1987 – Banjoist and lead guitarist of the folk rock band Mumford & Sons [117]

Filmmakers, screenwriters, and producers

The son of a high church Anglican, Olivier was a lifelong Conservative. In 1983, he wrote to congratulate Margaret Thatcher following her victory in that year's General Election.[118]
Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
Noël Coward 1899–1973 Director and writer of films including In Which We Serve
Laurence Olivier 1907–1989 Director and writer of films including Hamlet and Richard III [119]
David Lean 1908-1991 Director of films including The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India [120]
Peter Glenville 1913-1996 Director of films including The Prisoner and Becket [121]
James Clavell 1921–1994 Writer for films including The Fly (1958) and The Great Escape; director of films including To Sir, with Love [122]
Peter Sellers 1925–1980 Writer and director of films including The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film and Mr. Topaze [123]
Bryan Forbes 1926–2013 Director and writer of films including Séance on a Wet Afternoon, King Rat and The Stepford Wives [124]
Antony Jay 1930–2016 Writer for shows including Yes Minister [125]
Michael Caine 1933 – Executive producer of films including The Fourth Protocol [126]
Michael Winner 1935–2013 Director of films including Hannibal Brooks and Death Wish [127]
Terence Donovan 1936–1996 Photographer and director of music videos [128]
Tom Stoppard 1937–2025 Writer of films including Brazil, Empire of the Sun and The Russia House [129]
Julian Fellowes 1949 - Creator and writer of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age [130]
Gary Oldman 1958 – Writer and director of films including Nil by Mouth [131]
Matthew Vaughn 1971 – Creator, director and writer of films including Kick-Ass and the Kingsman franchise [132]

Novelists, poets and short story writers

"And personally, I am, as you know, an old-fashioned Tory. So far we are in accord", T. S. Eliot wrote to Ford Madox Ford in 1923.[133]
Name Lifetime Notability Ref.
James Hogg 1770–1835 Author of The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner and Jacobite Relics [134]
William Wordsworth 1770–1850 Author of Lyrical Ballads and The Prelude [135][136]
Walter Scott 1771–1832 Author of Ivanhoe and Waverley [137]
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772–1834 Author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kublai Khan [138]
Robert Southey 1743–1843 Author of "After Blenheim" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" [139]
John Clare 1793–1864 Author of Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery [140]
Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1803–1864 Author of Pelham, Vril: The Power of the Coming Race, and The Last Days of Pompeii [141]
Charlotte Brontë 1816–1855 Author of Jane Eyre and Villette [142]
Coventry Patmore 1823–1896 Author of The Angel in the House [143]
Lewis Carroll 1832–1898 Author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass [144]
Alfred Austin 1835–1913 Author of A Poem – To England [145]
Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844–1889 Author of "The Windhover" and The Wreck of the Deutschland [143]
William Hurrell Mallock 1849–1923 Author of The New Republic [146]
Mary Augusta Ward 1851–1920 Author of Robert Elsmere, Marcella, and The Marriage of William Ashe
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850–1894 Author of Treasure Island, A Child's Garden of Verses, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde [147]
H. Rider Haggard 1856–1825 Author of King Solomon's Mines and She: A History of Adventure [148]
George Gissing 1857–1903 Author of The Nether World, New Grub Street and The Odd Women [149]
Joseph Conrad 1857–1924 Author of Heart of Darkness and Nostromo [150]
Arthur Conan Doyle 1859–1930 Creator of Canon of Sherlock Holmes and The Lost World [151]
W. W. Jacobs 1863–1943 Author of The Lady of the Barge including The Monkey's Paw [152]
Arthur Machen 1863–1947 Author of The Great God Pan
Rudyard Kipling 1865–1936 Nobel Laureate author of The Jungle Book duology, Kim and Just So Stories [153]
Saki 1870–1916 Author of The Westminster Alice and When William Came [154][155]
Lord Alfred Douglas 1870–1945 Author of The City of the Soul and The Duke of Berwick [156]
Robert Hugh Benson 1871–1914 Author of Lord of the World and Come Rack! Come Rope! [157]
Ford Madox Ford 1873–1939 Author of The Good Soldier and the Parade's End tetralogy [158]
G. K. Chesterton 1874–1934 Author of The Napoleon of Notting Hill, The Everlasting Man and the Father Brown stories [159][160]
John Buchan 1875-1940 Author of The Thirty-Nine Steps [161]
John Hay Beith 1876–1952 Author of Pip, A Safety Match and The Midshipmaid under the pen name Ian Hay [162]
Lord Dunsany 1878–1957 Author of The King of Elfland's Daughter and The Gods of Pegāna [163]
Radclyffe Hall 1880–1943 Author of The Well of Loneliness [164]
T. E. Hulme 1883–1917 Author of "Autumn" and "A City Sunset", both published in 1909 in a Poets' Club anthology, have the distinction of being the first Imagist poems. [165]
Gerald Gardner 1884–1964 Author of A Goddess Arrives and High Magic's Aid [166]
D. H. Lawrence 1885–1930 Author of The White Peacock, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow and Lady Chatterley's Lover [167]
T. S. Eliot 1888–1965 Author of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men and Four Quartets [133]
Dion Fortune 1890–1946 Author of The Winged Bull and The Sea Priestess [168]
Agatha Christie 1890–1976 Author of Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile and The Murder at the Vicarage [169]
Vita Sackville-West 1892–1962 Author of The Land, The Edwardians, and All Passion Spent [170]
J. R. R. Tolkien 1892–1973 Author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit [171]
Dennis Wheatley 1897–1977 Author of The Forbidden Territory and The Devil Rides Out [172]
Elizabeth Bowen 1899–1973 Author of The Last September, The House in Paris, The Death of the Heart, The Heat of the Day and Eva Trout [173][174]
Barbara Cartland 1901–2000 Author of A Ghost in Monte Carlo [175]
Lady Eleanor Smith 1902–1945 Author of the Red Wagon and Caravan [176]
Evelyn Waugh 1903–1966 Author of the Decline and Fall , A Handful of Dust, Brideshead Revisited, and the Sword of Honour trilogy [177]
Ian Fleming 1908–1964 Author of the James Bond series [178]
Henry Green 1905–1973 Author of Living, Party Going, and Loving [179]
Anthony Powell 1905-2000 Author of the 12-volume roman-fleuve A Dance to the Music of Time [180]
John Betjeman 1906-1984 Poet Laureate and author of Continual Dew [181]
Lawrence Durrell 1912–1990 Author of The Alexandria Quartet [182]
Roald Dahl 1916-1990 Author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox [183][184]
Anthony Burgess 1917–1993 Author of The Malayan Trilogy and A Clockwork Orange [185]
P. D. James 1920–2014 Author of the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and The Children of Men [186]
John Braine 1922–1986 Author of Room at the Top [187]
Kingsley Amis 1922–1995 Author of Lucky Jim, Jake's Thing and The Old Devils [188][189]
Philip Larkin 1922–1985 Author of The Whitsun Weddings and High Windows [190][191]
James Moffat 1922–1993 Author of Skinhead
George MacDonald Fraser 1925–2008 Author of The Flashman Papers [192]
Simon Raven 1927-2001 Author of the Alms for Oblivion series
John Osborne 1929-1994 Author of Look Back in Anger [193]
J. G. Ballard 1930–2009 Author of The Atrocity Exhibition, Crash and High-Rise [194][195][196]
Geoffrey Hill 1932–2016 Author of For the Unfallen [197]
V. S. Naipaul 1932–2018 Nobel Laureate author of the A House for Mr Biswas, In a Free State, A Bend in the River and The Enigma of Arrival [198]
Jilly Cooper 1937–2025 Author of the Rutshire Chronicles including Riders, Rivals and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous [199]
Frederick Forsyth 1938–2025 Author of The Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War and The Fist of God [200]
Allan Massie 1938–2026 Author of Augustus and Tiberius
Ferdinand Mount 1939 – Author of A Chronicle of Modern Twilight [201]
Michael Dobbs 1948 – Author of House of Cards
Paul Kingsnorth 1972 – Author of The Wake [202]

Media

Name Founded/defunct Notability Ref.
The Times 1785 – British daily national newspaper based in London that is widely considered to be the newspaper of record[203] along with The Daily Telegraph [204][205]
The Sunday Times 1821 – British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category [206][207]
The Spectator 1828 – Conservative news magazine first published in July 1828 making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world[208] [209][210]
The Daily Telegraph 1855 – British daily conservative broadsheet newspaper founded by Arthur B. Sleigh which is often regarded as the paper of record newspaper of record[203] together with The Times [211][212]

See also

Footnotes

References

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