What is Tory Democracy?

Answer 1

In the 19'th century there was a competition for votes between the conservative Tory-party and the liberal Whig-party. The Tories mostly tried to defend the interests of the landowners while the Whigs was favoring a more commercial and competitive society. During this time the main difference between the two lied in the attitude to expansion of the electorate. The Tories wanted the electorate staying as they were and that none more would get to vote. The Whigs on the other hand fought for expansion and for equal voting rights for all (classes). The Whigs succeeded in this task in 1832 in the passing of the Great Reform Bill.

They now looked forward to a long period of political dominance. The Tories now stood before a challenge, they had to think of a way to attract new voters to their cause. Benjamin Disraeli found a way. His idea was to form an alliance between aristocratic upper class and the working class. To create this alliance Disraeli pursued the policies of Tory democracy.

Tory democracy was meant to address the needs of the working class while instilling in the workers a respect for English traditions.

Tory democracy was(is) a form of culture conservatism where you fought to gain the votes and trust of the, potentially revolutionary, working class. It is a form a British conservatism and it came to be the dominant form of conservatism in UK.