the Conservative Party
noun [singular + singular or plural verb]one of the main British political parties, on the political right, which especially believes in free enterprise and that industry should be privately owned 保守党（英国主要政党之一，尤其信奉自由企业制度及产业私有化） CultureThe Conservative Party developed from the old Tory Party in the 1830s and is still sometimes called by this name. It is a right-wing party, supporting capitalism and free enterprise (= an economic system in which there is open competition in business and trade, and no government control). It formed the government in Britain from 1979 to 1997, during which time its leaders were Margaret Thatcher and then John Major. David Cameron became party leader in 2005. After the General Election of 2010, the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats and David Cameron became Prime Minister. In 2015 David Cameron announced plans for a referendum (= when people of a country vote on an important issue) on whether Britain should continue to be a member of the European Union. The referendum took place in June 2016. A small majority (51.9%) of people voted to leave the EU, going against the government's wish to remain. As a result David Cameron resigned (= stated formally that he was leaving his job), and Theresa May became Prime Minister in July 2016.Topics Politicsb2