Lord Randolph Churchill, (born Feb. 13, 1849, Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, Eng.—died Jan. 24, 1895, London), British politician. Third son of the 7th duke of Marlborough, he entered the House of Commons in 1874. In the early 1880s he joined other Conservatives in forming the Fourth Party, which advocated a “Tory democracy” of progressive conservatism. In 1886, at age 37, he became leader of the House of Commons and chancellor of the Exchequer, but he resigned after his first budget was rejected. Though he had seemed destined to be prime minister, this miscalculation effectively ended his political career. He remained in the Commons until his death, but he lost interest in politics and devoted much time to horse racing. Winston Churchill was his son.
Lord Randolph Churchill summary
Conservative Party summary
Conservative Party, officially National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations., British political party whose guiding principles include promotion of private property and enterprise, maintenance of a strong military and foreign policy, and preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. It is the heir of the old Tory Party, whose members began forming “conservative associations” after electoral rights were extended to the middle class in 1832. The modern party (whose members are often known as Tories) is essentially a coalition of two groups, and must balance its traditionalist and communitarian wing against its libertarian and individualist wing. It also experiences internal conflict over Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Its membership is heavily dependent on the landowning and middle classes, but its electoral base has extended at times to incorporate about one-third of the working class. Since World War I, it and the Labour Party have dominated British politics.