THE CONSERVATIVE PARLIAMENTARY ELITE 1964-1994 - THE END OF SOCIAL CONVERGENCE

The convergence of a widening social base in the Parliamentary Conserv ative Party with an increasingly middle class Parliamentary Labour Par ty has been a persistent observation of postwar elite studies. Claims are frequently made that the Thatcher and Major years have produced a more 'classless' Conservative elite. On the basis of new research, it is demonstrated that members of the socio-educational elite continue t o enjoy vastly disproportionate access to Conservative parliamentary s eats; that they enjoy even more disproportionate access to safe seats; and that they continue to enjoy still more disproportionate access to office in Conservative governments. Furthermore, in the last decade l ong-term trends to social convergence have gone into reverse.