British Conservatives, however were much influenced by
Disraeli’s [1804-1881] doctrine of ’One Nation’, popularised in his
novel Sybil and his political practice as prime minister (1868 and
1874-1880). His idea was that national unity should be preserved
through a direct appeal to the interests of the working classes on the
part of benevolent Tory governments. In the nineteenth century the
Conservatives were still led by a mainly aristocratic leadership who
combined ideas of ’noblesse oblige’ with an inclination to ’dish the