Conservative Party (KT)
| Conservative Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Catherine Willoughby |
| Chairman | Arthur Langley |
| Founded | 1820 |
| Preceded by | Tory Party |
| Headquarters | 30 Park Street, Westminster |
| Youth wing | Conservative Youth |
| Women's wing | Conservative Women |
| Overseas wing | Conservatives International |
| Membership (2014) |
 693,821,000 |
| Ideology |
Conservatism Economic liberalism Kiribatian unionism HPL integration |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| International affiliation | International Democrat Union |
| Colours | Blue |
| House of Commons |
337 / 650 |
| House of Lords |
411 / 793 |
| Westminster Assembly |
17 / 25 |
| Local government |
7,815 / 20,565 |
| Mayors |
18 / 41 |
| Website | |
| conservatives.kt | |
The Conservative Party is a centre-right political party in Kiribati-Tarawa that espouses the philosophies of conservatism, economic liberalism, and Kiribatian unionism. The party's official name is the Conservative Party, but the party is often incorrectly referred to as the Tory Party or simply as the Tories, a nickname owing to the party's predecessor, the Tory Party, which was disbanded in 1820. As of 2015, it is the majority party in the House of Commons with 326 MPs. Due to its one-seat majority, it did not have to enter into a coalition and was able to form a majority government. Its current leader is Prime Minister Catherine Willoughby, who has led the party since her ascension in 2014.
The party was formed in 1820 after the disbandment of the Tory Party and has been one of the dominant parties in Kiribatian politics since then. Its primary political rival is the Labour Party, who rose to prominence in the 1920's following the Workers' Revolution, a social movement which pushed for greater freedoms and rights for the working class. The Conservatives' failure to accept the demands of the working class led to their fall in the 1947 General Election, in which the Labour Party won its largest majority in history, one that it held for most of the twentieth century, until the 1994 General Election, in which André Torre's opposition uncovered a spending scandal which threatened the country's economic future, leading to Labour's electoral oblivion. The Conservatives have held an overall majority in the House of Commons since then.
