In his 1961, Richard Hornby stated that the Conservative Party was “not captive to any rigid set of principles” (Hornby, 1961). Rather, the Conservative Party is “skeptical of theory and prefers a pragmatic approach” (Hornby, 1961), implying that “Conservatives [are] less influenced by a given ideology” (Knight, 2006, p34), and that the party “tends to feel comfortable working within the assumptions already existing in society” (Ball, 1998, pp 162). This implies that the Conservative Party should consider the Ball states, a way of looking at the world” (Ball, 1998, p 162). Other notable ideas associated with conservatism are historical flexibility, national unity, and adaptability to changing circumstances within society (Ludlam and Smith, 1996, pp4-9). However, this interpretation is challenged by claims that there are two rigid conservative principles: those that get them elected to government defined as policies “clearly popular with the electorate” (Marwick, 2000, p 184), and the appetite of the conservative party for power” (Ramsden, 1998, p495). In this essay it will be argued that this latter interpretation is the most accurate representation of conservative principles, during the period 1951-64. This will be done by examining the economic policies of the Conservative Party during this period. The areas that will be examined are conservatism in relation to: the post-1945 consensus on nationalization and trade unions, the implementation of Keynesianism as economic orthodoxy, welfare economic policies and their political consequences, politics in relation to welfare economic policy Conservative government record from 1951 to 1964 and how the government dealt with nationalisation, trade unions and economic and political aspects... at the heart of the document..., Keith (1979) Politics in Industrial Society: The Experience of the British System Since 1911. London: Andre DeutschRamsden, John (1998), An Appetite for Power: A History of the Conservative Party since 1830. London: Harper CollinsRollings, Neil (1994), Neil Rollings, 'Poor Mr Butskell: a short life destroyed by schizophrenia ?', Twentieth Century British History, 5 (2) (1994), 183-205Sampson, Anthony (1967) Macmillan: A Study In Ambiguity. London: Allen Lane Taylor, Andrew (2002) “Speaking to Democracy: The Conservative Party and Mass Opinion from the 1920s to the 1950s” S. Ball and I. Holliday (eds.) in Mass Conservatism: The Conservatives and the Public since the 1880's. London: Frank CassTurner, John (2003) “Governors, governance and the governed: British politics since 1945 in Burk, K (ed.) The British Isles Since 1945. New York: Oxford University Press