Despite its worst electoral defeat since World War I the Conservative Party has enjoyed many more years in office than either its Labour or Liberal oppositions. In order to better understand its apparent rise and fall, Chris Wrigley provides a critical history of the Party. Wrigley covers its surge in popularity under Disraeli and Salisbury, its broad appeal in the interwar years, the never had it so good years of the postwar period, ideological shifts within the Party in the 1970s and 80s and the increasing disillusionment of Tory voters in the 1990s. In so doing Wrigley assesses the success of the party, its ability to adapt and the reasons for its appeal.