Tory Boy was a character in a television sketch by comedian

Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', '' Harry Enfield & Chums'' and '' Harry & Paul'', across which he created ...

, portraying a young, male supporter of the Conservative Party. Since then, the term has been used as a caricature of young Conservatives. Tory Boy was depicted as a repulsive thirteen-year-old with glaringly outdated beliefs about society and the world in general. Enfield based the character on a snobbish, unpopular boy he knew in school, and a younger version of

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

, who was a prominent member of the Young Conservatives group from his teenage years and famously delivered a speech at the Conservative Party's annual national conference at age 16. Enfield also drew inspiration from other contemporary Conservative politicians, such as

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...

and

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...

whom he described as "Tory Boys who have never grown up." The traits of "Tory Boy" have also been said to mirror those of a stereotypical member of the

Federation of Conservative Students The Federation of Conservative Students (FCS) was the student organisation of the British Conservative Party from the late 1940s to 1986. It was created to act as a bridge between the student movement and the Conservative Party. It produced seve ...

. The Tory Boy image of a young Conservative MP has been damaging for some politicians. William Hague, for instance, struggled to shake off the stereotype and was often ridiculed for it both before and during his leadership of the party. In 2006, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', a Conservative-supporting newspaper, noted that

Conservative Future Conservative Future (CF) was the youth movement of the Conservative Party in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The organisation was made up of all members of the Conservative Party who were 30 years old or younger. Conservative Future was f ...

"had managed to change the image of young Conservatives" from that associated with the FCS.Forget Tory Boy, Conservatives are now cool
''The Telegraph'' (4 October 2006). Retrieved 6 January 2014. In Enfield's 1997 TV Christmas Special, aired months after Labour's landslide victory in the

UK general election United Kingdom general elections (elections for the House of Commons) have occurred in the United Kingdom since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliame ...

, a sketch featured Tory Boy's left-wing father wishing that his son would join the Labour Party. The fairy at the top of their Christmas tree grants his wish, transforming Tory Boy into "Tony Boy" (a parody of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

References

External links

Catching up with the 'Tory boy'
Political terminology in the United Kingdom Comedy television characters Conservative Party (UK) terms Characters created by Harry Enfield {{comedy-tv-char-stub

References

Further reading

External links