Tory Boy was a character in a television sketch by comedian Harry Enfield which portrayed a young, male, Conservative MP. The term has since been used as a caricature of young Conservatives. Tory Boy was a repulsive thirteen-year-old who held glaringly outdated beliefs about society and the world in general. Enfield created the character based on a snobbish, unpopular boy with whom he went to school, and a younger version of William Hague, who was a prominent member of the Young Conservatives group since he was a teenager and famously made a speech at the Conservative Party's annual national conference when he was just 16 years old. Enfield also claimed to have mixed 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 served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

and Michael Portillo into the character, alleging that they were "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 damaged some politicians. William Hague struggled to shake off the stereotype and was often ridiculed for it both before and during his leadership of the party. In 2006, an article in '' The Daily Telegraph'', a Conservative-supporting newspaper, claimed that Conservative Future "had managed to change the image of young Conservatives" from that given by 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, some months after Labour's landslide victory in the UK General Election, a sketch included 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 and with her magic wand she transforms Tory Boy into "Tony Boy" (a parody of Tony Blair).

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

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