Benjamin Disraeli’s idea of a “One Nation” Britain has traditionally been associated with the Conservative Party. However, given Labour Leader Ed Miliband’s recent attempt to redefine his party as “One Nation” Labour, the question is now who owns this important political tradition?

Conservatives see themselves as the true “One Nation” party, fighting for social stability in an unequal country, while Labour contests that its commitment to equality and social justice make it the more appropriate owner of the “One Nation” tradition. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have always seen themselves as a faction-free party – neither capital nor labour – and inherently “One Nation”.

In the first of our “Imagining One Nation” series, Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove MP and Lord Maurice Glasman debate the meaning of “One Nation” politics and to which party the tradition now belongs.

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