1 1 - Thatcher's beliefs Flashcards
Conviction politics
What was this and what did Thatcher believe?
Who was Thatcher not like?
- She believed politics should be rooted in the fundamental beliefs of political leaders, rather than in consensus and compromise.
- She was not like previous Conservative politicians such as Macmillan, Douglas-Home and Heath.
What was Thatchers attitude towards consensus politics?
What did she believe that one of the main problems was with post-war politics?
- She rejected it! She believed that sticking to principles was more important & in her view, finding consensus meant abandoning principles - which was morally wrong.
- Politicians had sought consensus rather than doing the right thing.
Conviction politics
Thatchers rejection of consensus politics reflected what?
What did she believe was the main problem which afflicted the Conservative party in the 1970s?
- Reflected the recent history of the Conservative Party.
- Heaths willingness to compromise, to abandon his ‘Selsdon Man’ programme & move to the centre ground of politics.
Thatchers economic output.
In summarry- what did Thatcher believe ?
What did it reflect in her eyes?
She was against:
- Dependency
- High levels of tax
- Debt
- Powerful unions
At heart- her economic ideas reflected her essential moral principles which she believed reflected basic common sense rather than a sophisticated ideology.
Thatchers economic outlook
What were Thatchers main beliefs?
(3 points)
- Everyone should work hard to earn a living. No one except the vulnerable should depend on the state to live.
- Hard work should be rewarded- so she wanted low income taxes as believed that tax prevented people benefitting from the money that they had earned.
- Key to economic growth = individual enterprise - so wanted to help foster a new generation of entrepreneus, creating room for individual creativity by scaling back the states economic role.
What did Thatcher believe about economic efficiency?
Importance of economic efficiency.
- Argued that private companies = more efficient than government agencies, as private companies had to make a profit & therefore every penny counted.
- Whereas- governments could be wasteful as they did not aim to make a profit.
As a result of Thatchers basic economic ideas- what did many of the right of the party believe about government spending?
It should be cut as it required high tax & led to the growth of inefficient government agencies at the expense of efficient private companies.
Thatchers economic outlook
Why was she highly critical of unions?
- She believed they interfered with the free market , also making industry less efficient.
- Inefficiency, the result of growing taxation & growing union power in the post-war period she believed had led to low economic growth & high rates of inflation.
The Rule of Law
Why was she passionate in the rule of law?
- For her, British law was central to politics as it was a result of a democratic process & defended individual rights.
- As a result- she believed British people should obey the law, trusting that it would protect their rights.
The Rule of Law
What forms of protest was Thatcher suspicious of?
How did she believe reform should come about?
- Radical forms of protest such as marches, occupations & strikes.
- Should come through elections rather than by direct actions- laws could be changed democratically as all citizens had a right to vote.
The Rule of law
What were Thatcher’s opinions on radical forms of protest?
- Undemocratic- as they used force to change things rather than a democratic debate.
- Viewed them as a kind of lawlessness, or at the very least as likely to degenerate into violence.
- Rejected them as tended to be used by unions, feminist groups or black rights groups to advance collective rights such as black rights or womens rights. She believed that individual rights alone deserved to be protected.
Nationalism
What were her main beliefs?
- Firm believer in the virtues of Britain & Britishness.
- Believed Britain had fundamentally civilised values of individual rights, hard work & democracy - and British people should celebrate their culture & rights.
Nationalism
What groups was she suspicious of and why was this?
- Black rights groups that accused organisations such as the police of institutional racism- or feminist groups who campaigned for womens liberation.
- She believed these groups were fundamentally misguided as under the British law, freedom and justice were guaranteed for all.
Nationalism
How was she a nationalist when viewing other countries?
- She opposed interference in British affairs from other countries.
- As the 1980s went on- she became increasingly concerned about interference from Europe.
