25 - Extra-Parliamentary Opposition Flashcards
What 3 types of protests took place in the Thatcher years? How did some protests end up?
Political, economic and social protests
Violence
What had people become increasingly concerned about since the 1960s?
Environmentalism
What year were Friends of the Earth founded? What year was Greenpeace founded?
1969
1971
What 3 issues did environmentalist groups draw attention to?
Global warming
Ozone layer thinning
Overexploitation of finite resources
How much did membership of Friends of the Earth increase in the 1980s? Approximately how many members were there by the 1980s?
4,000
19,000
How much did membership of Greenpeace increase in the 1980s? Approximately how many members were there by the 1980s?
10,000
40,000
At what level did Britain see support for environmentalism? What is an example of this support?
Local level
Recycling schemes
What type of power and weaponry was a major concern in Britain? What was a concern about it?
Nuclear
Its ill-effects
What year did nuclear protests begin in earnest? What Campaign was formed?
1957
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)
When did the CND’s first march to the Atomic Weapons Research Institute take place? What time period did these marches become a feature of?
Easter 1958
Late 1950s and early 1960s
What time period did nuclear protests develop particularly? What US weapon deployment caused this?
Early 1980s
US cruise missiles were deployed to Britain
What 2 years saw mass nuclear protests in London?
1981
1983
Where was nuclear opposition focused in the 1980s?
Greenham Common peace camp
Why did anti-nuclear weapons movements take on a new urgency in the late 1970s? What were these weapons known as?
Deployment of US missiles to the UK
Cruise-Pershing II missiles
Where did anti-nuclear protest marchers build a permanent camp in August 1981? Why?
Outside Greenham Common
The missiles were located there
What gender was excluded from the Greenham Common camps in February 1982? Why?
Men
To focus on the destructive power of mankind
Why did many of the GC camps women see nuclear weapons as a gender issue?
They nurtured the children whose lives could be destroyed with the weapons
Why would thousands of people visit GC camps? How did other people feel about the GC camps?
To offer support
They vehemently opposed
What asset was falling in value that made people protest against GC camps? Who was intruding in their area?
People’s homes
Protesters
Why were many women arrested at GC camp protests? Until when did the GC protests continue?
Vandalism of the perimeter fencing
Early 21st Century
Who did Mrs Thatcher feel local councils should be more accountable to? Why did she want all adults to contribute equally?
Electors
They’d be more critical about how their money was spent
What tax did Mrs Thatcher introduce? What else was the tax known as?
Poll tax
Flat-rate tax
Who was a flat-rate tax based on? What did it stop?
Individuals
Unequal contribution from householders
Where was the poll tax first introduced? When was it introduced?
Scotland
April 1989
What 2 reasons saw Scotland’s huge opposition to the poll tax?
Most people paid more
The burden fell on the working-class
Approximately how much more did the poll tax cost councils to collect compared to the rates? What did some people suggest about its efficiency?
2.5x more
It cost more to collect it than what it raised
What 2 countries was the poll tax spread to after Scotland? What did this brew?
England and Wales
Opposition marches and protests
Where did the biggest poll tax riot begin? What date did it take place on?
Trafalgar Square
31st March 1990
What was a key issue with the poll tax with the taxpayer? When was the tax abandoned?
They refused to pay
1991
What tax replaced the poll tax? What system was it similar to?
Council tax
The old ratings system
What did journalist Caroline Blackwood argue about Newbury Council’s attempt to scare GC protesters?
“It was a very small minded approach… they forsee the inevitable destruction of their children”
What did anti-CND Lord Beloff want to publicly discredit?
“We must publically discredit the GC women and their supporters”
