(!) 4:15 The impact of Thatcherism on society Flashcards
Overall, Thatcherism had a deep impact on society, which sometimes caused…
tension and opposition, both within Parliament and outside of it
A key aim of the Thatcher government was to turn Britain into…
a property-owning democracy
What was the Housing Act of 1980?
It gave council tenants the right to buy their council house
> They received a discount of between 33%-50% depending on how long they had lived in the house
What impact had the Housing Act had by 1988?
Approx. 2 million new homeowners had taken advantage of the scheme to buy the homes they had previously rented
> it became a symbol of the success of Thatcherism
> the Labour Party initially opposed the Right to Buy scheme but later dropped its opposition because it was so popular with the public
However, Right to Buy did have many consequences:
> the sale of council housing did not have a great impact in less desirable estates, predominantly in better-off areas
> councils were ordered to use the profits from council house sales to reduce debts, not to build new council housing
> the number and quality of homes available for rent was sharply reduced and waiting lists for rented homes got longer
> many people were housed in emergency B & B accommodation which was expensive for councils to provide
Thatcher’s economic reforms provoked hostility from a number of trade unions:
> Unions representing public sector workers, such as NUPE (National Union of Public Employees) became more militant
> The teachers’ unions, which had never previously been associated with industrial unrest, carried on a lengthy dispute over working conditions in the mid-1980s
The role of the unions was constrained by new laws:
> in 1980 secondary picketing (picketing a location not directly involved in the dispute, may sell the products involved) was outlawed
> in 1984, unions were put under more pressure to hold ballots before strike action was called
In addition, more employers tried to…
keep the unions out of their workplaces
What was the longest and most symbolic episode in the industrial struggles of this period?
The miners’ strike in 1984-85
In 1981, the National Coal Board (NCB) warned of the need to close 23 pits. How did the government respond?
They didn’t want a rerun of the events of 1973-74 and had compromised, reducing the amount of coal imported and protecting the subsidy to the NCB, thus preventing the closures
Now, in 1984, the government was fully prepared and confident. Why?
> Huge stocks of coal had been built up at power stations
> The flow of North Sea oil made it much less likely there would be an energy crisis as had happened in 1973
In 1984, the NCB announced the need to close 20 pits:
Scargill, president of the NUM, claimed he had seen a plan to close 70 pits. Ian McGregor, chairman of the NCB, rejected this, but there was indeed a strategy to close 75 pits over the following 3 years.
Although Scargill was a charismatic leader…
he did not gain total support for a national strike
> his refusal to hold a strike ballot weakened his case
> he failed to solve the historic regional divisions between the miners, e.g. the Nottinghamshire miners formed a breakaway union, the UDM
The police played a significant role in the miners’ strike:
> they now had new equipment, more experience of riot control and better tactics
> Thatcher’s critics blamed her for the politicisation of the police, claiming they were used to defeat the miners, rather than being neutral protectors of law and order
Among many confrontations, the most famous was the Battle of Orgreave:
June 1984
> a mass picket at Orgreave by 5000 miners
> faced by up to 8000 police officers: the result was a series of violent confrontations
> more than 50 picketers and more than 70 police officers were injured
Another key factor in the defeat of the NUM was Scargill, the president himself:
> he never gained the support of the Labour party leadership
> it was easy for Thatcher and her allies in the press to demonise Scargill as a dangerous revolutionary challenging the democratically elected government
Why were the last months of the strike particularly demonising?
> there was a steady drift back to work, while the hard core of strikers, determined to stick it out, depended on charitable handouts
The outcome of Scargill’s campaign to prevent pit closures was utter failure: by how much did the coal industry employment rate fall?
1979: 200,000 employed
1990: 60,000 and still falling
The results of the miners’ strike also meant the power of all unions was dramatically reduced:
> by 1990, total union membership was only two thirds of what it had been in 1979
> other state industries such as British Steel and British Airways were reorganised, with massive job losses
> the ability of the unions to intimidate the government was gone for good
> many Thatcherites saw the defeat of the strike as the defining moment of Thatcherism
What was the Community Charge, or ‘poll tax’?
> Thatcher’s final attempt to reform local government finances
> Its aim was to make local councils more accountable to their electors by ensuring that everyone contributed
How had it been under the old rates system?
Local taxation was based on property and so was only paid by homeowners
What was the poll tax?
A tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources
Thatcherites believed that if everyone contributed…
it would be fairer, and that councils would be forced to be more efficient and more responsible in their spending
When and where was the poll tax first introduced?
In Scotland in 1989
How was the poll tax received by the Scottish people?
> It was extremely unpopular from the outset
> The Conservatives’ reputation in Scotland had already been severely damaged by the deindustrialisation and recession of the early 1980s
> This harmed the Conservative Party reputation even further
Despite its unpopularity…
it was introduced into England and Wales in 1990
> Thatcher’s unwillingness to alter course seemed to highlight her increasing aloofness and a failure to connect with ordinary people
What was the resistance to the poll tax?
> Anti-Poll Tax Unions were set up across the country, urging people not to pay
> In some areas, up to 30% of people were non-payers
> The police, courts and councils were unable to enforce payment
What happened in March 1990?
There was an anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square which more than 200,000 people attended
> By the evening, the demonstration had turned into a riot
> Nearly 5000 were injured
> Cars were overturned and set on fire, many shop windows were smashed, with extensive looting
> Over 300 arrests were made, but the police were seen to have lost control
