4.1 Intro to Thatcher Flashcards
When was Thatcher Prime Minister?
1979 to 1990
What previous position had Thatcher held in government?
Heath appointed her as Secretary of State for Education and Science in 1970
What were Thatcher’s opinions on Heath’s government?
She felt that his government had lost direction
This led her to enter to content for leadership herself which she achieved in 1975
What was Thatcher’s opinion of the post-war consensus?
She was dismissive of it and saw it as responsible for Britain’s ills
What were six key policies that were emphasised in Thatcherism?
- Free markets
- Monetarism
- Privatisation
- Cuts in public spending
- Cuts in taxes
- Emphasising individuals not groups
What is meant by ‘Roll back the State’?
- Rollback is changing the policies of the state
- Cutback on the welfare state
Why was fighting inflation important in the Thatcher ideology?
Encouraged saving and increased confidence in the economy
How did Thatcherism fight welfare dependency?
- Wanted people to be able to provide for themselves
- Encouraged people to go back to work
- Reduced the eligibility for benefits over time
What was the ideology behind deregulation?
- Increase competition to encourage people to work for individual profit
- Encouraged private business
What is monetarism?
Controlling the amount of money in the circulation
Used to control inflation
What was Thatcher’s stance on the role of Trade Unions?
- Very anti-socialist
- Wanted to reduce the power of the unions after the Winter of discontent
What groups of people would benefit from Thatcher’s policies and ideology?
- Prioritised the upper classes and those who already had wealth, especially businessmen
- Did not support the working class and people on benefits
