Chapter 13 (4)

Question 1

Labour weaknesses in 1979

Answer 1

-Failure to control the trade unions (13.5 million days lost to strikes between July 1978- May 1979)
- 1.3 million unemployment
-Callaghan and his colleagues looked ‘tired and ineffectual’
-Callaghan exercised a personal veto over the contents of the manifesto specifically over the House of Lords
-votes of no confidence
-Already a minority government

Question 2

The ‘Thatcher’ effect

Answer 2

-Didn’t just criticise Labour but focused on growth and positivity
-Took a strong approach on immigration, permissiveness, and the increasing levels of violence which gained support from the right and those who supported Powell
-She harnessed her femininity, didn’t shy away from it but still presented herself as a strong individual to gain public support

Question 3

Conservative Election Campaign

Answer 3

-Harnessed the powers of saatchi and saatchi which took it very seriously as they were a respectable company. They used memorable slogans like ‘Britain isn’t getting any better’, ‘Educashun isn’t working’, ‘Labour isn’t working’, and ‘cheer up, they can’t last forever’
-Free from state control with complete opposition and emphasis on liberty

Question 4

Liberal Vote

Answer 4

-Suffered severely due to first past the post where they won 13.8% of the votes but 11 seats
-if the liberals wouldn’t have split the vote and worked with Labour then they would have won

Question 5

Reducing Inflation

Answer 5

-Inflation fell from 22% to 5% by 1983
-Indirect taxation increased with duty on petrol by 20p a gallon
-Interest rates were raised to 17% in 1979

-1980 economy was in recession
-Inflation above 15% by 1980
-Stagflation returned in May 1979

Question 6

Support the private sector

Answer 6

-more business opportunities resulting from outsourcing at local government level
-Enterprise allowance scheme was set up in 1981 which gave a guaranteed income of £40 a week to unemployed people who set up their own businesses
-BP was privatised in 1979 and British Aerospace in 1980
-A cut of top rate of income tax from 83% to 60%

-Interest rates rose to 17% in 1979
-Companies began to cut staff
-Interest rates had to be continually increased to combat tax cuts

Question 7

Reduce government spending

Answer 7

-1981 budget where borrowing was reduced, local government budgets were cut and benefits were froze. Known as the ‘most unpopular budget in history’
-Public spending as a proportion of GDP jumped from 44.8% to 47.3% between 1980-1981
-Government borrowing continued to rise despite efforts to cut it
-Jan 1981, Government borrowing was due to hit £14.5 billion

Question 8

Job Creation

Answer 8

-Youth unemployment schemes were created which encouraged employers to take on young people
-Employment in the south was high
-Enterpise scheme set up
-Wages in the public sector went up by 25% as recommended by the Clegg Commission

Question 9

Dries

Answer 9

Supported Thatcher economically and socially
Keith Joseph
Geoffrey Howe
Willie Whitelaw
Nigel Lawson

Question 10

Wets

Answer 10

Opposed Thatcher’s economics and policies
Jim Prior
Francis Pym
Michael Heseltine

Question 11

Foot’s leadership and ‘loony left’

Answer 11

33% of voters in a TV Eye poll believed that it was a lack of leadership that lost Labour the election
Leadership: Foot (November 1980-October 1983) and Kinnock (October 1983-July 1992)
‘Loony left’- name harnessed by the media as Labour had become very left wing so this linked them to communism
‘Militant Tendency’- Far left, radical, Trotskist group which held many of the local councils so had significant influence
Red Ken and Barmie Bernie
Party was divided internally through internal wrangles
Tony Benn: renounced his peerage, minister in both previous governments, couldn’t transfer his popularity to leadership, opposed the EEC and EU, and believed that Labour wasn’t left wing enough in 1979
Benn led a campaign in 1980/1981 to change the party constitution to say that all Labour candidates should seek reelection which allowed for more of the left to gain seats
1983 campaign was uninspiring

Question 12

Gang of Four and the formation of SDP

Answer 12

-4 main Labour MP’s mobed away to form the SDP in 1981. Williams, Jenkins, Rogers, and Owens as they were’t happy with the trade unions and anti-Europeanism
-Aimed to attract disaffected members from both the Labour and Conservative party members which damaged Labour as it showed them as weak and divided
-SDP began to shrink by 1987
-People began to back the Labour again when Kinnock took over

Question 13

By election success within SDP

Answer 13

-Williams in Crosby from the Conservatives (November 1981)
-Jenkins won Glasgow Hillhead (March 1982)

Question 14

What was the plan called to set up the SDP in Jan 1981

Answer 14

Limehouse Decleration

Question 15

Wembley Conference

Answer 15

Was the final straw for many Labour members following the announcement of increased influence of trade unions and highlighted the party’s major shift to the left

Question 16

1983 Labour Manifesto

Answer 16

-5 year plan which is very similar to the communists in Russia like a Department of economic and industrial planning with union consultation
-Eliminate low pay
-Increase in public investment, transport, housing, and energy
-Increase house building by 50% and freeze rents for a year
-Help citizenship for Asian and Black Britain’s
-Cancel the Trident programme
-Ban arms sales to oppressive regimes
-Leave the EEC
-Bring back ‘industrial democracy’

Question 17

The Alliance

Answer 17

-Gained 40% of the popular vote in 1983
-Gained 25% of the popular votes in 1987
-Never able to establish itself as a credible alternative to the major parties
-By early 1990’s the SDP and Liberals had merged to make the Liberal Democrats
-Took lots of votes away from Labour which allowed the Conservatives to gain more power as the anti-Conservative vote was 3 million more than the pro-Conservative however it was not united so the Conservatives could win
-David Owen disagreed with the partnership
-Tense relationships arouse further along the relationship

Question 18

Demographic Changes

Answer 18

-lack of working class support
-Press coverage of Labour was universally harsh and hostile
-Unions were no longer a source of strength
-Traditional Labour strongholds had lost their connections
-Rise in national pride with Tories
-Some Labour members became Thatcherite Conservatives and Liberals

Question 19

Thatcher’s position on Ireland

Answer 19

-Upset regarding Airey Neave’s assassination as he was very close to her
-Lord Mountbatten was killed in 1979
-Saw this as a criminal actions rather than political so was very harsh
-‘Our party has always, throughout its history, been committed to the defence of the Union’- 1979
-In her memoir she discusses how it was a complex issue

Question 20

Hunger Strikes

Answer 20

Bobby Sands led the hunger strike which started in March 1981. Won the election in April and ran from prison, known as the ‘political prisoner candidate’ but was called a terrorist by the government. Died in May 1981 after 66 days. More than 100,000 people attended his funeral.
The strikes were staggered to build pressure on the government

Question 21

Government reaction to Sands’ death

Answer 21

Thatcher seemed insensitive
‘Mr Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life’
New legislation passed by Parliament to bar ‘convicted felons’ from standing for election
Sinn Fein begin to control elections in both NI and ROI

Question 22

Education Reforms 1983-87

Answer 22

Cuts in public spending to the arts
Increased emphasis on vocational training and economics skills
Youth Training Scheme 1983- designed to give vocational training and work experience but faced criticism for low wages and limited training
Reduced the influence of NUT and NAS/UWT through reforms to teacher pay and conditions
League tables and performance-based measures were introduced which held teachers accountable
Thatcher supported grammar schools over comprehensive education
A shift was needed ‘towards technological, scientific, and engineering courses’

Question 23

Red Wedge

Answer 23

Music collective which opposed Thatcher
Included Billy Bragg, Madness, and Paul Weller
Aimed to make pop political
Put Neil Kinnock in Tracey Ullman’s music video covering madness
Did not publicly active change
Influential with the youth
Paved the way for the media oriented New Labour

Question 24

Church of England

Answer 24

‘Faith in the city’ published in 1985
Used the government to do more to help the poor communities
Durham’s bishop Jenkins and Liverpool’s Shepard were very vocal in criticism of Thatcherism
Thatcher believed in traditional Christian values and for the ideal organisation to denounce her is helling

Question 25

CND and Greenham women

Answer 25

Strongly against the policies of armament
Cold War was very tense in the 1980’s
Organised marches
Greenham women set up a protest on Greenham Common: focal for not just CND but also feminism
Nuclear spending diverted resources from spending on women’s rights
1984: 90,000 protesters made a human chain
Showed widespread support against her policies which highlighted how tired the country was of the Cold War. Greenham Common continued until 2000 but nuclear weapons stayed

Question 26

1980s Feminism

Answer 26

Intersectional feminism was very popular and opposed Thatcher
Thatcher did not give women apathetics
These groups were connected to antifacism and socialism
Fought for equal pay which was achieved in 1984
Feminist housing associations were common
Changed the position of women in society. Made links between feminism and other political movements

Question 27

LGBT community

Answer 27

Section 28 forebode teachers from talking about homosexuality
Stone was launched exactly one year after section 28 became law
Stonewall wanted to prevent that and promote gay rights
Section 28 no longer exists. Gay rights are stronger. But it was still going backwards during Thatcher’s time

Question 28

Environmental groups

Answer 28

Bhopal gas leak, Chernobyl spill, and ozone hole layer
Environmentalism groups drew alarm to key issues
Acid drain becoming common
Global warming
Green peace and friends of the earth gained popularity
Ozone layer was fixed. Awareness was raised. These groups are still active which shows that their aims have not been achieved yet