Chapter 17- the fall of Thatcher and the rise of Major Flashcards
what was the first problem that thatcher experienced in 1987
the stock market crashed
what did the ‘Lawson boom’ result in
rapid economic expansion
inflation 10.9% higher in 1990 than 1980
what caused the ‘Lawson boom’
Nigel lawson’s policies- specifically 1988 budget
what seat was lost by the tories in October 1990 that was very concerning
the ultra-safe seat of Eastbourne to the Liberals
what caused the governments popularity to drop in opinion polls in 1990
the poll tax
why were the Labour Party more of a threat to thatcher by the end of her term
party had been galvanised by Neil Kinnock
why was Geoffrey Howe’s resignation speech a factor in the fall of Thatcher
openly voiced criticisms of her
played a part in Heseltine announcing he would run for leadership
what was a key reason in Major becoming party leader
Thatcherites saw him as ‘one of them’
when did major scrap the poll tax
November 1991
what did the opinion polls say in the run up to the 1992 election
labour- 41%
tory- 29%
Lib Dem- 15%
what traditional style of campaigning did Major do in the run up to the 92 election
soap box politics
what were the actual results of the 1992 election
tories- 51.6%. 336 seats
labour- 41.6&. 271 seats
Lib Dem- 3.1%. 20 seats
how did unemployment change from 1991-1992
rose from 1.6 to 2.6 million
when was black Wednesday
16th september 1992
when did Britain join the ERM
October 1990
what was black Wednesday
when Britain were forced to leave the ERM
the ERM required Britain to maintain an exchange rate of 2.95 German marks to the pound, but the pound came under stress
norman Lamont (chancellor) attempted to rase interest rates from 10-15% to persuade foreign investors to by pounds again but this did not work
eventually Britain had to leave the ERM
what were the economic impacts of black Wednesday
surprisingly positive
exchange rates fell which helped British exporters
unemployment was down
consumer spending increased
productivity increased
house prices rose
what were the political impacts of black Wednesday
very bad
threw away stereotype that conservatives could be trusted with the economy
labour went ahead in the polls
Major himself later admitted it was ‘the beginning of the end’
what were the two leading conservatives Jeffrey Archer and Johnothan Atkins found guilty of under major
perjury
what was the ‘cash for questions scandal’
Neil Hamilton and other tory MP’s were found to be accepting bribes to ask questions to parliament on behalf of the harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed
what were the two major privitisations that occurred under Major
coal- 1994
railways- 1996
what was the citizens charter 1991
an attempt to give public service users information about the quality of services by providing information of th quality of services. eg testing of schools and publication of results
what closures were announced by Heseltine in 1991
31 pits in nottinghamshire
what led to British beef not being sold in Europe
outbreak of mad cow disease
what did Major ban in Britain because of the troubles
any organisations linked with terrorism from broadcasting
why were British soldiers accused of having a ‘shoot to kill’ policy
three IRA members killed in Gibraltar in 1988 by SAS
what were the two main miscarriages of justice in the troubles under major
the Birmingham six
the Guildford four
who were the Guildford four
arrested in 1975 for life after bombing two pubs. verdict overturned in 1989due to wrongful conviction
who were the Birmingham six
arrested in 1975 for bombing two pits and killing 21. verdict overturned in 1991
what were key. moments in the troubles under major
feb 1991- mortars fired at 10 Downing Street
Jan 1992- teebane landmine attack killed 8 protestants working at British arms base
feb 1991- five catholics short by loyalists in retaliation to teebane
what was announced by Major and Irish PM Albert Reynolds in 1993
Downing Street agreement
what did the Downing Street agreement include
if a majority vote in NI wanted union with republic of Ireland then this could happen
rewrite the 1937 constitution which was unacceptable towards unionists
what did the Downing Street agreement result in
IRA ceasefire in 1994
loyalist ceasefire after this
what did the IRA do in 1996 that went against their ceasefire
bombed Canary Wharf and the centre of Manchester
how did Thatcher alienate Howe
moved him from foreign office to minor role
resigned a year later
what did Howe say in his resignation speech about Thatcher undermining her ministers in Europe
‘much like sending your batsmen to the crease, only for them to find, as the first balls are being bowled, that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain’
why did divisions in the tory party worsen after 1992
right-wingers saw an opportunity to push for more radical social policies
those with leadership ambitious tried to advance their claims
eurosceptics saw an opportunity to push Britain out off Europe
what showed major felt insecure in his leadership by 1995
called for a leadership election
who were the two main candidates for leadership
major and John redwood
why was there only one ballot
major got 218 votes while redwood only got 98
what did Blair say about major on question time
‘I lead my party you follow yours’
how much of the vote did labour win in 1992 and how did this compare to other elections
34%
worst result since 1959
what was the pound exchange rate to marks while britain were in the ERM
1-2.95
what was the value of the pound in October 1990 when britain joined ERM
25% up
what happened to the British economy in 1991
went into recession
when was there a run of the pound in britain
1992
how much did Germany lower the exchange rate by when britain asked them to
only 0.25%
when was black Wednesday
16th september 1992
what were the negative effects of black Wednesday
britain lost £3.6 billion in reserves
65,000 houses repossessed boy banks
20,000 people went into negative equity
26,000 small companies went bankrupt
25,000 companies liquidated
what did Britain do to encourage foreign investment in the pound after black Wednesday
put interest rates up to 15%
what was the level of inflation after black Wednesday
3%- 8% lower than 1990
what was British GDP following black Wednesday
3.5% higher than 1991
when did unemployment peak under Major and what was the figure
1992- 3 million
what was inflation in the mid 90’s
10.9%
when was the economic recession said to have ended
April 1993- 0.2% economic growth
what was the governments inflation target following black Wednesday and was this upheld
1-4%
was upheld
what was the Sunday trading act 1994
allowed shops to be open for longer on Sundays
how many were unemployed in 1997
1.7 million
what were used to develop social infastructure under major
PFI’s
what did the 1993 budget include and what ddi it contradict
included increased tax on petrol etc- contradicted 1992 manifesto which promised tax cuts and no increase in taxes
how was the power of unions decreased under major
Trade Union and Labour Relations Acts introduced in 1992
wage councils were abolished
economic development councils abolished
what allowance was introduced in 1996
Jobseeker’s Allowance
how did the rate of the pound against German marks change from may-august 1992
may- £1- 2.91
august- £1- 2.80
what currency declined in relation to the pound on 9th September 1992
Finnish Markka
what currency declined in relation to the pound on 13th September 1992
Italian Lira
what did labour leader John smith say about Major after black Wednesday
major is ‘the devalued prime minister of the devalued government’
for how long after black Wednesday did major’s economic team stay the same
7 months
what happened in the polls following black Wednesday
labour went ahead and tories never regained the lead
how many pits were closed in October 1992 and how many jobs were lost
13
30,000 jobs lost
what was the closure of 13 pits in 1992 seen as
betrayal of the UDM
what was the response of miners following pit closures in 1992
demonstration in London
how many joined demonstration of miners in London inn1992
100-150,000
what was majors response to the pit closures in 1992
announced review of some of the closures
allocated extra funding for affected areas
allocated more generous redundancy packages for miners affected
when was the coal industry privatised
1994
when was British rail privatised
1994-1997
what company ran British railway after its privatisation
Railtrack
who opposed privatisation of railway
labour
Lib Dems
a lot of tories
what were the positives of the privatisation of British rail
growth in passenger numbers
increased fiscal efficiency
what were the negatives of privatisation of British rail
higher ticket prices
over crowding
when was the channel tunnel opened
1994
