Dominant Ideas - unit 3 Flashcards
When was Margaret Thatcher elected as Prime Minister?
She was first elected in 1979.
Explain the Housing Act in relation to Margaret Thatcher.
The Act allowed council tenants to buy their homes at a reduced rate with rates differing based on how long a tenant had rented their home. Labour opposed this scheme on the grounds that it was depleting the housing stock.
Give examples of the success of Thatcher’s Housing Act.
By 1982 Right to Buy sales reached over 240,000 and in total Right to Buy saw 2 million properties transferred from public to private ownership.
Analyse the impact of Right to Buy on Thatcher’s electoral performance.
This was key to the success of the Conservative Party, especially in the C2 class as this hugely increased the skilled working class’s stake in society, with opportunity for further investment. In the 1983 election, Thatcher achieved a majority of 144 seats.
Explain New Labour’s welfare reforms.
In order to tackle poverty and aid the prospering C2 class Labour introduced policies which provided those most commonly excluded from society; single mothers, disabled, homosexuals and the extreme poor. The proposed the ‘Minimum Wage’, ‘New Deal’ and ‘Welfare to Work’ in order to align with their new philosophy of ‘offer a hand up not a hand out’
Analyse New Labour’s welfare reforms and its impact on electoral performance.
Labour made working more financially appealing than being unemployed. They provided people with a significant financial bonus from working and reduced barriers for the most commonly unemployed groups.
After the introduction of minimum wage in 1998/99 labour achieved a majority of 167.
54% of the unemployed voted for Labour.
Explain privatisation and deregulation in relation to Margaret Thatcher.
Privatisation involved the sale of many industries and offered the opportunity for new firms to enter the market, increasing the competition and therefore forcing companies to reduce prices in order to gain custom in a growing industry.
Give an example of the companies transferred to private ownership under Thatcher.
Thatcher’s government privatised British Airways, British Gas, BT, The BBC and British Rail. Furthermore, banking was deregulated which gained London’s name as the global centre of financial services.
Analyse privatisation and it’s impact on electoral performance.
Shares in industries were often sold for under market value and with many successful companies came individuals who received a vast increase in personal wealth. This had a significant impact on Thatcher’s electoral results within the middle class, many of whom had bought shares in privatised companies. For example, after the privatisation of industries began 55% of the Middle Class voted Conservative in 1983 and 54% in 1987
Explain devolution in relation to New Labour.
In Scotland many people did not support Thatcher’s policies after the introduction of poll tax in Scotland alone as well as the privatisation of the coal industry which many working class citizens in the central belt relied on. The Labour party understood Scotland’s desire to become a devolved nation and included devolution in their 1997 manifesto, a policy which the Conservative Party hugely opposed.
Give an example of Labour’s support of devolution.
In the 1997 election, New Labour promised the Scottish people a referendum on whether they wanted to have their own parliament.
Analyse devolution and its impact on New Labour’s electoral performance.
Labour increased their votes in Scotland by 6% whilst the Conservatives dropped by 8% this shows that there was a clear support for devolution in Scotland, leading to increased support for the Labour party. Moreover, Labour won 56/72 seats in Scotland whilst the Conservatives won none, a much larger percentage than anywhere else in the UK.
Explain Thatcher’s low taxation policies.
During Labour’s previous period in government many people faced a high level of taxation, especially the highest earners. Margaret Thatcher introduced Poll Tax (a community charge) with an initial trial period in Scotland.
Give an example of changes in taxation under Thatcher.
Thatcher reduced taxation on individuals with the basic rate being reduced to 25%. This meant that VAT increased as a form of indirect taxation from 8% to 15%.
Analyse changes in taxation under Thatcher and its impact on electoral performance.
The Poll Tax impacted Thatcher’s popularity in Scotland as Scots questioned why Thatcher tried this tax solely in Scotland and ultimately lead to a decline in Conservative support in Scotland and increased support for independence and therefore this taxation policy hindered support for Thatcher.
