Economy (+ industrial relations) Flashcards
Howe’s 1983 budget?
Announced £2bn worth of tax cuts for individuals and £750m for businesses just before the june election. Also pledged to increase personal allowances by 14%, 8.5% above the rate of inflation
Lawson’s 1987 + 88 budget?
- standard income tax rate from 29% to 25%
- top rate tax to 40%
- inheritance tax set at 40%
Unemployment 1989 compared to 1986? What was this a result of?
Unemployment in 1986 was at 3 million but this decreased to 1.6 million in 1989. This was a result of the economic boom brought about by Lawson’s budget cuts.
Sterling value Feb 1979? July 1979?
$1.98 in February but this strengthened to $2.33 in July
When was the poll tax introduced? What was it?
1989 - a fixed tax on every individual regardless of income or property.
note : this was very poorly judged and could have been prevented had Whitelaw still been alive
Poll tax marches
March 1990 in Trafalgar Square
SNP campaign against the poll tax?
‘can’t pay, won’t pay.’
What did the militant tendency revive themselves as?
All-Britain, Anti-Poll Tax Federation
Balance of Payments 1979
£525m deficit
Balance of Payments 1981
£7 221m surplus
Balance of Payments 1990
£18 268m deficit
When was the North Sea Oil Corporation established?
1976
When did sale of North Sea Oil peak?
1985 - it made nearly 15% of govt revenue
note : the reason tax cuts could be made in Lawson’s 87/88 budget
Housing Act
1980 - allowed for the sale of council houses
How many council house tenants purchased their properties in1985?
800 000
How much of the population owned property in 1990?
68% - a 15% increase from 1981
Arguments for and against sale of council houses?
- critics argued that this undermined the concept of social housing
- supporters argued this provided incentive to buy property
Unemployment in 1980 April vs August? Effect on unions?
1.5 million in April, increased to 2 million in August - meant reduced trade union membership as fewer people were in employment
Westland Affair
- 1985
- Britain’s only Yeovil based helicopter manufacturer faced financial hardships
- Leon Brittan suggested negotiating with Sikorsky but Heseltine wanted to join the European Consortium
- negotiated with the USA
- Heseltine resigned 9th Jan as he wasn’t being listened to
- Brittan resigned 2 weeks later after it had been revealed he’d pressurized aerospace
What did the Westland Affair highlight?
Thatcher’s willingness to give in to American pressure
Revenue from privatisation by 1980? What about 88 - 89?
£377 million in her first year in office but increased to £7bn in the penultimate year
Sale of shares
A result of privatisation - shareholders rose from 3 million to 9 million by 1990
Big Bang
1986 - process of deregulating financial markets - broker/jobber distinctions disappeared; class limitations eliminated; fixed commission charge abandoned
What did Thatcher want to achieve with the big bang and was she successful?
Become the financial centre of the world and this was achieved
Interest rate increase 1980?
12% to 17%
Name a company that was privatised and the year in which this happened.
- British Telecom (1984)
- British Aerospace (1985-87)
- British Gas (1986)
- Rolls Royce (1987)
- British Steel (1988)
- British Rail (1993)
What were Thatcher’s main 5 economic aims? Were they achieved?
- reduce inflation (yes)
- reduce deficit (no)
- reduce size of state (yes)
- reduce power of unions (yes)
- deregulate the market (yes)
Inflation rate 1979?
22% (mainly a reflection of previous policies)
Inflation rate 1983?
4.6%
1979 income taxation amendments?
- highest rate went from 83% to 60%
- standard rate went from 30% to 33%
1979 VAT amendments?
went from being between 8% and 12% to a flat rate of 15%
Amendments made to taxation on unearned income in 1979?
reduced 98% to 75%
Thatcher’s 3 chancellors and the dates they were in office?
- Geoffrey Howe (79 - 83)
- Nigel Lawson (83 - 89)
- John Major (89 - 90)
Secondary Picketing
Picketing locations that directly link to the issue of protest such as suppliers businesses rely on and retailers selling the company’s products
Closed Shop
A form of union security in which the employer agrees to only hire union members and in order to remain employed, employees need to stay union members
When was GCHQ trade union membership banned? What were employees given?
25th Jan 1984 and employees were given £1000 each in return
When was the steel strike? What pay rise were they after? What else were they concerned about?
2nd Jan to 2nd April 1980 - wanted a 20% pay rise and were concerned about the British Steel Corp’s plans to close down a number of plants
What sparked the miners’ strike and when was it?
1984/85 - the govt announced the industry would be reduced and jobs made redundant.
What was the ballot result for the miners strike? What did Scargill do in response?
Ballots resulted in a strong against majority and to avoid doing another ballot he allowed a local dispute to lead strike action in Yorkshire
Why did the miners’ strike fail?
- union wasn’t united
- coal stocks had been built up in preparation
- gov were legally prepared with Employment Acts
- strike began in summer when coal demand was low
Employment Act 1980
Postal votes had to be added to ballots. Thatcher believed this would prevent moderate unionists from being pressurised
Employment Act 1982
Passed by Norman Tebitt - effectively outlawed secondary, or ‘sympathy’ strike action - unions could no longer ballot in support of each other. For example, teachers could not strike for nurses
Trade Union Act
1984 - made secret ballots a legal requirement for any strike to be legal
Employment Act 1988
This protected workers who refused to strike from being punished. This could further be used as propaganda by employers and the government to portray unions as villains, and those trying to go to work as heroes.
Employment Act 1990
Granted employers the ability to dismiss workers who took part in unofficial strike action. Any subsequent strike action relating to that dismissal would also be unlawful, further entrenching the power of employers over unions.