Economy (+ industrial relations)

Question 1

Howe’s 1983 budget?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Lawson’s 1987 + 88 budget?

Answer 2

• standard income tax rate from 29% to 25%
• top rate tax to 40%
• inheritance tax set at 40%

Question 3

Unemployment 1989 compared to 1986? What was this a result of?

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Sterling value Feb 1979? July 1979?

Answer 4

$1.98 in February but this strengthened to $2.33 in July

Question 5

When was the poll tax introduced? What was it?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Poll tax marches

Answer 6

March 1990 in Trafalgar Square

Question 7

SNP campaign against the poll tax?

Answer 7

‘can’t pay, won’t pay.’

Question 8

What did the militant tendency revive themselves as?

Answer 8

All-Britain, Anti-Poll Tax Federation

Question 9

Balance of Payments 1979

Answer 9

£525m deficit

Question 10

Balance of Payments 1981

Answer 10

£7 221m surplus

Question 11

Balance of Payments 1990

Answer 11

£18 268m deficit

Question 12

When was the North Sea Oil Corporation established?

Answer 12

1976

Question 13

When did sale of North Sea Oil peak?

Answer 13

1985 - it made nearly 15% of govt revenue

note : the reason tax cuts could be made in Lawson’s 87/88 budget

Question 14

Housing Act

Answer 14

1980 - allowed for the sale of council houses

Question 15

How many council house tenants purchased their properties in1985?

Answer 15

800 000

Question 16

How much of the population owned property in 1990?

Answer 16

68% - a 15% increase from 1981

Question 17

Arguments for and against sale of council houses?

Answer 17

• critics argued that this undermined the concept of social housing
• supporters argued this provided incentive to buy property

Question 18

Unemployment in 1980 April vs August? Effect on unions?

Answer 18

1.5 million in April, increased to 2 million in August - meant reduced trade union membership as fewer people were in employment

Question 19

Westland Affair

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

What did the Westland Affair highlight?

Answer 20

Thatcher’s willingness to give in to American pressure

Question 21

Revenue from privatisation by 1980? What about 88 - 89?

Answer 21

£377 million in her first year in office but increased to £7bn in the penultimate year

Question 22

Sale of shares

Answer 22

A result of privatisation - shareholders rose from 3 million to 9 million by 1990

Question 23

Big Bang

Answer 23

1986 - process of deregulating financial markets - broker/jobber distinctions disappeared; class limitations eliminated; fixed commission charge abandoned

Question 24

What did Thatcher want to achieve with the big bang and was she successful?

Answer 24

Become the financial centre of the world and this was achieved

Question 25

Interest rate increase 1980?

Answer 25

12% to 17%

Question 26

Name a company that was privatised and the year in which this happened.

Answer 26

• British Telecom (1984)
• British Aerospace (1985-87)
• British Gas (1986)
• Rolls Royce (1987)
• British Steel (1988)
• British Rail (1993)

Question 27

What were Thatcher’s main 5 economic aims? Were they achieved?

Answer 27

• reduce inflation (yes)
• reduce deficit (no)
• reduce size of state (yes)
• reduce power of unions (yes)
• deregulate the market (yes)

Question 28

Inflation rate 1979?

Answer 28

22% (mainly a reflection of previous policies)

Question 29

Inflation rate 1983?

Answer 29

4.6%

Question 30

1979 income taxation amendments?

Answer 30

• highest rate went from 83% to 60%
• standard rate went from 30% to 33%

Question 31

1979 VAT amendments?

Answer 31

went from being between 8% and 12% to a flat rate of 15%

Question 32

Amendments made to taxation on unearned income in 1979?

Answer 32

reduced 98% to 75%

Question 33

Thatcher’s 3 chancellors and the dates they were in office?

Answer 33

• Geoffrey Howe (79 - 83)
• Nigel Lawson (83 - 89)
• John Major (89 - 90)

Question 34

Secondary Picketing

Answer 34

Picketing locations that directly link to the issue of protest such as suppliers businesses rely on and retailers selling the company’s products

Question 35

Closed Shop

Answer 35

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

Question 36

When was GCHQ trade union membership banned? What were employees given?

Answer 36

25th Jan 1984 and employees were given £1000 each in return

Question 37

When was the steel strike? What pay rise were they after? What else were they concerned about?

Answer 37

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

Question 38

What sparked the miners’ strike and when was it?

Answer 38

1984/85 - the govt announced the industry would be reduced and jobs made redundant.

Question 39

What was the ballot result for the miners strike? What did Scargill do in response?

Answer 39

Ballots resulted in a strong against majority and to avoid doing another ballot he allowed a local dispute to lead strike action in Yorkshire

Question 40

Why did the miners’ strike fail?

Answer 40

• 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

Question 41

Employment Act 1980

Answer 41

Postal votes had to be added to ballots. Thatcher believed this would prevent moderate unionists from being pressurised

Question 42

Employment Act 1982

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Trade Union Act

Answer 43

1984 - made secret ballots a legal requirement for any strike to be legal

Question 44

Employment Act 1988

Answer 44

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.

Question 45

Employment Act 1990

Answer 45

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.