Fall of Thatcher, Rise of Major Flashcards
What occured in 1987 following the Big Bang and what was Lawsons response
Financial crash. Lawson then created Lawsons boom, causing a BoP crisis and inflation to spike to nearly 11%, an issue for a government whose main aim was low inflation
What ‘safe’ seat did the Conservatives lose to lib dem in 1990, calling into doubt Thatchers rule
Eastbourne
What policy did Margaret Thatcher try to introduce and why was it perhaps the most unpopular thing ever
Poll Tax-it would affect the rich and poor equally, rather than the previously progressive local goverment taxes. It was also Thatchers inability to compromise on the issue that lead to her downfall
When was the poll tax introduced
The poll tax was introduced in Scotland in 1989 and England and Wales in 1990
What was another issue with the polll tax, only noticed after it had been implemented
Many of the tax rates set by local councils proved to be much higher than earlier predicted
Which Labour MP was jailed for 60 days for refusing to pay the poll tax
Terry Fields
How many people did Thatchers opponents claim were not paying the poll tax
18 million
How many people attended a poll tax protest in Trafalgar square
over 100,000
How did Nigel Lawson label the poll tax
the one great blunder of the Thatcher years
When was the poll tax abolished by Major
Early 1991
What did an oct 1990 Gallup poll show about the elctorates opinions to Thathcer
She was personally respected, but many had issues with her goals and behavior, especially as inflation approached 15%
When and why did Geoffrey Howe resign
1st Nov 1990 over Thatchers hostility towards European federalism and her own govts policy of the ECU(euro precursor)
He used the metaphor of trying to play cricket with the team captain having broken their teams bats, and concluded he could no longer serve
What was the consequencee of Howes resignation
Michael Heseltine challenged for LEadership of the Conservative party
Why was Heseltines challenge successful yet unsuccesful
Although Thatcher beat him, she did not have enough votes and so a second ballot was called.
What happened in the second conservative party ballot in 1990
Thatcher was told by much of her cabinet her position was untenable so withdrew, allowing anti heseltine candidates Douglas Hurd and John Major to run
What was Majors main aim upon taking charge of the Tory party
Unifiy the party from the splintering under the later Thatcher years
What happened as soon as Major gained power
Conservatives jumped in popularity, partly becuase of the honeymoon period of new govt and partly becuase of how unpopular thatcher was
How much money was lost in the poll tax debacle until it was scrapped in 1991
1.5 billion
How much did the misery index decline over the course of Thatchers premiership
11.8%
What could the Conservatives still rely on for the 1992 election
Their reputation for solving economic issues and being reliable on pecuniary matters
What did Neil Kinnock say about the day Thatcher resigned
That the Labour party lost its most important electroal asset
What issues were facing the British economy at the start of the 90s
Declining manufacturing output, high interest rates, rising unemployment and a fall in house prices
What phenomomen did many homeowners find themselves in following falling house prices and why was this important for the conservative party
Negative equity(having to repay mortgages worth more than the cost of their house, leading to many reposessions)
This was important becuase it affected middle class homeowners, who were a traditional tory power basis, unlike the recessions of the 80s which mostly affected the working class
How did unemployment change from 1991 to 1992
1.6 to 2.6 million
What was majors solution to the economic issues before the 1992 election
High public spending, some of which was forced, for example through unemployment benfits, but there were also huge borrowing for things like transport subsidies and investments in the NHS
What was the ERM and when did Britain join
european Exchange Rate Mechanism, joined in 1990 and pegged the pound to the German Mark in a fixed exchange rate in order to combat inflation
What was the ERMs fixed rate of exchange in £ to marks
1 to 2.95
What was Chancellor Norman Lamonts response to the ERM crisis
Raise interest rates, already at 10% to 12 and then 15% in order to encourage people to buy pounds. BofE also spent huge amounts of its reservers buying pounds
What caused Black Wednesday
Currency speculators betting against the Pound but Majors goverment refused to devalue and kept it at the fixed rate of the ERM
What was the ultimate resolution to the ERM crisis and was it successful
Britain left the ERM, with the consequences of the crisis being overall negligible, with even some benefits from leaving the ERM. However, conservative reputation nosedived over the crisis and Britain lost face. Major called it the beginning of the end
What did the Tories lose over the ERM crisis.
Their reputation of being good on the economy
How did leaving the ERM benefit Britain
Allowed devaluation, making exports more competitive, and allowed interest rates to be lowered, meaning more investment
Why was the UK doing better than germany after the ERM crisis
Benefits of flexible working practices and deregualtion since 1979 improved efficiency and growth. America came out of recession and world trade was on the up. Germany stagnated with unification.
How was the UK economy in 1997 and did MAjor get credit
unemployment was down, productivity was up and the negative equity issue had been eliminated with rising house prices Buisnesses were happy with govt policies but little of the credit was assigned to Major, with him still struggling in opinion polls
Name the two cabinet ministers under Major who had to resign due to extramarital affairs, out of more than a dozen sex scandals Major faced in all
David Mellor and Tim Yeo
What was set up in 1994 to investigate certain politicans that had been ‘economical with the truth’ in enabling arms company matrix churchill to supply arms to Iraq, and which two conservatives were convicted of perjury
The Scott Enquiry
Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken
What was cash-for-questions
A scandal where tory mps, including Neil Hamilton, were accused of accepting money in exchange for lobbying in the house of commons on behalf of the owner of harrods, Mohammed Al Fayed,. Hamilton lost the libel case but refused to resign, to Majors annoyance, adn was eventually beaten in 1997 by an independent candidate, Martin Bell, who made sleaze the sine qua non of his campaign
What was the public perception of Major in 1997
A well meaning, but inadequate, and to some degree comical leader. He remained more popular than his party though
When were the Coal and Railway industries privatised and what was going to be privatised but then was not due to pushback
1994 and 1996. The post office
What was the PFI
private finance intiative. public-private partnerships where private companies would fund infrastructure improvements then deliver public services the state would then pay them for
What part of the Citizens Charter (1991), an attempt to give citizens more power over the public services they were using, was made fun of incessantly
The Cones Hotline-citizens could report motorway clousres without any sign of roadworks
In 1991 how many pit closures did Heseltine announce and why was their backlash due to the locations of some of the pits
31, including some pits in Nottinghamshire, which stood against Scargill in 84, so was seen as a betrayal. Heseltine was forced to u turn in the short term, but they eventually went ahead.
What was BSE and what did it result in
Mad cow disease-British beef banned in Europe and another nail of incomeptence in Majors coffin
Thatchers reliance on who infuriated Chancellor Nigel Lawson, who resigned in 1989
Alan Waters, na economic professor as an advisor
How did Thatcher alienate Geoffrey Howe
She demoted him from foreign office and he resigned a year later, over her european policy
What did Major do in 1995, becuase of how bad divisions in the conservative party were, and what were some examples of these divisions
He called a leadership election ‘back me or sack me’
Divisive issues included Europe and the EEC, Right wingers wanted more radical social policies, Majors lack of conviction/ability to lead the party(89 mps voted against him in the elction which is an issue when you have a small majority)
How did Thatcher not help John Major
She helped the Eurosceptic rebels by alling for a referendum over the EEC. Her 1993 memoirs were lukewarm towards him, she backed John Redwood in the 1995 leadership contest and in 1997 seemed to show more support for Tony Blair
