Impact of Thatcherism (1979 - 1987) Flashcards
1
Q
Describe Thatcher’s first cabinet
A
In 1979, Thatcher did not have control of the cabinet and had to accommodate traditional Keynesianians as well. Almost ¾ of her original cabinet were traditionalists and this would restrain her until she fought free in 1981.
Wets - Those who opposed Thatcher
Dries - Thatcher supporters
2
Q
Describe relations with Northern Ireland at the start of Thatcher’s first term
A
- A deep Anglo-Irish divide
- Thatcher was strongly unionist and relations with the Irish PM, Charles Haughley, were tense
3
Q
Describe rising violence in Northern Ireland at the start of Thatcher’s first term
A
- 1979, Thatcher’s friend and political ally, Airey Neave was killed by an IRA car bomb in Westminster
- IRA claimed responsibility for a bomb which killed 18 members of the parachute regiment at Warrenpoint
- August 1980, Lord Mountbatten, a member of the royal family was killed while on his yacht in Co. Sligo, Ireland
4
Q
Describe the Maze Hunger Strikes
A
- Prisoners in the Maze prison in Belfast went on hunger strike in 1980 for political status
- The first series of hunger strikes ended in some concessions but when all of the prisoners demands were not met, a further hunger strike began
- Between May and August 1981, 10 prisoners belonging to the IRA and INLA starved themselves to death in protest at British refusal to treat them as political prisoners not criminals
The first to die was Bobby Sands, commanding officer of the Provisional IRA in the Maze:
- He was elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone during the hunger strike
- Over 100,000 attended the funeral.
5
Q
Describe how Conservative campaign helped Thatcher win the 1983 election
A
- Thatcher was a strong leader
- The Conservatives attacked the ‘pacifist’ unilateralists and ‘Marxist socialism’
- They had the backing of the popular press
- The Conservatives had 320 campaign agents compared to only 63 for labour
- The campaign organisation was more efficient and unified than Labour
Manifesto promised:
- To reduce the power of the unions
- To abolish the metropolitan councils
- Traditional law and order
- The continued sale of nationalised industries to private buyers
6
Q
Describe how the failures of Labour helped Thatcher win the 1983 election
A
- 29 Labour MPs left to form the SDP
- Labour had an unpopular leader, Michael Foot
- Their election manifesto was described by a member of the Shadow Cabinet as “the longest suicide note in history”
- Missed opportunities to campaign via television
- Healey described the Falklands war as ‘Mrs Thatcher glories in slaughter’ and was obliged to apologise to the widow of one of the campaign heroes
- The left wing programme was now anti-NATO, anti-Europe, unilateralist and committed to unpopular causes such as feminism, Irish nationalism and ‘green issues’
7
Q
Describe how the impact of the Social Democratic Party helped Thatcher win the 1983 election
A
- Formed in 1981 and drew voters from both the left and the right
- A centrist party
- Formed the ‘Alliance’ with the liberals but by 1983 this was experiencing difficulties and popularity fell
- To some extent, the Alliance split the vote for those against the Tories, thus widening their victory
8
Q
Describe the results of the 1983 election
A
- The Conservatives won a huge majority of 142 seats but this was not as much of a landslide as it might appear
- The Conservatives took less of the popular vote than they had in any election since 1945
- They did very badly in Scotland and Northern England
- Their had also been an increase in the total size of the House from 635 MPs to 650
- Labour had its lowest support since 1918
- Less than 40% of trade unionists and even less than half of the unemployed had voted for labour
- The heaviest losses were suffered by the SDP
9
Q
What was the 1986 Local Government Act?
A
- Abolished metropolitan authorities and curbed power of local government
10
Q
What were the positives of the 1986 Local Government Act?
A
- Local authorities were huge spenders and often Labour controlled
- Local councils tried to defy government tax rate capping by applying surcharges to compensate
11
Q
What were the negatives of the 1986 Local Government Act?
A
A severe blow to local democracy and local participation in government
12
Q
What was the Hillsborough Agreement?
A
- 1985
- Agreed that Ulster should remain part of the UK but ministers from Britain and the Republic of Ireland would meet regularly for reviews
13
Q
What were the positives of the Hillsborough Agreement 1985?
A
This was in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the population of Ulster
14
Q
What were the negatives of the Hillsborough Agreement 1985?
A
- Ulster unionists resigned their seats in mass protest
- Uproar in the Republic of NI
- The act changed little in terms of violence
- Still only 3% of the RUC were Catholic
15
Q
Describe how Thatcher handled the BBC, 1983-87
A
- The government banned BBC interviews with Sinn Fein
- Thatcherite ‘Duke’ Hussey was appointed as new BBC chairman
- The BBC was constantly challenged
- Clean up campaigns by Mary Whitehouse really made little impression
16
Q
What were the positives of Thatcher’s handling of the BBC?
A
- Government regained control and limited anti-government reporting
- The BBC had negatively reported on British involvement in Libyan bombing raids of 1986
17
Q
What were the negatives of Thatcher’s handling of the BBC?
A
- Limited freedom of speech and press
- Demoralised the BBC
18
Q
Describe Thatcher’s handling of the GCHQ
A
- Banned trade union membership at the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ)
- Equated union membership with disloyalty
19
Q
Describe the Westland Affair
A
- 1986
- Failing Westland Helicopter company sought government approval to sign a rescue deal with American firm Sikorsky
- Secretary of State for Defence (Hesseltine) favoured a European partner and had embarrassing public rows with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Brittain)
- 1986, Heseltine resigned from the Cabinet over the governments avoidance of a full debate on the matter
- Later, a government document referring to Heseltine was leaked and Leon Brittan took responsibility and resigned
20
Q
Describe the Tory revolts, 1983 - 1987
A
- Ted Heath was a persistent critic from inside the party
- He opposed government attempts to dismantle the GLC, the Poll Tax and the government’s stance on Europe
- 1986, 72 Tories threatened legislation on Sunday Trading
- Michael Heseltine resigned over the Westland Affair
21
Q
Describe Spycatcher
A
- 1986, government tried to suppress publication of the book Spycatcher by ex-MI5 agent, Peter Wright
- Book included allegations that MI5 had tried to destabilise Wilson’s government
- For many this showed the dictatorial attitude of the government
- The book was not allowed to be sold in the UK but was published and easy to obtain abroad
22
Q
What was monetarism?
A
The theory was to reduce money in circulation by reducing government and public spending.
The key points were to:
- Cut public spending
- Raise interest rates
- Keep the pound strong on the international market
23
Q
Describe how Thatcher handled public spending
A
Urged cuts in public spending (but ultimately spending increased due to high unemployment)
24
Q
Describe how Thatcher handled taxation
A
- 1987 budget reduced standard rate of income tax to 27p
- Cuts to personal taxation levels to benefit the super rich
- Increasing returns from VAT
- Increased Corporation Tax from company profits
25
Describe Thatcher's 'Supply slide' policies
- Policy of low taxation
- Incentives such as cuts in benefits to produce goods and investment
- Tax cuts to increase economic growth, thus allowing entrepreneurs to invest their tax savings, create higher productivity, jobs and profits
- Success is based on the expectation that total tax collected will out grow deficit
26
Describe Thatcher's policy of privatisation
- 1984 British Telecom sale cost of the government over £3 billion as a result of underpricing the share issue and a lavish advertising campaign
- British aerospace, British gas, Rolls Royce, British Shipbuilders, British Leyland and British Airports followed
- Former Tory PM Harold Macmillan likened privatisation to “selling off the family silver”
27
Describe deregulation
Thatcher’s second term also saw a determined attempt to deregulate the capital markets
The Big Bang
- Stock market restored by Big Bang (27 October 1986)
- Ended old restrictive practices and opened up trading to a wider range of financial institutions, including foreign banks
- Computerised dealer networks
28
Describe the positives of Thatcher's economic policy by 1987
- Household consumption rose rapidly
- House prices rocketed
- Earnings rose above inflation (1986, prices rose by 3.4% and earnings by 7.9%)
- Annual growth rate of 4% while inflation continued to fall
29
Describe the negatives of Thatcher's economic policy by 1987
- Critics said that this encouraged the Thatcherite culture of greed and acquisitions to the detriment of social cohesion and collective responsibility
- 1983, balance of trade in manufactured goods moved into deficit for first time
- Unemployment remained high peaking at 3.2 million in April 1985
- Property price boom in the South prevented entry by northerners and young people
30
Describe initial industrial relations
- The 1980 & 1982 Employment Acts were strongly enforced
- The number of strikes rapidly decreased through fear of job loss
31
Describe the Trade Union Act
- 1984
- Required unions to ballot their members on the retention of their political funds
- Damaged labour support
- Tories continued to cash in from record donations from industrial and commercial companies
Union influence was also reduced by:
- Decline of manufacturing
- Geographical change
- Technical innovations
- Poor self-image
32
Describe the National Coal Strike
- 1984, National Coal Board found themselves facing a national strike by National Union of Mineworks led by Arthur Scargill
- Scargill and the chairman of the NCB, MacGregor, clashed in the news
- The strike lasted almost a year with widespread public support
- The government had prepared well, ensuring coal was stockpiled and that the power network was protected with the help of other European countries
- Ended 3rd March 1985, the government won
33
Describe police power during the National Coal Strike
- The power of the police was also increased to deal with mass picketing and flying pickets
- Highly organised and violent
- The setting up of roadblocks to restrict the movement of strikers raised questions about civil liberties
34
Describe Scargill's mistakes during the National Coal Strike
He split the NUM by failing to ballot voters:
- Many from the prosperous Nottinghamshire coalfields continued to work, breaking away from the NUM to form the Union of Democratic Miners
- The actions of the UDM were mainly responsible for the government's survival
- The UDM also accused Scargill of caring more about hard-left politics than the interests of the miners
He also turned down a compromise from the government from the government but was unable to sustain support from the public
35
Describe the violence that occured during the National Coal Strike
- Violence between police and pickets, notably at Orgreave cooking depot in Rotherham
- Violence occurred against “scabs and blacklegs” in various parts of the country
- This lost the NUM some support and there was little or no support from the wider trade union movement
- TUC, failed to respond to calls for a national general strike
36
Describe the impact of the National Coal Strike
- Pit closures went ahead
- By 1989 less than 5,000 miners were employed in Wales, with Scotland and Lancashire having barely 3,000
- UDM mines also closed
- The militant Kent coalfield was closed entirely and the situation in the North East was little better
- The “winter of discontent” over
37
Describe Thatcher and the Trade Unions, 1979-1983
- Employment Act 1980
- Employment Act 1982
The number of strikes fell:
- 1970’s = Average of 13 million working days lost to strikes per year, 1981 = 4.2 million days lost to strikes
- Union membership; 13 million in 1980, less than 10 million by 1983
38
Describe the Employment Act 1980
- ‘Flying pickets’ made illegal
- Restrictions on closed shops and sympathy strikes
- Introduced ballot requirements prior to strikes
- Removed those provisions of the Employment Protection Act which it was claimed damaged small businesses (e.g the obligation to reinstate employees after maternity leave)
39
Describe the Employment Act 1982
- Challenged unions over financial damages incurred during strikes
- Unions could now be fined very heavily over and actions deemed unlawful
40
Describe the Housing Act of 1980 and its advantages
- Promoted the sale of council houses
- This was popular amongst the working class who wanted to own their own home
- By the end of 1984, 80,000 council tenants were buying their own homes
- The Right to Buy scheme produced 1 million new homeowners
41
Describe Thatcher's failures in public housing
- The government froze the receipts councils gained from the sales, making it difficult to build new council homes
- During the 1980’s, public housing completions fell to less than 10% their post war peak
- The number of families with children registered as homeless, double between 1980 and 1992
42
Describe the Youth Training Scheme
The Youth Training Scheme was introduced at the end of 1981:
- All young people were guaranteed paid training
- Employers taking on trainees got financial help
43
Why was the Youth Training Scheme introduced?
- 1981-82, under 25s made up 40% of the employed
- Only 50% of Britain’s school leavers were trained, compared to 90% in Germany and 80% in France
- 35% of school leavers entering jobs received no training at all
44
Describe the criticisms of the Youth Training Scheme
- Criticism of the standard of training
- Some employers took advantage of incentives in taking on young people rather than long-term (more expensive) unemployed
45
Describe relations between Thatcher and the NHS
- Documents were leaked in 1982, containing a proposal to end free healthcare and this was met with uproar
- It never happened and Thatcher proclaimed ‘The National Health Service is safe with us’
- The NHS remained underfunded
46
Describe the Assisted Places Scheme
- Introduced 1980
- Allowed children from less well off backgrounds access to means tested places at independent schools
47
Describe Thatcher's failures in education in her first term
- No remodelling of education system
- Comprehensive secondary school programme kept in tact
- Universities were faced with severe funding cuts and a monetary policy was imposed on them
48
Describe the Inner City Riots
- 1981
- 11th April 1981, riots broke out in Brixton with battles between the police and black youths
- 4th July weekend, riots broke out across Britain in areas of Liverpool, Manchester, London and more
Around 4,000 people were arrested:
- 2/3rd of whom were under 20
- Just under half were unemployed
- 2/3rds had a criminal record
49
Describe the Scarman Report
- Condemned the rioting
- Drew attention to the social and economic difficulties in the inner city areas
- Spoke extensively of the despair of unemployed and alienated young black people
Between 1978 and 1985 the number of semi-skilled or unskilled jobs fell by 1 million
50
Describe Thatcher and education in her second term
- Local Government Act 1988
- Unis had annual cuts in short term efforts to increase profits
- Worried about losing ‘brains’ to USA
51
Describe the Local Government Act 1988
- Section 28 prohibited state schools from promoting homosexuality or teaching that is acceptable
This leads to campaigning for gay rights:
- Greater participation in the annual Gay Pride March
- Larger profile of pressure groups such as Stonewall, Act up and Outrage
52
Describe the Social Security Act 1986
- Introduced more rigorous means of testing for benefits claims
- Grants to the poorest claimants were replaced by loans
- Family credit payments helped with low incomes
53
Describe some of the criticisms of Thatcher in the media
- Playwrights such as David Hare (attacking the ‘culture of selfishness and greed’ of Thatcherism)
- ‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ (shows a sympathetic view of the hard pressed workers)
- Spitting Image and Private Eye were critical of Thatcher
54
Describe the criticism of Thatcher by the CND
- CND became the most significant protest movememt from 1958
- Well supported
- Given a new lease of life by Thatcher’s determined backing for the policy of deterrence and stepping up the arms race against the USSR in the 'New Cold War'
55
Describe the criticisms of Thatcher in the Church of England
- Archbishop Runcie criticised government policy in the Falklands War
- 'Faith and the City', 1985, showed religious disagreement with government handling of inner city poverty
- Bishop of Durham criticised the handling of the miners strike
56
What aspects of religion did Thatcher criticise?
Thatcher addresses Church and England and Methodists and rebukes their:
- Hostile approach to material gain
- Over involvement in poverty and urban decays
- Support for black african nationalists
57
Describe criticism of Thatcher in the Church of Scotland
- Thatcher felt wealth creation was a christian act and demanded religious support
- The church hesitated, preferring charity and an equitable society
58
Describe criticism of Thatcher by the Animal Liberation Front
- 1982, switches from Non-violence to ecoterrorism
- Arson attacks on pharmaceutical companies that tested drugs on animals
- Letter bombs were sent to public figures, one was sent to Thatcher
59
Describe the Greenham Women
- 1979, decision made to place American Cruise missiles on bases in Britain
- 1981, a group of women set up a protest camp outside Greenham Common base that would remain in place for 19 years
- Linked feminism and pacifism
- 1983, the cruise missiles arrived and the women formed a 14 mile human chain from Greenham to Aldermaston
60
Describe the Falklands War
- In 1982, the Argentine dictator, Galtieri, invaded the Falklands island, expecting little resistance
- Thatcher overruled the foreign office on this issue and sent a Task Force
- Military response had support of 83% of the British public
- By 14th June 1982, the Falklands was recaptured
61
Explain the sinking of the Belgrano
- One of the most controversial incidents of the Falklands War
- It was an Argentine ship
- Was outside British exclusion zone and was sailing away from conflict when it was attacked
- 368 lives lost
62
What were the British losses of the Falklands War?
- 6 ships sunk and 10 badly damaged
- 255 lives lost and almost 800 casualties
- The cost of the operation was estimated at £1,600 million
63
What were the consequences of the Falklands War?
- Thatcher went from being the most unpopular PM since polls began to spiking in popularity
- The opinion polls had shown a six point lead for Labour in March but indicated a 3 point lead for the Tories by April
- By mid May the Conservatives had a 12.5 lead over the Alliance, with Labour in third place
64
Describe the 'special relationship' with the US during this period
Strong bond between Thatcher and Regan
United on most issues:
- Falklands War
- Deployment of Cruise Missiles
- Tough stance with the USSR
Did differ over the US invasion of Grenada in 1983
65
Describe defence policy
- 1980’s, British defence policy was torn between pressure from NATO to increase expenditure and the increasing realisation that Britain could not maintain such expense
- It was a common view that there should be Navy expenditure cuts but this was postponed due to the Falklands War
- Continued controversy over nuclear policies
- Defence secretary Michael Heseltine tried to present the Tories as patriotic and strong on defence
66
Describe the continued controversy over nuclear policies
- December 1979, President Carter offered Britain Trident as a replacement for its decaying Polaris submarines
- 1980, Thatcher accepted the deal at the cost of £5 billion over 10 years
- Britain would build 5 new submarines, with the US supplying 13 Trident missiles per sub
- Controversy over the govs decision to station 96 radar-evading missiles at US bases in Britain
67
Describe what happened in Grenada
- 1983, the US invaded Grenada without advance notice to Britain
- Put special relationship under strain
68
Describe what happened in Libya
- 1986
- Thatcher allowed the US to use British bases for long range attacks on Libya
- She argued that the bombing was to dislodge the Qaddafi regime and was therefore justified
- Qaddafi survived, but there were high civilian casualties
69
Describe relations with Zimbabwe (formally Southern Rhodesia)
- Thatcher was under pressure from the Foreign office and was **forced to make concessions** to the black nationalists
- Elections went ahead despite guerrilla activity from Nkomo and Mugabe
- **Sanctions ceased in Nov 1979 and Zimbabwe was given legal independence**
- The 1980 election were won by Robert Mugabe and a legally elected Zimbabwean state was created
- British relations with black african states improved as did Thatcher's popularity
- The Zimbabwe episode was to set a tone of future **mistrust between Thatcher and the Foreign Office**
- Britain maintained a boycott of cultural and sporting events in South Africa
70
Describe Thatchers contribution to ending the Cold War
- Her combative style and determination to confront the USSR in the early 1980’s
- Her willingness to negotiate with new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev from 1984, ‘he and I can do business together’
- Thatcher encouraged Reagen to negotiate with Gorbachev and in 1986 they met at the Reykjavik summit
- In 1987 the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in Washington (This limited short-range weapons and began a process of mutual disarmament)
71
Describe Thatcher's attitudes to Europe in 1979
Thatcher was elected on a manifesto declaring there was no alternative to EEC membership and previous statements in favour of the European Monetary System
However, she turned out to be relatively anti-Europe:
- Suspicion of European commitments
- Strong defence
- Close alliance with America
She saw the EEC as a means to consolidate Western Europe against communism
72
Describe the Dublin Summit
- Dublin Summit as for EEC countries in December 1979
- Thatcher was highly belligerent in her demands for a refund of British contributions, damaging relations with Germany and France
- By mid-1982 she allowed Carrington and Gilmour to finalise negotiations and compromises were reached, though not to her liking
72
Describe Thatcher and the Exchange Rate Mechanism in her first term
- Thatcher continued to refuse to join the ERM
- This turned out to be a wise move with oil prices, high inflation and volatile interest rates preventing the ERM from stabilising until the mid 1980s
73
Describe the European Parliament Elections
- Direct European elections were held in June 1979
- Fewer people voted in Britain (as a percentage of the electorate) than anywhere else in the Community
- Opinion polls showed a growing dissatisfaction with Europe
74
Describe the Single Market
- A single market to make Europe more competitive than the US and Japan
- Agreed to achieve a single market by 1992
- Thatcher agreed to not use the veto on items necessary to achieve the deadline
75
Describe the Single European Act
- The SEA extended involvement in social, environment and technical areas
- The power of the European parliament would be slightly increased
- A majority vote could decrease the power of an individual country's veto
- Signed by Thatcher in 1985
76
Describe the rising divisions in the Conservative party over Europe
- The Westland Affair was partly to do with strengthening European ties
- Some Tory MPs, including Enoch Powell, spoke against the Single European Act
77
Describe the results of the 1987 election
- Another landslide victory for the Conservatives, winning 42.2% of the vote
North-South divide increasing:
- Conservatives lost 11 of 21 seats in Scotland
- Conservatives had no representation in several Northern cities including Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and Bradford
- Labour lost even more seats in London
78
Describe how Conservative policies were a cause the 1987 conservative election victory
- 'Economic miracle' of consumer boom and rising prosperity
- Particularly popular was privatisation and the sale of council houses
- Giveaway tax budget in March 1987
79
Describe how the Labour campaign was a cause the 1987 conservative election victory
Campaign techniques:
- A party political broadcast, 'Kinnock', delivered by Hugh Hudson
- Updated and more effective public relations
Policies:
- Dropped some more extreme policies such as abolishing the House of Lords, withdrawing from Europe and closing American nuclear bases
- But still insisted on nuclear disarmament
- Generally appeared backward looking and lacked appeal to the middle class
80
Describe how the falling influence of the allience was a cause the 1987 conservative election victory
- The Alliance was now in decline
- Split potential labour voters
81
Describe the weakness of the Labour party reliance on trade unions
- Previously the unions had sided with Labour and offered much voting strength
- Increasingly left wing union leader (Jack Jones, Hugh Scanlon)
- Estranged over labour prices and incomes policy
82
Describe the weakness of Labour party machinery
- Wilson, 'Like a penny-farthing machine in the jet age'
- Party membership had fallen from a million in the 50s to 250,000 in the 80s
- Leadership remained complacent and there was less emphasis on local electioneering
83
Describe the rise of Labour left wing
Increasing number of grass roots revolts due to:
- Dissatisfaction with Labour governments in 1964 and 1974
- Frustration with unresponsiveness of MPs and Ministers
- Increasing number of young and better educated members
- Local parties gave influence to Trotskyists and other extremists (particularly Militant Tendency)
- Rise of Tony Benn, Chairman, and his increasingly further left view
84
Describe the decline of the Labour Party
- Belief that labour was in terminal decline as the traditional working class was disappearing
- Links with socialism and the trade unions were increasingly unpopular
- Party and leadership lacked charisma
85
Describe the ineffective leadership of Labour by Michael Foot
- Callaghan resigned 1980
- Foot narrowly won election for replacement
- Supported by labour and an authentic voice of the old-left
- However, did not look like a strong PM and was hammered in the right-wing press
86
Describe the leadership of Labour by Kinnock
- Replaced Foot following the 1983 election defeat
- Abandoned some of the most left-wing policies
- Publicly criticised far left such as Derek Hatton, Ken Livingstone and Arthur Scargill
- Attempted to remove grassroots influence of Trostkyites
- The process was not complete
87
Describe the Battle for Deputy Leadership of the Labour party
- 1980
- Denis Healey vs Tony Benn
- Healey was a traditional centrist where as Benn was a modern far leftist
- Healey won with 50.3%
- Left the labour party looking weak and divided
88
Describe the Labour parties adoption of new constitutional procedures
- Recommended by the 'committee of inquiry' at Bishop Stortford in 1980
- Adopted at Wembley party conference in Jan 1981
Policies:
- There would be an 'Electoral College' to elect the party's leader and deputy leader
- Compulsory re-election of all parliamentary candidates
Gave too much power to the extremist grass roots
89
Describe how the Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed
- After the Wembley Conference 1981, Jenkins, Owen, Williams and Rodgers issued the Limehouse Declaration
- Left Labour to form the SDP
90
Describe the consequences of the formation of the SDP
- Within weeks the party had 50,000 members
- Novermber 1981, up to 45% of the electorate supported SPD/Liberal Alliance
- The SPD never out performed the liberals
- The electoral system meant that despite a decent amount of popular vote they struggled to get seats
- The Liberal and SPD parties were merged after the 1987 election
91
Describe some of the problems in NI that led to the Hillsborough Agreement 1985
- An IRA bomb had blown up the Grand Hotel in Brighton where Thatcher and her ministers had been staying for the Annual Party Conference in October 1984
- NI had the highest unemployment rate in Britain at 21%
- Major industries such as Shorts Aircraft, Harland and Woolf Shipbuilders were in difficulties
