Issues Of Economic Realignment Flashcards
How were long term economic trends affecting Br old industries’?
-old labour intensive Ind facing challenges from foreign competition
-and from technological innovation
How was Br econ changing?
-moving away from being based on manufacturing + heavy Ind
-becoming based on services + Thatcher gov embraced this shift
How did people face painful adjustments to this new economical shift?
-foundations of working class + communities they lived in were crumbling
-this sharpened the north-south divide as old traditional ind contracted leaving behind large tracts of dereliction in midlands, Midwest, Scotland, south wales
What was the north-south divide?
-express different between prosperous south of Br and the less prosperous north
How else was economic realignment seen?
-in the urban decay of many inner cities
What was this urban decay?
-increased problems of ill health + depression
-alcoholism + drugs
-young people no longer expect to follow their parents into work + many forced move away
What was the impact of this?
-Howe advised Thatcher that cities like Liverpool be left to ‘managed decline’
-riots broke out Brixton, Handsworth, Birmingham, Toxteth, Liverpool + Chapeltown Leeds
What was commissioned to examine the causes of these 1981 riots?
-the Scarman report
What did the Scarman report do?
-identified poverty + race as key components of riots
-areas riots happened suffering high levels unemployment + deprivation
How was this exacerbated?
-these areas where young black + Asian people felt ‘sus law’ meant police unfairly targeted them
What was the ‘Sus law’?
-gave police permission stop + search suspected if they thought they might commit a crime
-black + ethnic believed police targeted them more
What happened shortly before the Brixton riots?
-Operation swamp
-aimed reduce street crime + stopped 1000 people in 6 days
What did the economic realignment also lead to?
-investment + regeneration in some of these areas
-Heseltine spearheaded redevelopment projects in dockland areas of London + Liverpool
What is an example of Heseltine actions?
-the Canary Wharf development on old west India docks in london became second most important financial district in country
-after city of london
