Margaret Thatcher

Question 1

what was Margaret Thatcher’s style as prime minister?

Answer 1

emphasis on hard work, family values and personal responsibility

radically right wing — ended the postwar consensus

adversarial

a combination of neoliberalism and neoconservatism

Question 2

what was the situation of Britain in 1979?

Answer 2

the winter of discontent (inflation and strikes)

stagflation economy

Question 3

what were Thatcher’s aims/ideas?

Answer 3

self-reliance and hard work

Family values

privatisation and the rolling back of the state

lower taxes

securing a rebate from the EU (she was a Eurosceptic)

Question 4

what were Thatcher’s actions with regard to Europe?

Answer 4

secured a rebate from the European Council

generally regarded as a Eurosceptic

Question 5

what goals did Thatcher share with Reagan?

Answer 5

free market and the small state

Question 6

what was Thatcher’s economic policy?

Answer 6

monetarism

this involves reducing the supply of money (stop printing), spending less of existing money and keeping inflation down

Question 7

what was the initial impact of these economic policies?

Answer 7

inflation doubled, reaching 22%

many factories shut down

in the summer of 1981, there was a deep recession (especially in Liverpool, where unemployment reached 60%) and this led to violent riots

some of the results of the new money culture under Margaret Thatcher were that the bottom 10% saw their income drop by 17% — essentially the poor got poorer and the rich got richer

Question 8

which new party was created?

Answer 8

SDP (Social Democratic Party)

later joined with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats

Question 9

how was Margaret Thatcher ‘lucky’ regarding the economy? how was her political career saved?

Answer 9

gas and oil revenues made up 10% of all tax revenues (she obtained a lot of money from North Sea oil)

winning the Falklands War in 1982

Question 10

how did she develop her image?

Answer 10

Britannica — patriotic, the embodiment of Britain

became very regal and monarch-like

Question 11

what was the result of the 1983 election?

Answer 11

The Conservatives won by a landslide

Question 12

what was her relationship with the Cabinet?

Answer 12

dominant over cabinet

Question 13

what policies carried through her ideas to reduce the power of the state?

Answer 13

right to buy schemes of council houses

privatisation became the very essence of Thatcherism

Question 14

why did she launch a political attack against the miners? what started the miner’s strike?

Answer 14

they were the last remaining socialist opposition, as they tended to be extremely left-wing

she referred to them as “the enemy within”

the miner’s strike began because 20,000 jobs were lost following the closure of 20 pits

Question 15

how did the economy in Britain change under Thatcher?

Answer 15

it became heavily privatised and unionised (white collar)

it also became predominantly service-based and was no longer based on manufacturing industries

Question 16

what were the results of the controversial poll-tax?

Answer 16

the poll-tax was controversial because the poorest would pay just as much as the richest

people ended up refusing to pay the tax and there were mass demonstrations and riots

people rejected Thatcher and the Conservatives — she had lost control of Middle England

this was the beginning of her downfall

Question 17

election victories

Answer 17

1979 - 43 seat majority, 76% turnout

1983 – 144 seat majority, 72.7% turnout (landslide victory)

1987 – 102 seat majority, 75.3% turnout

Question 18

context of rule: WINTER OF DISCONTENT, FALKLAND’S WAR + COLD WAR

Answer 18

Winter of Discontent – a period of strikes and economic crisis which won her the election because the electorate blamed Labour and felt that Thatcher could bring about meaningful change, she is often credited for ‘saving’ the economy

Falkland’s War – a swift and successful war that resulted in her reputation as the Iron Lady, she was very unpopular up until this point

Cold War – she and Reagan were given a lot of credit for ‘defeating’ communism

Question 19

context of rule: POLL TAX, MINERS’ STRIKES, GAS AND OIL REVENUES + BRIGHTON BOMBING

Answer 19

Poll Tax – resulted in demonstrations and violent riots where Thatcher lost control of Middle England, the public rejected Thatcher and the Conservatives after this, very controversial because everyone had to pay the same amount despite having different incomes

Miners’ Strikes – 20,000 jobs lost due to the closure of 20 pits, launched a political attack against them, referring to miners as “the enemy within”

Gas and Oil Revenues – very lucky regarding the economy which was beginning to improve, gained a lot of money for the economy from North Sea oil, 10% of all tax revenues

Brighton Bombing - assassination attempt against her in 1984 by the IRA, she was meant to be killed by a bomb planted at the Conservative Conference in Brighton but she was undaunted and unharmed, insisted that the conference continue, and gave a speech the following day

Question 20

key beliefs

Answer 20

free market

rolling back the state and deregulation

privatisation of large industries

low taxation

Victorian family values (the nuclear family, heterosexual marriage, etc)

self-reliance and hard work

neoliberalism, radical right wing

Eurosceptic

Question 21

key policies

Answer 21

privatisation of nationalised industries – including electricity, gas and water companies

tight control over government finances – avoiding excessive debt

curbing trade union power

reducing taxes – corporate and personal

reducing government regulation of business and finance

emphasis on national defence

strongly confronting the Soviet Union

reducing welfare benefits to a minimum

monetarism – reducing/controlling supply of money to stabilise the economy, spending less and raising interest rates to control inflation

right to buy schemes of council houses

Question 22

leadership style

Answer 22

extremely dominant and controlling

strong willed - refused to compromise, determined

prime ministerial – dictated and dominated cabinet

authoritarian – dismissed those who disagreed with her and replaced them with people who wouldn’t oppose

adversarial

towards the end of her time in office she became regal and monarch like, she was seen as the embodiment of Britain

Question 23

strengths of leadership style

Answer 23

allowed her to cement her power and authority within government, she was not challenged very often and dominated her cabinet

Question 24

weaknesses of leadership style

Answer 24

came across as out of touch and as a result the public disliked her

unwillingness to be flexible or reach consensus was viewed by many to be a negative thing

by 1990, she lost many allies in Cabinet due to her leadership style in which she alienated both the public and her own ministers

Question 25

EXAMPLES – demonstrating ability to dictate events and determine policy

Answer 25

successfully reduced trade union power – launched an attack on the miners as they were her remaining socialist left wing opposition, labelled them the “enemy within”

privatisation of main industries was the essence of Thatcherism

secured a rebate from the European Council

Question 26

EXAMPLES – demonstrating inability to dictate events and determine policy

Answer 26

Poll Tax – demonstrated inability to control events

the poll tax was extremely controversial legislation that was widely opposed as it would require everyone to pay the same amount despite varying levels of income

it would have increased the gap between the rich and the poor but the people refused to pay

led to protests that turned into violent riots, can be said to be the point at which Thatcher lost control and was rejected by the public

Question 27

relationship with Cabinet

Answer 27

dominated and dictated her cabinet

replaced those who disagreed with her

worked closely with her advisors rather than the cabinet – not a collegiate style of government, but alienated them instead

Question 28

reasons for leaving office

Answer 28

unpopular policy – the poll tax was extremely controversial and widely condemned, led to protests that turned into violent riots, can be said to be the point at which Thatcher lost control and was rejected by the public as well as her own party, people lost their trust in her and she was losing power

power struggles – Heseltine challenged Thatcher for her position in 1990 and narrowly lost out

in response, Thatcher yielded to pressure from party members and resigned so her party could place a more popular candidate against Heseltine

she was ousted by her own party out of fear of losing power and most of her cabinet encouraged her to step down