Margaret Thatcher Flashcards
what was Margaret Thatcher’s style as prime minister?
emphasis on hard work, family values and personal responsibility
radically right wing — ended the postwar consensus
adversarial
a combination of neoliberalism and neoconservatism
what was the situation of Britain in 1979?
the winter of discontent (inflation and strikes)
stagflation economy
what were Thatcher’s aims/ideas?
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)
what were Thatcher’s actions with regard to Europe?
secured a rebate from the European Council
generally regarded as a Eurosceptic
what goals did Thatcher share with Reagan?
free market and the small state
what was Thatcher’s economic policy?
monetarism
this involves reducing the supply of money (stop printing), spending less of existing money and keeping inflation down
what was the initial impact of these economic policies?
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
which new party was created?
SDP (Social Democratic Party)
later joined with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats
how was Margaret Thatcher ‘lucky’ regarding the economy? how was her political career saved?
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
how did she develop her image?
Britannica — patriotic, the embodiment of Britain
became very regal and monarch-like
what was the result of the 1983 election?
The Conservatives won by a landslide
what was her relationship with the Cabinet?
dominant over cabinet
what policies carried through her ideas to reduce the power of the state?
right to buy schemes of council houses
privatisation became the very essence of Thatcherism
why did she launch a political attack against the miners? what started the miner’s strike?
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
how did the economy in Britain change under Thatcher?
it became heavily privatised and unionised (white collar)
it also became predominantly service-based and was no longer based on manufacturing industries
what were the results of the controversial poll-tax?
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
election victories
1979 - 43 seat majority, 76% turnout
1983 – 144 seat majority, 72.7% turnout (landslide victory)
1987 – 102 seat majority, 75.3% turnout
context of rule: WINTER OF DISCONTENT, FALKLAND’S WAR + COLD WAR
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
context of rule: POLL TAX, MINERS’ STRIKES, GAS AND OIL REVENUES + BRIGHTON BOMBING
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
key beliefs
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
key policies
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
leadership style
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
strengths of leadership style
allowed her to cement her power and authority within government, she was not challenged very often and dominated her cabinet
weaknesses of leadership style
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
EXAMPLES – demonstrating ability to dictate events and determine policy
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
EXAMPLES – demonstrating inability to dictate events and determine policy
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
relationship with Cabinet
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
reasons for leaving office
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
