Political History since 1979 Flashcards
What happened in Britain 1978-79?
Winter of Discontent under Labour Government
- Britain hit with worst industrial unrest since 1926 strike (so lots of strikes)
- Ie Liverpool, grave diggers on strike, dead remained unburied
How long did John Major last as PM?
1990-1997 (7 years)
Who were the main political parties in 1979?
3 political parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal
What land was classed as the UK in 1979?
England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Who was the Government in power in 1979?
Government in Power: Beginning= Labour, Jim Callaghan PM
End= Conservative, Margret Thatcher PM
Why was Thatcher elected in May 1979?
- Callaghan delayed an election - Thatcher was driven by Victorian values
- British people wanted change
- She was an ‘Iron Lady’, determined
- She was a woman-> dedicated, hard working
- She would bring Radical change-> awarded lots of pay rises
- Winter of Discontent
What did Thatcher aim to achieve as PM?
- Lower taxes
- Pro ‘Free markets’
- She wanted to unleash big business
- Restore Britain’s global position
Inflation and Thatcher:
- She thought defeating inflation was the key (high inflation when she took office)
- Her main aim was to reduce inflation
- She inherited some domestic inflation pressures-> trade unions kept getting wage increases, encouraging shop keepers to put their prices up
- Hit pensioners (a group of pro Thatcher people)
- Adopted Monetarism: put interest rates up, Climbed to 23%
How was unemployment affected under Thatcher?
- Climbed to 3 million
- Hit the North harder-> closure of factories + effect on Industrial Britain
Riots and Thatcher:
- Anger from unemployment-> effects on the poor, tax cuts + benefits for the rich
- Liverpool, 1981
- Unemployed people (particularly in the North), Police racism,
Privatisation and Thatcher:
- Thatcher sold off previously nationalised industries
- Council houses
- Water industries, Telephones, gas, electricity, railway= government owned
Thatcher and the IRA (Irish Republican Army)
- The IRA wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic of Ireland
- IRA succeeded in planting a bomb in the hotel Thatcher was staying in, caused deaths
What happened in 1982 between Britain and Argentina?
The Falklands War
- Between Argentina and Britain for colonised islands next to Argentina
- Britain Won in 3 weeks
- Thatcher maintains British standard on a global stage
- Went from most unpopular to one of the most popular
What did Thatcher do in 1983?
Thatcher holds an election
- Conservatives are in favour
- Thatcher won a landslide-> increased number of Tory MP’s
- Most of her cabinet were men
What happened between the Miners and Thatcher between 1984-1985?
Miners strike
- Thatcher tried to close some coal mines down-> some were beginning to be inefficient
- Miners union went on strike to protect jobs
- Rivalries between counties, police and miners
- Thatcher called the miners union “the enemy within” (Not representing the people)
- Thatcher won, the miners just went back to work without success
- Then nearly all the pits were closed, she shut down the mining industry
- Wanted to crush the mining union- encourages natural gas, north sea oil, nuclear power, abroad coal
What happened in 1987?
Election (a year early)
- Thatcher won as the economy was improving
What is Poll tax?
Local tax, where every adult paid the same
- Benefitted privileged people
Why and How did Thatcher Fall in 1990?
- She wanted to implement the poll tax (unpopular)
- Caused more riots
- She was becoming very Eurosceptic
- Conservatives turned against her due to these 2 things
- Thatcher polled worse than the Conservative party, becoming a liability to her party-> MP’s wanted her out
- She was in power too long
- Conservative MP’s held a vote of No Confidence in her, which triggered a leadership contest. Her Cabinet colleagues turned against her and persuaded her that although she won the first round, she wouldn’t win the second.
- Thatcher resigned-> she felt betrayed
What happened in the 1990 votes of confidence for Thatcher?
MP’s can call for a vote of confidence in the leader
- Thatcher won the vote, but not by much (against Michael Heseltine)
- She wanted to carry on, but the other MP’s (ie cabinet ministers) disagreed, wanted her to stand down
What happened in November 1990?
John Major became Prime Minister
Who is John Major?
Regular person background, ie unemployment, son of a music hall artiste and garden ornament manufacturer
ie Election broadcast from Brixton (his home), representative of the working class people
What Boosted Major’s popularity?
He led Britain to victory in the first Gulf War against Iraqi invader of Kuwait Saddam Hussein as a Junior partner or the US and other western countries
What happened in the winter of 1991 with the Maastricht Treaty?
The British people + conservatives were against a single European currency, unlike all other European leaders-> John Major eventually signed the treaty, opting out from the single currency and taking the Social chapter + the worker’s rights out of the treaty all together
- Commended by Parliament + the British people
What happened in 1992?
1992 election: Major vs Neil Kinnock
- (last election= 1987)- waited the full 5 years
- Major victory
- Partly to weak labour campaign under Kinnock
Post Thatcher-> economy had fallen
What happened on Black Wednesday (1992 September) ?
Pound was too high (black Wednesday)
Major agreed to increase interest rates to 12%
Bank of England lost £2 billion an hour
Then increased interest rate to 15%-> disaster for home and business owners
John Major decided to leave the ERM (exchange rate mechanism)
Reflected badly on Major
How did Black Wednesday affect Major and the Conservatives?
(just after the election)
- Ruined Conservative economic reputation
- Major had less authority-> more crime, poverty and violence
What happened in February 1993 as a result of Major’s lack of authority and increase in crime across the UK?
A 2 year old (James Bulger) was kidnapped by two 10 year olds, who tortured and murdered him
What did Major begin to assert after the kidnapping and murder of James Bulger in 1993?
John Major asserted traditional, core values (Cosy, nostalgic Britain)
What scandal increased the negative outlook on the Conservative party and Major in 1993?
Sex scandals in the Conservative party, taking cash for questions
What happened in 1994?
Labour leader John Smith died
- Tony Blair and Gordon Brown
- Blair would take power, Brown would get role of Treasury
