Privatisation

Question 1

What was privatisation?

Answer 1

-denationalisation
-selling off of publicly owned ind to the private sector
-central to thatchers econ policy

Question 2

What steps did thatcher take towards this in her first term?

Answer 2

-BP had been privatised 1979
-Br aerospace privatised 1980

Question 3

How did privatisation gain real momentum?

Answer 3

-with first successful sale of Br telecom 1984
-50% sold via london stock exchange - 2m people bought shares

Question 4

What was the impact of the sale of Br telecom?

Answer 4

-anyone who bought £1250 shares day 1 made £1000 worth of profit within 2 years
-taxpayer lost out

Question 5

How did this in turn impact people’s phone lines?

Answer 5

-before privatisation could take 3 months for BT engineer visit + install a phone
-after sale prices fell, telephone available on demand + no. Working public telephone boxes increased

Question 6

What else became the biggest share in Br history?

Answer 6

-the sale of Br gas 1986
-followed by high profile advertising campaign seeking maximise the purchase of shares by ordinary people e.g. 1979-90 no. individuals owing stocks up from 3m to 9m

Question 7

What was privatisation driven by?

Answer 7

-by anti-socialist ideology
-core belief that private sector more dynamic + efficient than public sector at running + delivering goods + services

Question 8

What was a result of privatisation?

Answer 8

-businesses compete with others in marketplace encourage improvements + innovation
-financial pressured local gov under led to ‘rolling back the frontiers of the state’

Question 9

What happened to outsourcing?

Answer 9

-was where priv companies took on contracts deliver goods previously provided by state
-became increasingly widespread e.g. to refuse collection

Question 10

How did privatisation impact the gov?

Answer 10

-brought a lot of revenue for gov
-critics argued privatised enterprises sold off cheaply to ensure all shares taken up

Question 11

What were the downsides to privatisation?

Answer 11

-made life more insecure for employees as many lost jobs when privatised enterprises cut back on staff
-others found couldn’t rely on long-term job security + on reliable pension provision

Question 12

What did radical Thatcherites want to do?

Answer 12

-push with further privatisation incl coal ind + railways
-drew up plans privatise parts of NHS but not pursued until 90s

Question 13

What was the overall impact of privatisation?

Answer 13

-privatisation of state concerns during thatcher years marked significant shift in br econ
-drive for privatising signalled end of PWC about econ management