Section 5- 1987-1997 Flashcards
When was Thatcher’s third election victory?
1987
when was thatcher’s bruges speech?
1988
in 1989 who did thatcher defeat in leadership?
Anthony Meyer
what happened in 1990
Poll tax crisis
Britain joined the ERM
Thatcher lost leadership contest- led to her resignation
Major became PM
what happened in 1991?
citizens charter
coalition forces liberated Kuwait
what happened in 1992?
Britain left the ERM
Maastricht treaty
when was the euro-rebellion and ratification of the maastricht treaty?
1993
when did blair become leader of labour?
1994
when did major win party leadership election? (2nd)
1995
which ministers did thatcher lose support of?
Heseltine, Lawson and Howe
When did Heseltine resign?
1986
when did Lawson resign?
1989
When did Howe resign?
1990
what did the 1986 big bag lead to?
1987 stock market
what did the Lawson boom do?
increase inflation by 10.9%
when was poll tax replaced?
1993- replaced with council tax
when did Major with the vote of no confidence?
1990
who did Major compete with for leadership?
Heseltine and Douglas-Hurd
how many seats did Major win with?
367 votes to 247
when did Major win his first election?
1992
who was predicted to win the 1992 election?
Labour
what type of campaigning did Major do to win?
soapbox campaign
how many seats did the conservatives win with (1992)?
21 seats
in 1992 how many households were in negative equity?
increased from 300,000 to 900,000
why did so many people have negative equity on their house?
people hurried to buy a house in fear there would be none left
what was the ERM?
european exchange rate mechanism
when did Britain join the ERM?
October 1990- led by Major
what were the terms that Thatcher would enter the ERM with?
the pound valued at a high rate
what did entering the ERM cause?
over a million people lost their jobs due to international trade declined
reduced inflation
no prosperity like the Germans
negative equity
what caused the pound to be devalued?
German bank raised interest rates so Britain had to follow, traders bought the deutschmark and sell the pound –> devalues the pound
when did the government refuse to devalue the pound and leave the ERM?
1992
who was the chancellor of the Exchequer at the time of Black Wednesday?
Norman Lamont
which country was struggling most with the German interest rates?
Italy
How did Lamont try to rectify the economic crashes in Britain and other countries due to german interest rates?
Asked Germany to lower the rates - they refused
what was Germany’s offer in regards to economies crashing in the ERM
offered to cut interest rates if everyone else devalued
what happened on 11th September 1992?
Italy tried to prevent their economy from collapse
what happened on 14th September 1992?
sellers got spooked so people began selling the pound
when was black Wednesday?
16th Wednesday 1992
what were people doing with the pound on black Wednesday?
selling it at high ERM rates and buying it back for cheap sold £5b
how much were the bank of England spending trying to save the pound?
2b per hour
what were interest rates increased by?
increased to 12% then 15% the same day
how much had the bank spent on black wednesday?
£15b
what did Britain do after the events of black wednesday
chose to pull out the ERM on black wednesday
what happened the the economy after Britain pulled out the ERM?
economy flourished and inflation stayed low
what did Neil Hamilton do?
“cash for questions”
sleaze
was demoted
who did john major have an affair with?
Edwina Curie
who did Alan Clark have an affair with?
Valerie Harkess and her daughters
what did Johnathan Aitken do?
charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice
declared bankrupt
procured prostitutes for arab businessmen
aware that BMARC sold guns to Iran
what did Jeffrey Archer do?
paid a prostitute
committed perjury
what had union membership declined by?
38.6% in 1989 to 30.2% in 1997
how much did working days lost to strikes decline by?
1903 in 1990 to 235 in 1997 (with a slight jump in 1996)
when was the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act (TURERA) and what did it do?
1993 continued Thatcherist reforms by trying to minimise the influence of unions
what did the 1987 and 1994 Coal Industry Acts do?
continued with the privatisation of mines
the Union of Democratic Mineworkers lost increasing influence, leaving the employees with less negotiating power
what did the citizens charter do?
guaranteed standards in the public sector and made the public more like customers – successes were given ‘Charter Marks’
how was the NHS improved?
was reorganised as an internal market, where different parts could buy services from each othe
what happened to schools?
Local authorities’ influence was reduced in schools who were given more autonomy
Performance league tables were introduced to give parents more choice
when and why was the national curriculum introduced?
1997 to standardise schools
when and why was teacher training agency introduced?
1994 to improve standards of teachers
how did Howard reform the courts of justice?
introduced fixed and minimum sentences and more restrictions on judges to demonstrate a tougher stance on crime, with the number of prisoners growing at 3.4% per year (up from 2.5%)
when was the national lottery introduced?
1993, which became a very large charitable organisation supporting arts and culture
when was Major’s “back to basics” speech and what was the reaction?
1993 conference was intended to instil ‘traditional’ values, but drew focus to the sleaze and apparent hypocrisy of politicians
When was the Motar bomb attack on downing street and who by?
1991- the IRA
when was the manchester bombing and who by?
1996- the IRA
250 people were injured
What was the Downing Street Declaration 1993?
a statement issued by John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, giving Northern Ireland the right to self-determination to choose whether to remain part of the UK or become part of the RoI
when was the Docklands bombing and who by?
1996- the IRA
2 people killed
how did John Hume deal with the IRA?
held secret meetings with Sinn Fein over the course of 8 months
when did Major win the Gulf war?
1991
when was the poll tax replaced?
1992
how was clause IV revised and when?
1995- changed to a promise of commitment to a ‘dynamic economy’ that serves the public interest and also reinforces the enterprise and competition of market forces
when did Kinnock end labour’s support for closed shop union agreements?
1989- step taken by Tony Blair
what was labour’s slogan after abandoning most of the 1983 manifesto policies by 1989?
‘it’s time for change’
what image did John Smith become shadow chancellor promote?
a moderate image
what signalled the beginning of labour’s split with the trade unions in 1989?
some disquiet from the left and unions
what did john smith introduce to abolish the trade unions block in labour?
‘one member, one vote’ for parliamentary candidates in 1993
who was Peter Mandelson?
appointed in 1985 as Director of Communications
what was peter mandelson known as?
the spin doctor
who was commissioned by Peter Mandelson to make a political broadcast?
Hugh Hudson
in the 1997 election who won and by how many seats?
Labour - with 419 seats
(Labour 1994 policies) what was ‘welfare to work’?
a programme of subsidies and training for benefit claimants to get back onto the job market - including tac credits to bump income
what was labour’s ‘new deal’?
aimed at the disabled and single mothers to get back into work
what is private finance initiative?
introduced by conservates in 1992 to attract private investors to invest in public sector
expanded by labour in 1997
what was Benn’s alternative proposal to PFI?
the aims and objectives- unsuccessful
who criticised the PFI?
Scargill, Livingston and Heffer- said it would make no revolutionary changes
when was the employment act?
1990
what did the employment act 1990 do?
required unions to hold a ballot of they wanted to strike
when were labour’s plan to leave the eec dropped?
1988
when did kinnock announce labour would not abolish nuclear weapons but still use trident?
1988
when did Charles and Camilla’s affair begin?
1986
when did Diana confront Camilla?
1989
when did Charles and Camilla’s affair become public
1993- known as camilla gate
when was Charles and Diana’s separation announced?
1993
when were diana and charles officially divorced?
1996
when was Diana’s affair public
1995
what affect did Charles’ affair have on the royal family
made the royal family seem untrustworthy
encouraged anti-establishment views
what did the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994 do?
reduced the age of consent for gay men from 21 to 18
what year did the green party receive 15% of the popular vote?
1989
in 1984 how much of the british public agreed with traditional gender roles?
46%
in 1989 how many people believed a mother should stay at home?
64%
when was Stephen Lawrence murdered for being black?
1993
when were the satanic verses published?
1988
in 1996 what did Stephen’s Lawrence’s mother do?
carry out a private prosecution - first acknowledgement of institutional racism
when did the daily mail call the 5 gang members involved in Stephen Lawrence’s murderers
1997
what happened at the second trial of stephen lawrence’s murder in 2011?
2 out of the 5 men were convicted
how many divorces were there in 1993
165,000
after signing the SEA in 1986 why did thatcher become more negative about europe
believed entering the single market would restrict britain’s autonomy through federalism
when was minimum wage introduced
1999
what did the Maastricht treaty introduce?
a single currency in the EU and introduced EU citizen ship in 1992
what did Major try to opt out of in the maastricht treaty?
the social charter- members of the EU mjust meet social and economic standards eg min wage
what were the pros of the Maastricht treaty
strong military defence
improved trade
decisions can be at a national level
raisies living standards
what were conservative cons of joining the maastricht treaty
went against new right values
loss of the pound
if other economies failed so does britains
no autonomy over markets
weakened national government
when did lithuania become independent?
1990
what did the Maastricht treaty 1992 vote do?
in favour
who were some pro-european conservatives?
Clarke and Heseltine
when was the delors report submitted?
1989
when did the Berlin wall fall?
1989- led to a united germany under Helmut Kohl
when did the soviet union collapse?
1991- after Gorbachev
how did Britain help Yeltsin after her became president of russia
Britain spent diplomatic and financial resources to help him against Communist and national opponents
how much was the defence spending brought down by in 1991
down to 4% of GDP, a continuation of Thatcherite policy, and reduced again to 2.7% in 1992
Cuts worth £3 billion were initiated over ten years in all forces and the Trident programme – spending should be focused on peacekeeping role
when was the Dayton agreement signed?
1995 and supported the peacekeeping force installed in the region after a war broke out in Bosnia (split of Yugoslavia)
when did major visit russia?
1994
in relation to defence what did the conservatives announce?
NATO would be responsible for defence
EU would be responsible for security
when did Croatia become independent ?
1991- the remaining Yugoslavia fought against them
when was the 10 day war in Slovenia?
1991-
what and when was the sarjevo agreement?
1992- ceasefire between croatia and yugoslavia
what was the brioni agreement?
yugoslavia would withdraw from slovenia -not croatia
when was a peace treaty signed in Yugoslavia (between NATO and bosnian serbs)
1995
what happened between the UN and Saddam Hussein (who was invading Kuwait)?
UN issued an ultimatum to withdraw but he refused
when was operation desert storm?
1991
what had the defeat of iraq lead to?
deterioration of humanitarian so the safe haven campaign was introduced which ended Britain’s long time none intervention policy
when were no-fly zones introduced in Kuwait?
1993
