Thatcher and End of Consensus

Question 1

history of consensus?

Answer 1

1940-45- creation.
1945-70- heyday.
1970-79- consensus under threat.
1979-97- end of consensus.
1997- - creation of a new consensus

Question 2

political consensus by 1945?

Answer 2

‘all three parties went to the polls in 1945 committed to the principles of social and economic reconstruction’

Question 3

nationalisation- creating the mixed economy?

Answer 3

1946- BoE, civil aviation, cable and wireless.
1947- coal and railways.
1948- electricity, gas, road haulage.
1951- iron and steel.

Question 4

principles of the welfare state?

Answer 4

1) comprehensiveness coverage rather than partial.
2) access based on need rather than ability to pay.
3) entitlement rather than concession.
4) state-directed rather than a mix of public and private

Question 5

elements of the welfare state?

Answer 5

1945 Family Allowance Act (financial support for families).
1946 National Insurance Act (provided benefits in exchange for a weekly contribution.
1946 National Health Service Act: free medical treatment by GPs, nationalised hospitals and free access to them, free prescriptions, free glasses and dentures.

Question 6

Conservative change once back in power?

Answer 6

Denationalised the iron, steel and road haulage industries.
Reduced income tax slightly.
Talked a lot about ‘setting the people free’ and removing controls.

Question 7

Conservative continuity once back in power?

Answer 7

Denationalisation of other key industries like coal and railways didn’t happen.
Support for the welfare state.
They stepped up Labour’s housing construction policy.

Question 8

‘Butskell’

Answer 8

RAB Butler and Hugh Gaitskell

Question 9

postwar consensus?

Answer 9

1) mixed economy.
2) Keynesian economics- govt policies to manage demand in the economy.
3) Negotiation rather than confrontation with trade unions.
4) strong welfare state.
5) high taxation to fund the welfare state.
6) belief that the state should promote a moderate redistribution of wealth.

Question 10

where did motorway construction begin?

Answer 10

Preston by-pass in 1958

Question 11

‘full employment’?

Answer 11

not no unemployment, just unusually low

Question 12

Macmillan’s commitment to consensus?

Answer 12

‘modern govts have an inescapable obligation to large sections of the community, the evasion of which would be both inequitable and unacceptable to public opinion’

Question 13

1970s- stagflation?

Answer 13

economic stagflation (rising unemployment) and rising inflation.
Friedman said monetarism was the answer.

Question 14

what was the trade union membership in 1950 compared to 1972?

Answer 14

9.3m to 11.3m

Question 15

how many working days were lost in strikes in 1950 compared to 1972?

Answer 15

1.4m to 23.9m

Question 16

what did Ted Heath aim to do?

Answer 16

1) curb union power.
2) oppose wage demands.
3) cut direct taxes.
4) increase indirect taxes.
5) reduce subsidies.

Question 17

inflation crisis?

Answer 17

1973: Arab-Israeli War, formation of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
1975- inflation at 27%

Question 18

Labour’s new economic policy?

Answer 18

reduce inflation by:
1) rejecting pay demands of the unions.
2) letting unemployment grow (353,000 in 1966 to 1.3m in 1976).
3) increasing taxation.
4) large social spending cuts.

Question 19

IMF loan?

Answer 19

$3.9bn loan.
IMF wanted further $2bn cut to spending in return

Question 20

radical left agenda?

Answer 20

1) more nationalisation of large firms.
2) higher taxation to support welfare.
3) unilateral nuclear disarmament.
4) EEC withdrawal.
5) Abolition of HoL.
6) Reform of Official Secrets Act.
7) more democracy in politics

Question 21

Thatcher’s supporters?

Answer 21

against the consensus.
thought the Conservative leadership betrayed conservative principles.
very sympathetic to monetarism.

Question 22

1979 election results?

Answer 22

43.9% of the vote and 339 seats

Question 23

Keynesian vs monetarism?

Answer 23

1) compromising with trade unions vs defeating and reducing trade union power.
2) redistribution of wealth vs toleration of inequalities.
3) mixed economy vs privatisation.
4) strong welfare state vs minimal state.

Question 24

Thatcher stats?

Answer 24

Share of income of top 20% increased from 37% to 44% between 1979-1985, decreased from 9.5% to 6.9% for bottom 20%.
Number of people living in poverty increased by 1.6m during Thatcher’s premiership.
Number of homeless people had risen to 370,000 by 1987.

Question 25

1983 election results?

Answer 25

397 seats for Thatcher with 13.01 million votes.
17.65 million people voted against Thatcher.

Question 26

how many female MPs when Thatcher was elected?

Answer 26

19

Question 27

how many women did Thatcher appoint to the cabinet?

Answer 27

1

Question 28

what did Thatcher do with regard to women’s issues?

Answer 28

drew on her experience of a domestic woman and played to gender stereotypes.

Question 29

Blair rolling back Thatcherism?

Answer 29

1) introduced windfall tax on privatised utilities.
2) minimum wage.
3) increased spending from 2001.

Question 30

Blair’s continuation of Thatcherism?

Answer 30

1) abandoned Clause IV.
2) Accepted the primacy of the private sector.
3) didn’t restore union power.
4) tolerated high levels of unemployment.
5) rejected class-based politics.
6) courted the right-wing press.