Thatcher and End of Consensus Flashcards
history of consensus?
1940-45- creation.
1945-70- heyday.
1970-79- consensus under threat.
1979-97- end of consensus.
1997- - creation of a new consensus
political consensus by 1945?
‘all three parties went to the polls in 1945 committed to the principles of social and economic reconstruction’
nationalisation- creating the mixed economy?
1946- BoE, civil aviation, cable and wireless.
1947- coal and railways.
1948- electricity, gas, road haulage.
1951- iron and steel.
principles of the welfare state?
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
elements of the welfare state?
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.
Conservative change once back in power?
Denationalised the iron, steel and road haulage industries.
Reduced income tax slightly.
Talked a lot about ‘setting the people free’ and removing controls.
Conservative continuity once back in power?
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.
‘Butskell’
RAB Butler and Hugh Gaitskell
postwar consensus?
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.
where did motorway construction begin?
Preston by-pass in 1958
‘full employment’?
not no unemployment, just unusually low
Macmillan’s commitment to consensus?
‘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’
1970s- stagflation?
economic stagflation (rising unemployment) and rising inflation.
Friedman said monetarism was the answer.
what was the trade union membership in 1950 compared to 1972?
9.3m to 11.3m
how many working days were lost in strikes in 1950 compared to 1972?
1.4m to 23.9m
what did Ted Heath aim to do?
1) curb union power.
2) oppose wage demands.
3) cut direct taxes.
4) increase indirect taxes.
5) reduce subsidies.
inflation crisis?
1973: Arab-Israeli War, formation of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
1975- inflation at 27%
Labour’s new economic policy?
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.
IMF loan?
$3.9bn loan.
IMF wanted further $2bn cut to spending in return
radical left agenda?
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
Thatcher’s supporters?
against the consensus.
thought the Conservative leadership betrayed conservative principles.
very sympathetic to monetarism.
1979 election results?
43.9% of the vote and 339 seats
Keynesian vs monetarism?
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.
Thatcher stats?
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.
1983 election results?
397 seats for Thatcher with 13.01 million votes.
17.65 million people voted against Thatcher.
how many female MPs when Thatcher was elected?
19
how many women did Thatcher appoint to the cabinet?
1
what did Thatcher do with regard to women’s issues?
drew on her experience of a domestic woman and played to gender stereotypes.
Blair rolling back Thatcherism?
1) introduced windfall tax on privatised utilities.
2) minimum wage.
3) increased spending from 2001.
Blair’s continuation of Thatcherism?
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.
