Thatcher and Social policy 1979-1987 Flashcards
First Term
What act was passed in relation to council housing?
describe
- Heseltine’s Housing Act of 1980
- promoted sale of council houses
- widespread popular backing among working people
- End of 1984, 800,000 council tenants were buying own homes
First Term
What were the problems with the sale of council houses?
- Thatcher had aversion to local authority housing
- gov froze receipts councils gained from sales, thus difficult to build new council houses
- During 80s, public (council) housing completions fell to less than 10% of post war peak
- private housing sector profited whilst homelessness increased
First Term
What were the positives and negative of the right to buy scheme?
- had produced 1 million new homeowners
- collapse of public housing accompanied by doubling of N. of families with children registered as homeless between 1980 and 1992
First Term
Why was Youth Training Scheme introduced?
- 1981-1982 - under 25s made up 40% of unemployed
- only 50% of Britain’s school leavers were trained
- compared to 90% in Germany and 80% in France
- Over 35% of school leavers entering jobs received no training at all
- also riots
First Term
What was the YTS?
-Youth training scheme
- announced at end of 1981
- all young people guaranteed paid training and employers taking on trainees got financial help
First Term
Negatives of the YTS?
- Offered some improvement
- however, considerable criticism of standard of training
- some employers able to take advantage of incentives of taking on young people rather than long term (more expensive) unemployed
First Term
What happened regarding health and the NHS?
- sensitive political issue
- uproar when documents leaked of 1982 proposal to end free healthcare
- Thatcher proclaimed “The National Health Service is safe with us”
- radical change = political suicide
- still underfunded
First Term
What did Thatcher introduce in terms of education? - school
- Assisted Places Scheme
- introduced 1980
- allowed able children from less well off backgrounds access to means tested places at independent schools
First Term
What did Thatcher introduce in terms of education? - universities
- faced with severe cuts in funding
(other more radical changes shelved because of tory resistance)
First Term
Describe the riots of the time
- 1981: riots broke out in Brixton
- pitched battles between police and black youths
- since 1950s, Brixton suffering from social deprivation + drug gangs + poor relations between police and immigrants from West Indies
First Term
What was done as a result of the riots?
More riots?
- After blaze of publicity, Lord Scarman asked to investigate situation (riots seemed forgotten)
- then 1981- weekend of 4th July: riots broke out in major cities across Britain, from Liverpool to manchester, areas of london + other towns
- According to Times, Oct 1981 - ~ 4000 arrested; 2/3 under 20; less than half unemployed; 2/3 criminal records
First Term
Why were these riots occuring?
- Lack of job opps - factor
- technological advances and recession had reduced demand for unskilled and semi-unskilled labour
- estimated that between 1978 + 1985 N. of semi-skilled and unskilled jobs fall by nearly 1 million
First Term
What was the SCARMAN REPORT?
- condemned the rioting but drew attention to social and economic difficulties that beset inner city areas
- Reporting on Brixton riots, he spoke of despair of unemployed young blacks + sense of alienation from comunity
- especially from police whose intolerance and insensitivity deplored
Second Term
What was introduced in terms of education? - schools
- Clause 28 of Local Government Act of 1987 prohibited state schools for promoting homosexuality or teaching it is acceptable
Second Term
What happened as a result of clause 28?
- Campaigning for gay rights and equality intensified
- with greater participation in the annual Gay Prise March
- and in the activities and profile of pressure groups such as Stonewall, Act Up and Outrage
Second Term
What happened in terms of Thatcher and education? - Universities?
- universities faced annual cuts in real funding causing severe financial difficulties
- together with pressure to apply new managerial techniques and short term profit making measures
- With loss of morale, concern with “brain drain” of academic staff to USA
What was the consequence of Thatcher’s change to funding in universities?
- widening gulf between old professional order and new Thatcherite ethos
- identified with wealth producers and businessmen rather than academics and intellectuals
- 1985 Oxford Uni denied her honorary degree due to “systematic damage” she had wrought on education
Second Term
What did Thatcher do in terms of social security?
- The Social Security Act of 1986
- designed to reduce “dependency culture”
- more rigorous means testing
- Family credit payments assisted those on low incomes and grants to poorest claimants replaced by loans
Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
How did the media criticise her?
- Playwrights e.g David Hare and Howard Brenton produced highly charged plays attacking culture of selfishness and green caused by Thatcherism
- TV: “Boys from the Blackstuff” gave a sympathetic view of hard-pressed workers
- spitting image and private eye - kept up satirical comments
Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
How did the CND criticise her?
- From 1958 most significant protest movement in Britain
- 1980s continued to be well supported
- given new lease of life by Thatcher’s determined backing for the policy of deterrence and stepping up to arms race against USSR in Cold War
Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
Church of England
- Criticised jingoistic government policy over Falklands War
- Publication of church report “Faith and the City” in 1985
- showed widening rift between gov and established church
- Exacerbated by Bishop of Durham who criticised gov handling of miner’s strike
Second Term
How did Thatcher criticise Church of England and Methodists assemblies?
- personally addressed them to rebuke bishops for hostile approach towards material gain
- over involvement with issues such as poverty + urban decay and over support for black African nationalists
Second Term
How did Thatcher criticise church of scotland?
- brought to book for displaying nationalist tendencies
- Thatcher felt wealth creation was essentially a Christian act + demanded support from church
- church hesitant about its role
- many seeked charity and the achievement of an equitable society as more compatible with their faith
Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
Animal Liberation Front
- switched from non-violence to “ecoterrorism” from 1982
- arson attacks on pharmaceutical companies that tested drugs on animals
- letter bombs sent to public figures - inc Thatcher
Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
Who were the Greenham women?
- In 1979, decision taken to station American Cruise missiles at bases in Britain
- in reaction CND organised mass protests marches
- Epicentre was RAF Greenham Common in Berskshire
- Sep 1981 a group of female protesters set up camp outside Greenham Common base
- Camp became focal point for feminism + pacifism
- April 1983, when Cruise missiles due to arrive, 14 mile human chain of protest stretched from Greenham to Aldermaston
- 1984 the Newbury local council evicted woman and demolished camp - they rebuilt it
