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britain 1930-1997 > thatcher and the end of consensus 1979-1997 > Flashcards

thatcher and the end of consensus 1979-1997 Flashcards

1
Q

what were the election votes of 1979

A

conservatives - 43.9
labour - 36.9
liberal - 13.8

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2
Q

what were the election results of 1983

A

conservatives - 42..4
labour - 27.6
liberal 13.7

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3
Q

what were the election results of 1987

A

-conservatives won more votes than they had in previous elections, but LOST 21 SEATS.

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4
Q

why did conservatives win in 1979

A
  • labour was weak: 40 SEATS IN LONDON, THE SOUTH AND MIDLANDS CHANGED FROM LABOUR TO CONSERVATIVE
  • people wanted change because labour had been in office for 15 years
  • thatcher had a strong personality, and made vague promises that won people over
  • her manifesto included a bid to sort out trade unions
  • conservatives associated with a strong management of the economy
  • decline of the liberal party / people whom did not vote liberal tended to vote conservative
  • propaganda ‘LABOUR ISN’T WORKING’
  • growth of the middle class
  • conservative associated with a good relationship with USA
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5
Q

why did the conservatives win in 1983

A
  • Faulklands war victory in 1982 gave the country greater confidence / unity
  • labour was still weak - MICHAEL FOOT was elected as the leader, he was unpopular and believed in ‘LATERAL NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, GOVERNMENT REGULATION AND NATIONALISATION OF INDUSTRY - ‘TOO EXTREME’
  • labour party was split - moderate members split away to form the SDP party in march 1981 - lib / SDP alliance formed to make the modern day ‘LIB DEM’
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6
Q

why did the conservatives win in 1987

A

-LOST 21 SEATS
conservatives - 43.4/376 seats
labour 31.7/229 seats
liberal and sdp 22.6/22 seats
-economic success - economy was BOOMING
-People were far better off and thanked the government for it by voting for them
-unemployment figures falling
-government policies were popular - ‘right to buy’ ‘privatisation’ ‘shift in the burden of tax’ ‘deregulation’
-New labour leader NEIL KINNOCK brought the labour party back to the centre, they gained 20 seats in 1987, however he had a limited appeal compared to thatcher ‘strong’ and ‘dynamic’ - did not give in to the BOBBY SANDS appeal in IRELAND - ‘lady not for turning’

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7
Q

What was the BOBBY SANDS appeal, and what did it signify

A

hunger strike- thatcher identified him as a ‘convicted criminal’ and showed no sympathy - lady not for turning

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8
Q

what was the post war consensus

A
  • unemployment to be kept low by government spending (keynesianism)
  • nationalised industries created under labour 45-51 were necessary.
  • gvt should try to control prices and wages, entering into direct negotiations with trade unions in ‘periods of emergency’
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9
Q

what problems did thatcher identify with the economy

A
  • inflation - prices had doubled in the 1970s
  • lack of investment, modernisation and economic stagnation
  • costly, unprofitable publicly owned services and industries
  • lack of incentives to modernise and increase productivity
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10
Q

what did thatcher do to tackle the problem of inflation

A

-the gvt had to conquer inflation - she saw the root cause of inflation as government spending and a lack of control of money in circulation
- a direct and harmful consequence of ‘keynesianism’ which therefore had to be abandoned
–REDUCED THE MONEY IN CIRCULATION / ‘MONETARISM’
-

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11
Q

why did thatcher see inflation as problematic

A
  • it hit social stability by eroding middle class savings - causing strikes for HIGHER WAGES
  • made british industry over priced
  • reduced incentives and enterprise, because higher inflation meant higher TAX RATE - she believed that businesses should be as free from tax and restrictions as possible, for them to thrive
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12
Q

what was KEYNESIANISM

A

the belief that unemployment should be kept low by government spending

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13
Q

what was MONETARISM

A

the idea of a reduction of money in circulation, in order for the market to be able to determine wages and prices. this meant deflation/reduction of jobs in short term, but would establish a basis of economic growth in the long term

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14
Q

was thatcher’s approach to dealing with inflation successful ?

A

no / june 1989 - 8.3%
october - 15%
-british industry became overpriced
-a cap was placed on public sector pay - increased tensions with UK MINERS UNION
-manufacturing output fell by 14%, many firms went out of business
-unemployment doubled between 79-83 - over 3 million
- high interest rates / made it hard for anyone whom had loans to pay

yes / the rate at which prices rose reduced from 18% 1980 to 4.5 1983
value of the pound increased / boosted financial sector
-britains growth rate / productivity begun to show signs of recovery by 1982
-weaker businesses were failing, whilst stronger ones thrived

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15
Q

what did geoffery howe (chancellor of exchequer) do to tax

A

in june 1979 he shifted tax burden from direct to indirect taxation - this worsened inflation, because vat increase pushed up the price of goods

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16
Q

how did howe modify the 1980/81 budget in order to tackle inflation

A
  • cut government expenditure
  • reduced government burrowing
  • increased tax
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17
Q

what reason do critics suggest is a main cause of improving productivity in britain under thatcher

A

the increase in north sea oil production - turned britain into a NET EXPORTER OF OIL BY 1980

18
Q

what was thatchers view of nationalised industries

A
  • they were inefficient and over manned
  • they would be better able to raise investment capital once released from gvt control
  • selling off would raise revenue which could be used to fund tax cuts and boost investments and enterprise
19
Q

how did the amount of private shareholders increase under thatcher

A

1979 - 3 million

1990 - 11 million

20
Q

what type of people did thatcher admire?

A

hard working, thrifty families - she hoped her policy of denationalisation would give these families a modest stake in capitalisms future.

21
Q

how did nationalisation go against thatcher’s plans for itr

A

she underestimated the value of many of the assets of industries - the value of a share almost immediately climbed after issue, which encouraged many shareholders to sell their asset at a profit to often big financial operations rather than other small shareholders - money going out of britain

22
Q

name some of thathcers privatisations

A 
oct 79 - british petroleum 
nov 82 - britoil
dec 1986 - british gas
feb 1987 - british airways
may 1987 - rolls royce
dec 1988 - british steel
23
Q

what did nigel lawson, cote, do whilst in office from 83-89

A
  • continued the policy DIRECT TO INDIRECT TAX, which reduced the top/basic rates of income tax
  • FINANCIAL SERVICES ACT OF 1986 deregulated the london stock market, which ended the stock exchange’s monopoly on share dealing
  • lawsons boom
  • increased the gap between rich high earning financial sector / depressed areas of traditional industry and mining in SW,SCOTLAND,NORTHERN ENGLAND
24
Q

successes of thatcher’s economic policies

A
  • brought down the rate of inflation
  • privatisation was successful - improved performance, lowered prices and offered consumers more choice
  • deregulation of the city ensured london remained at the centre of global financial market
  • the extension of shareholding gave many more people a STAKE in the SUCCESS of the ECONOMY,
25
Q

critics of thathchers economic policies

A
  • successes came from NORTH SEA OIL rather than her policies
  • too many privatised services and utilities worked only in the favour of the profit of a few big shareholders, rather than in the interests of the customers
  • deregulation of the city encouraged selfish behaviour which contrasted badly with the bleak prospects for the poor and unemployed disadvantaged society
  • social costs of policies / PUSHING UP UNEMPLOYMENT AND DESTROYING COMMUNITIES HIT BY MANUFACTURING FALL outweighed benefits
26
Q

what was the deregulation of the city of london

A

before october 1986, the city of london’s financial markets were subject to a number of regulations making it difficult for them to compete with foreign banking centres. the abolition of regulations came into effect on 27th ocober 1986, nicknamed ‘the big bang’ due to the amount of trading expected

27
Q

how did thatcher tackle the nhs

A

in order to be made efficient, business like principles were applied to it’s administration.
hospitals were put in charge of their own budgets, the nhs became self governing.
-nhs services expected to compete with eachother to provide the most efficient, cost effective service to GP’s
-gp’s became their own fund holders, managing their own budgets

28
Q

how did thatcher tackle schools

A

state schools were allowed to opt out of local authority control and control their own budgets ‘grant maintained school’

  • NATIONAL CURRICULUM 1988 - pupils regularly tested at different stages of their school life.
  • GCSE’s introduced in 1986, replacing ‘o levels’ and ‘cse’s’
29
Q

how did thatcher tackle universities

A

universities were expected to be more SELF SUFFICIENT / BUDGETS WERE CUT in 1981, meaning unis had to seek other sources of revenue, e.g by accepting more students and charging more
-research more controlled to ensure that unis were responsive to the needs of a modern society and economy -university funding council

30
Q

how did thatcher tackle housing

A 
she wanted to create a 'property owning democracy' so she introduced a scheme 'right to buy housing' to allow them to buy their own homes, this would reduce spending and create more property owners who thatcher believed would bring social stability to working class areas. 
-property ownership increased by 12%
31
Q

criticisms of thatchers social policies

A
  • gces would lead to ‘lowering of standards’
  • gcses were not ‘academically rigorous enough’
  • ‘National curriculum’ seen as too restrictive and testing too frequent
  • Thatcher had a lack of consistency / allowing schools to control their own budget suggested an extension of freedom from government control, NC too restrictive.
32
Q

why did thatcher’s social policies lead to some unrest

A

in terms of occupation and wealth, the balance shifted from traditional mining and industry towards finance, services, consumer goods, entertainment - employees enjoyed fewer rights and employers became more concerned about profits than welfare. urban centres became neglected and run down, whilst london and the SE became visibly more prosperous.

  • 1981 riots in BRIXTON AND LIVERPOOL
  • MINERS STRIKE OF 1984/1985
33
Q

what did the faulklands war of 1982 do to thatchers image

A
  • faulklands acted as a distraction from domestic policies and enabled Thatcher to show how strong the UK was. argentina invaded the islands in 1982, claiming ownership /650 argentine troops vs 260 british troops killed
  • she was seen as very popular and called the election soon after victory
34
Q

what was the poll tax and why was it controversial

A

-POLL TAX 1989 - It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult. The change from payment based on the worth of one’s house to a poll tax was widely criticised as being unfair and needlessly burdensome on the lower classes
POLL TAX RIOTS/The most serious of these was on 31 March 1990 – a week before the implementation of the tax – when between 70,000 and 200,000 demonstrated against the tax. The demonstration around Trafalgar Square left 113 people injured and 340 under arrest, with over 100 police officers needing treatment for injuries.There were further conflicts, but none so large as this.
-refused to abandon the policy ‘lady not for turning’

35
Q

what were thatchers views on industrial relations

A
  • she saw the existing laws on industrial relations as having suffered abuse to protect restrictive pacsices and over manning, to coerce workers into joining unions and participating in strikes
  • the power of unions made british firms uncompetetive because higher labour cots/restrictive practices meant that business was lost to more EFFICIENT, OVERSEAS COMPANIES-CHEAPER,LESS RESTRICTIVE.
  • jobs would only become available when british industry adjusted to market conditions, and unions lost power to control labour conditions
36
Q

what legislation did thatcher pass to tackle trade unions

A

-she used the 1971 industrial relations act as a lesson to model- avoid using one single act to restrict union power
EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1980/ outlawed secondary picketing and increased the rights of employees that refused to join trade unions
1982 - restrictions placed on sympathy strikes and closed shops only allowed if a ballot showed 85% support. anyone who lost their job for not joining a union became entitled to high rates of compensation
TRADE UNION ACT (1984)- required unions to hold secret ballots of their members before launching industrial action.

37
Q

why did the miners strike

A

the national coal board was facing a loss of £250 million for 1984/1985 alone. thatcher announced a pit closure programme in 1984 of up to 20 pits, with a loss of 20,000 jobs

38
Q

how did thatcher prepare for the strikes

A

1981 - a secret whitehall community set up to organise the stockpiling of coal to keep power stations running through a long dispute
-national reporting centre set up to ensure a central control of policing and co coordinating intelligence

39
Q

why was the miners strike defeated

A
  • because they were not united - some miners wanted to continue working and formed the ‘union of democratic mineworkers’
  • the strike was held in the spring / summer, at a time where there was less demand for coal- miners were deprived of a key weapon
  • labour party was reluctant to support ARTHUR SCARGILL (leader of NUM) who was seen as extremist
  • violent incidents on the picket lines undermined public support
  • the gvt was prepared to use considerable force to protect the rights of miners that wanted to work
  • april 1984 - SCARGILL refuses to hold a national ballot of miners on whether to continue strike action - this deprived the strike of ‘legal legitimacy’
40
Q

what was the impact of the strike

A

NUM membership dropped from 250,000 (1979) to 100,000 (1987)

britain 1930-1997 (2 decks)

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