Thatcher in 1979,83,87 elections Flashcards
What year was the Falklands war?
1981
What year was the Miners Strikes?
1984
When was the Maastricht Treaty signed?
1992
3 reasons as to why Thatcher won 3 General Elections in a row?
She was backed by a lot of the media
She came at a time where Britain needed modernising
Opposition was weak
What was the state of Britain’s economy in 1983?
rise in unemployment and inflation was high
Why did the Falklands give Thatcher a better popularity rating?
It brought nationalism back to Britain and strong sense of pride
came at a time where economy was low so gave people something to praise for
3 problems that Labour faced towards the 1983 election?
disastrous split in 1981
selection of Michael Foot in Nov 1980 with radical views
Their manifesto
Why were Conservatives ahead in the opinion polls in 1987? (3 reasons)
selling council houses was popular
unemployment was falling and pound was strong
Privatisation
Why was the Labour party unsuccessful in 1987? (3 reasons)
not fully recovered from 83 defeat
Kinnocks style seemed too left-wing
Labour was badly affected by the Alliance
How did Thatcher view inflation? (3)
it made British industry over prices it could only be tackled by reducing money in circulation eroded middle-class and caused strikes for higher wages
Who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1979?
Geoffrey Howe
What policy did Howe introduce?
shift of tax burdens from direct to indirect taxes
What did the shift of tax from direct - indirect cause?
VAT increased pushing prices of goods up
What did Howe do in 1980-81 to combat high inflation? (3 things)
cut government spending
reduced government borrowing
increased taxes
What impact on the economy did Howe’s policies have? (3)
manufacturing output fell by 14%
unemployment doubled
value of the pound increased
