Thatcher - Politcal And Social Division Flashcards
What caused the miners strike?
- Pit closures that were seen as non-profitable were closed in Thatcher’s attempts to denationalise HI and reduce the amount of state spending
- Began over announcement of Yorkshire pit closures then spread into national dispute
1) Who were the NUM? What advantage did they have?
2) What was a scab?
1) National Union of miners - Beaten Heath over coal so they believed they could do it again
2) A non striking Miner
Who was Arthur Scargill?
Leader of NUM - Masterminded the defeat of Heath in the 1970’s
What was Thatcher’s view on the class system? And What impact did she have on the class system?
- Hated class politics = Wanted a united Britain
- Possible she increased class conflict by creating more inequalities = Selling of council houses opened up a gap within working class with those who could buy the houses and those who could not. Buying replaced renting so many poor could not afford houses
What were some events of the strike?
- Lasted from Spring 1984-Spring 1985
- Very violent clashes with the police
- Pickets attempted to shut down working pits
- Battle of Orgreave = 5k miners and 5k police clashed violently and over 100 miners and police were injured and dozens were arrested. Thatcher used it as Ammunition against miners presenting them as a violent mob causing them to lose some support
What were miner-miner relationships like during the strike?
-Miners become divided = Miners in more successful Nottingham fields stayed working, the National Association of Colliery Overmen Deputies and Shotfirers did not strike AND no vote was held to decide weather they should strike of not making it illegal
What were the results of the strike?
- Miners had to return to work without winning dispute
- Ian McGregor (Chairman of national coal board) was the man who won Thatcher the dispute
- Thatcher’s willingness to confront the miners won respect from some and contempt from others
- Communities were left fearful of Survival
- Unions lost power (NUM lost 84% of members between 1985-90) and rights
- Labour took steps to distance themselves from unions
What was the Falklands war? And what was its impact?
- Began 2nd April 1982
- Argentina attempted to reclaim Falklands. Thatcher sent a task force to take it back
- Succeeded and her popularity skyrocketed with GP and armed forces
- Pivotal in Thatcher 1983 election win
Why was there a rise in black and Asian protests under thatcher?
- Racist discrimination
- Thatcher’s persistence to get ethnic minorities to adopt British values and customs
- Thatcher’s economic policies disadvantaged ethnic minorities
- Thatchers support of police In efforts to target young black people
What was the New Cross Fire?
- 18 Jan 1981 a fire swept through a house in New Cross Road, southeast London. ParT attended by black teenagers was in progress and 13 were killed
- Locals believed fire was racist attack by National Front
- Week later New Cross Massacre action committee established
- Gov made little action and largely ignored it. (In contrast to the same happening in Ireland to white teenagers a week later that got mass support)
What was the Black People’s Day of Action?
- March 2nd 1981 20k people from across the country marched through London to demand justice for those who died in the New Cross Fire
- Largest black Protest in history
- Gov had to acknowledge what happened
What were the Brixton Riots and what caused them?
- Ethnic minorities felt they were being mistreated due to police stop and searches
- South London was a deprived area
- Rioting began after rumours that a black teenager had died in police custody
- 300 black youths clashes with over 1000 police. 229 riot police injured and 70 were hurt
What did Thatcher want do achieve in Ireland and how did she try to achieve this?
-End IRA with deployment of force
Who was Bobby sands and what effect did he have?
One of highest profile IRA prisoners who went on strike as he believed he was a political prisoner and not an average prisoner. He died in prison and many other IRA members also did. Very negative image on Thatcher’s government as the world believed they had let the strikers die
What was Thatcher’s views on sexuality?
- Closely worked with gay colleagues and did not want to recriminalise homosexuality but she did not promote it in fear that it would lead to an ‘erosion’ in moral standards.
- Passed laws stopping the promotion of homosexuality
