Thatcher Revolution 1979-90: 5 Foreign affairs and Ireland Flashcards
what were Thatcher’s concerns with Europe?
not initially anti-EEC however realised how much inefficiency there was, Britain had also been performing poorly economically
- protectionism, the principle that Europe operated on, was outmoded in an age of economic globalism
- Europe was obsessed with a dated concept of centralisation when that policy was clearly collapsing in the wider world
- disparity between the budget payments made by separate member states rewarded the inefficient nations and penalised the efficient ones
what was the issue of federalism?
- stressed how young the European institutions were; none pre-dated 1945, whereas Britain’s gov system had evolved over centuries
- felt Europe could easily fall prey to creeping socialism and bureaucracy bc in the final analysis the EEC was not subject to genuine democratic control
these fears were not new as of Thatcher’s gov
Thatcher also liked the adversarial style of debate from British politics however European ministers rarely had direct confrontation and tended to get things done by compromise, concession and private agreements
why was Thatcher hostile to Britain and the EEC?
Britain were making disproportionately high payments to the EEC budget
The EEC reluctantly authorised a reduction in Britain’s budget payments
Thatcher condemned ‘the erosion of democracy by centralisation and bureaucracy’ in a speech at Bruges 1988
what was the Single European Act of 1986 and what is its relevance?
an act that drew Britain closer to Europe than ever before
main terms:
- signatory countries committed themselves to closer monetary and political union
- the principle of supranationality (subordination of individual member states to the EEC) was established
- right of individual member states to veto majority decisions was abolished
what was the Exchange Rate Mechanism?
introduced by the EEC in 1979, as a system for bringing European currencies much closer together in value as preparation for the eventual adoption of a single European currency
when did Thatcher enter the ERM and what were her thoughts?
1990 - told by financial experts that it would provide a means of fighting inflation - it did the opposite and in 1992 a monetary crisis obliged Britain to withdraw
Thatcher claimed she had been misled by Lawson and Howe
after a meeting in Rome in 1990 Thatcher declared she would never join a single currency
which key cabinet member resigned in 1990?
Geoffrey Howe, former foreign secretary, deputy PM
felt his position had been made untenable
flat unemotional tones, expressed sorrow rather than anger
criticism of Thatcher’s obstructive attitude towards European development
what was the issue with Hong Kong returning to China?
became a British colony in 1842 as well as new territories on a 99 year lease from 1898
after 1949, communists had taken over China so thousands fled to HK including businessmen and bankers
HK became a world centre of manufacturing, commerce and finance
Deng Xiaoping (PRC leader) anticipated the return of HK as a huge asset to his modernisation of China
opinion polls showed 95% of HK people wanted to remain British
Deng Xiaoping was harsh and adamant that HK would be returned, he threatened that Chinese forces ‘could walk in and take HK if they wanted to’
Deng knew he held moral high ground as Britain acquired HK through superior military force
not helped by the ‘opium war’ against China also
what were the terms of the Joint Declaration 1984 with China?
- Britain agreed that on the expiry of the lease on the New Territories in 1997 all areas that made up HK would return to the PRC
- In return, the Chinese Communists declared that HK after 1997 would be treated as a ‘special administrative region’ (SAR) until 2047. this would leave its capitalist economic structure unaltered
what difficulties arose during the period leading up to the 1997 HK handover?
problem for the opposition of HK’s democrats who felt that the Declaration would not give them sufficient protection ost-1997
Britain did not press Beijing over democracy issues as the handover was inevitable and there were more important things for Britain should be looking towards
why was Thatcher more popular abroad than she was at home?
strong anti-Communist staunch - played a role in bringing about the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
got on well personally with Gorbachev (Soviet Union leader)
made many visits to the Soviet bloc (Poland, Hungary and USSR) and became a symbol of freedom e.g. in Poland chapels and shrines were dedicated to her
what was the velvet revolution?
in the face of popular nationalist opposition, the USSR abandoned its authority over the countries of Eastern Europe without a fight; this resulted in the collapse of the USSR itself in 1991
why were critics in Britain unsupportive of Thatcher’s work towards the velvet revolution?
she supported Poland’s Solidarity (trade union movement) despite being anti-trade union at home
which US president had a special affinity with Thatcher?
Ronald Reagan
Thatcher’s anti-communist views matched the prevailing view in the US
Reagan had been impressed by the Falklands War
enhanced Britain and the US’s special relationship
which issue were Thatcher and Reagan in one mind over?
the Cold War
agreed that the West had to remain fully armed with nuclear weapons
Britain bought £10 billion worth of Trident missiles from the US
Britain agreed to allow the US to install its Cruise missiles at the US air force base at Greenham Common, leading to a major resurgence in the CND movement.
