Thatcher social and poltical divisions Flashcards
The Falklands War
1982
Loss of life for no reason- far away, didn’t feel important to most, waste of resources
Viewed as an attack on British land- reclaiming
Victory meant patriotism and protected Britain’s war reputation
Soldiers were working-class- lost the person who brought the money
Regional divisions
Southeast and London prospered
Scotland and Wales suffered and productivity declined
Nationalism grew as voters felt the Cons no longer represented them
Plan of the miner’s strike
Scargill suspected he might lose the ballot (miners not ready)- chose not to hold it
Organised pickets to protest at pits that had stayed open but was illegal so the gov could confiscate NUM funds e.g. Miners Union chose not to strike
Employed MI5 officers to infiltrate the NUM to find out its strategy
Officers were sent to major areas to police the strikes- several violent clashes
Attitudes to the miner’s strike
Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC)- series of rallies in London in support.
Right-wing believed that union power was out of hand- new union laws were justified
Left-wing argued Scargill was defending jobs across an entire industry and Kinnock tried to compromise-unable to come up with a position to unite the party.
The media opposed the strike- critical of Scargill, attempting to bully the country.
End of the miner’s strike
Hoped they would starve the British economy of coal but Ridley’s stockpiled coal, relied more on gas and nuclear power and imports so the economy kept running.
Power stations continued to function so there were no power cuts.
NUM began to run low on funds and communities experienced extreme hardship
Failure to call a national ballot weakened support for the strike among miners
Union of Democratic Mineworkers, founded in 1984, saw members return to work early 1985
Miner’s strike impact
Gov showed it was committed to enforcing its new union laws allowing them to continue
Practices like calling strikes without a secret ballot and secondary picketing died out.
The NUM was hit hard between 1985-90 - lost 84% of its members.
Major- introduced a law forcing unions to conduct strike ballots by post, and forced unions to submit their voting process to independent scrutiny.
From 1985 Labour leaders took steps to distance the party from the unions.
Allowed the gov to reduce the size of the mining industry from 1985-90 94/170 were closed.
New Cross Fire
1981
13 black teens were killed- believed to be racist attack by the national front.
Established New Cross Massacre Action Committee (NCMAC)
Thatcher’s gov released no statement- contrasted the deaths of white teens in Dublin.
The parents of the victims believed the local police had mishandled the investigation
The black people’s day of action (BPDOP) and its impact
Response to the lack of gov action+ inadequate police investigation- organised by NCMAC
20,000 people marched through London to demand justice for the dead - largest ever held
Forced the gov to acknowledge what happened and highlight the indifference of the police and the gov to racism.
Stop and Search 70s and 80s - Used extensively against young black people. Following the BPDOA the Met police introduced operation swamp ‘81 aimed at black people Designed to reassert police authority after their ‘symbolic defeat’ which led to mass riots in where the police lost control of Brixton
Riots 1981 - After 2 weeks of OS ‘81 rioting broke- response to rumours a black teen had died in custody.
Around 300 black and white youths clashed with over 1000 police officers. Injuries, destroyed cars and shops, homes burnt to the ground and looted. 3 months later, more riots broke in some of Britain’s most deprived inner-city areas
Scarman Report
80s
BPDOP and the riots forced the gov to re-examine role of the police with Black people- led to report: Evidence of unnecessary use of stop and search on BAME men
Poverty, unemployment, poor housing and discrimination- key factors which caused the riots
Urged the gov to address inequality but Thatcher rejected the idea that poverty and discrimination were a cause of rioting so was not implemented
Changing Attitudes to Black and Asians
80s
Increasingly multicultural - increase in MPs and better represented in journalism and media
Channel 4,1982, had a specific responsibility to provide TV shows for minority groups
‘Acid House’- style of music linked with rave culture, black musicians & DJs led a new cultural movement
Stephen Lawrence a black man from London, was stabbed to death 1993 - Police mishandled the investigation, and led to the Macpherson Report- the MET was ‘institutionally racist’
Bobby Sands
1981
High profile IRA prisoner for his part in the IRA bombing
1981- protest in prison against the repeal of the special category status’ that convicts of terrorist offences had been granted in 1972.
Embarrassed the gov - stood as an MP in a by-election and narrowly won
Sands and IRA members went on hunger strike in 1981- return of the privileges
Michael Foot urged Thatcher to compromise with Sands in order to save his life.
Sands died 1981-result of his hunger strike, less than 1 month after being elected
Another 9 IRA prisoners died on hunger strike and it was condemned internationally- popular perception Thatcher’s gov ‘let’ the strikers die
The Brighton hotel bombing
1984
IRA detonated a bomb inside the Grand Hotel at Brighton as revenge for Bobby Sands
Several Conservative MPs, party members and their wives were killed by the bomb
Strengthened Thatcher’s resolve to continue fighting without compromise.
Conference continued the next day- a symbol of her refusal to surrender.
IRA bombing led to questioning of convictions
IRA bombing led to questioning of convictions 1975
Bombing campaign - used in crowded pubs in Guildford and Birmingham.
Desire for retribution and pressure for speedy arrests led to wrongful arrests of Irish people living in England. Wrongly convicted- Guildford 4, Birmingham 6 and the Maguire 7 spent 14-16 years imprisoned.
80s several campaign groups in Britain, Ireland and America demanded it be overturned. TV programme World in Action cast doubt on the Birmingham Six convictions in 1985.
IRA ruling overturned - 1988 Hurd referred the case of Birmingham Six to the Court of Appeal- sound.1991- decided against the ruling in 1988, accepting that the accused men had been beaten and coerced into signing statements and that evidence had been suppressed. Guildford 4 & the Maguire 7 were freed- ‘unsafe’, police must have lied according to judge
HIV and AIDS
1981
The 1st diagnosed case of HIV in Britain and associated with gay men
High numbers in the gay community- 90s, more heterosexual diagnosed.
Public ignorance resulted in an increase in anti-gay attitudes.
AIDS - area where the Thatcher gov was prepared to compromise and be pragmatic
Not sexual abstinence- the gov promoted safe sex campaign-condoms - in schools
Section 28
1988
Local Government Act 1988 and Education Act 1988
1983 “Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin”- storybook about different types of families for kids
Stopped councils and schools teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality - Teachers were afraid to talk about it of risk of losing their jobs
Hate crimes, lack of support and sex education- young men vulnerable to older
Sir Ian McKellen campaigned against it
