The consensus and its critics Flashcards
What were the basic premises of the consensus period ?
Agreement on where power lies: Whitehall
Foreign Policy- America, decolonisation, maintaining great power status
Economic Policy- nationalised enterprises, ‘mixed economy’, need for the state agreement.
Welfare State- Cradle to Grave, NHS Review
Importance of Pressure groups, Corporatism, TUs
‘Butskellism’ Economic alliance of cons and Labour
‘End of Ideology’ for the greater good
Why did the consensus period start ?
Seed sown - in the war
1940: start
Keynesian Budget proposal influenced by Keynes 1941 by Kingsley wood Conservative
1944- Butler Education Act
1944- White Paper on Full Employment
1942 Beveridge Report ‘Five Giants’
1945
Landslide Labour victory: Conservatives realised that they had no choice but to align their policy to the third way.
Public: Used to intervention by the state , communism was not seen of as a negative
‘New start’
Two party FPTP meant the parties dominated
No Cult of Personality
When did the consensus period end ?
1976 Callaghan- Denounced Keynesism for Moneterism
1975 inflation rates had reached 27% which created the winter of discontent and the rise in oil prices fourfold.
Awareness of the economy falling behind- unemployment and stagnation
Cuts in Welfare, more means tested requirments had began in Callaghans budget.
Thatcher- Consolidated the end of Consensus trends
What were some of the main criticisms of the consensus period ?
King- ‘Overload’. NHS, Welfare State
Beer- ‘Pluralist Stagnation’ Parties trying to concede to pressure groups, no direct policy route of its own, short termism, tension between trying to find middle path of conservative/Labour divide.
‘Adversial Politics’- FPTP system, less representative of what people actually wanted, not health democracy
Ungovernability Trade Union Power Public Expenditure out of control Short-termism: U- turns Economic Failure
Did the consensus Exist?
Depends upon the definition of the ‘consensus’ being practical or ideological.
No- Pimlott: Had invested too far to be able to withdraw funding from enterprises, precedent of a great power had been set.
Yes- Evidence that confirms joint policy, Beveridge report 1942 and core values maintained, Tories did not renationalise sectors, both continued funding state enterprises, had little choice to comply with elections so in practice the belief in the STATE maintained the consensus.
Conc- In as much as the consensus was a broad agreement on policy, this existed. Stopped earlier than Thatchers gvmt.
Pimlott’s Argument
Consensus idea is based upon nostalgia, sentiment and hindsight from the bitter rivalry.
There is little evidence of parties actually agreeing with themselves as part of the consensus
Conservatives were actually averse to the idea of Welfare Provision
Key principles of welfare hard to implement, seen as radical.
Butskellism was an insult showing the electorate was divided, as was the parties were.
Before the war, voters were more fickle, and became more aligned in the consensus period because parties were divided.
Governments tend to continue the past implementations throughout history anyway because it is easier to do so/ unpopular with the electorate.
‘Events were as much determined by dispute as by cooperation’.
Kavanagh’s Argument
Elite Political Interpretation: Main actors as govmt, not radical backbecnchers or discourse.
Significant continuities from Attlee to Thatcher, which stopped from mid 1970’s onwards.
Consensus as a middle ground between state socialism and the free market.
Social democracy prevailed regardless of what party was in government.
Party had to appeal across voters to get into power
Civil service kept from the war years which created stability in implementation.
Disagreement was part of consensus politics- ‘disagreement about ends and means is the life blood of politics’ politics is about reconciling the difference, which it succeeded to do in the consensus period.
Agreements on:
1. Government and its relationship with economic actors e.g. Trade Unions
2. Disagreement between the party elites was contained
On issues it was the extent to which things were implemented rather than questioning the things themselves i.e. welfare: No conservs wanted to denationalise all industries, no Labour communist policy
The ‘Governmentalists’ were drawn from each of the parties despite the differences of rhetoric.
Consensus Definiton
'Post War Settlement' Latin for Agreement Based on collectivism Definition can determine the argument: Pimlott: Used for harmony of organs of the body, later becoming political language. For a consensus to exist thus there must be a willingness to consent, freedom of choice, shared purpose , happy agreeing. Kavanagh: Broad consensus
Kavanagh’s Example on Immigration
Immigration: Kept a consensus by elites ignoring the issues of tension i.e. Enoch Powell career over rivers of blood, Thatcher ‘Swamped’ by immigrants created tension.
Despite agreement on open-door policy, at the start of the consensus period, tighter border controls were implemented by both governments which Labour continued.
Despite opposing beliefs, shows that a consensus was reached by elites ignoring the issues which caused tension, and continuing the past parties success policy.
Political Implications of the Consensus
Increased Responsibility:
Keynesian Deman Management: Gov held responsible for inflation or unemployment
Nationalisation: Could be held responsible for poor services
Disputes: Corporatism seen as responsible for strikes, poor wages etc.
Social Services: Poor social welfare spending would increase demands.
Great Power: Any attack on Great power status e.g, EEC, Backing down from Suez seen as disregarding idea of Britains powerful position.
