Theresa May: One Nation or Thatcherite Flashcards
what does Theresa May define her party as?
Theresa May, like her predecessor David Cameron, often speaks of herself and her party as a one-nation conservative
however, there are debates over whether her Conservative Party is actually more Thatcherite than it is one-nation
arguments suggesting that Theresa May’s party is more one nation than Thatcherite
her economic policies are far more interventionist than Thatcherism
her social policy and rhetoric represent a sharp break from the image of the ‘nasty party’ under Thatcher
(suggests that her Conservative Party is not Thatcherite)
arguments suggesting that Theresa May’s party is more Thatcherite than one nation
there are still numerous Thatcherite measures evident in her economic policy
her rhetoric about helping the disadvantaged in society appears to translate more into words than real action
her foreign policy signals a return to Thatcher’s ‘nasty party’
(perhaps indicating that her party is more Thatcherite than first appears)
conclusion
it seems to be clear that Theresa May’s Conservative Party is rather Thatcherite, despite her one-nation rhetoric
how is Theresa May’s economic policy not Thatcherite, but actually more one nation: Department of Industrial Strategy
her economic policy represents a notable shift away from Thatcher’s determination to roll back the state
May appeared to be signally a renewed era of government interventionism in economic matters by creating a new Department of Industrial Strategy
how is Theresa May’s economic policy not Thatcherite, but actually more one nation: quote
she wrote in the Telegraph in 2017 that those “just getting by don’t need a government that will get out of the way” but rather an “active government” willing to “step up” and “fix broken markets”
this belief that the government should intervene to solve market failures and tackle the shortcomings of the free market is significantly more Keynesian than Thatcher deemed acceptable
suggests a decisive rejection of the Thatcherite laissez faire orthodoxy which upheld the belief that the economy works best when the government leaves it be
how is Theresa May’s economic policy not Thatcherite, but actually more one nation: Productivity Investment Fund
Theresa May’s Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, stated that the government was ditching Cameron’s commitment to eliminate the budget deficit by 2020
they instead announced new public spending measures in the form of a £23 billion Productivity Investment Fund
this all demonstrates that her philosophy is undoubtedly more interventionist than Thatcher’s, suggesting that her Conservative Party is not Thatcherite
how is Theresa May’s economic policy still Thatcherite rather than one nation: cuts to public spending
when May’s economic policy is examined beyond the surface level, and it soon becomes apparent that the idea that May’s Conservative Party represents a sharp turn away from Thatcher’s austere economic policy is not entirely accurate
drastic cuts to public spending, particularly cuts to welfare, continued under her government, with Hammond announcing a new cap on government welfare spending
how is Theresa May’s economic policy still Thatcherite rather than one nation: taxation
further Thatcherite measures are evident in several new tax cuts, including a promise to slash £6.7 billion from business rates and to reduce corporation tax from 20% to 17%
all of this appears to be moving in the opposite direction from the traditional one-nation view of taxing the wealthy and privileged to fund quality public services for the poorer in society
consequently, Theresa May’s Conservative Party can be argued to be Thatcherite in practice
how is Theresa May’s social policy more one nation and less Thatcherite: 2002 speech
Theresa May’s social policy is considerably more progressive and inclusive than Thatcher’s, suggesting that her Conservative Party is actually more one-nation conservative than Thatcherite
in fact, even as early as 2002 May has been taking steps to distance the party from the ‘nasty party’ image that had emerged during Thatcher’s premiership
in her famous 2002 speech as Conservative chairman, she argued that the party had lost touch with ordinary people and had come to be seen as representing a privileged and selfish elite with outdated reactionary views, calling for a total rebranding of the party
how is Theresa May’s social policy more one nation and less Thatcherite: same-sex marriage
she has also accepted same-sex marriage – a far cry from Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which banned the “promotion” and teaching of homosexuality as “acceptable” in schools
how is Theresa May’s social policy more one nation and less Thatcherite: police brutality
May has since vowed to take on the perceived impunity of the police force and demanded that issues such as police brutality, racialised use of stop and search powers and unauthorised surveillance are tackled
how is Theresa May’s social policy more one nation and less Thatcherite: enquiries
she set up enquiries into the Hillsborough disaster, the illegal surveillance of the Lawrence family (whose teenage son had been killed in a racist murder which the police failed to investigate properly) as well as black deaths in police custody
how is Theresa May’s social policy more one nation and less Thatcherite: maiden speech
as prime minister she has consistently sought to bolster this hard-won image as the defender of the downtrodden
her maiden-speech outside Downing Street spoke of the “burning injustices” faced by the poor, the black community, the working-class and women and she vowed to govern in the interests not of the “privileged few” but of all those who are “just about managing”
how is Theresa May’s social policy more Thatcherite than one nation: State of the Nation Report
this ‘progressive’ rhetoric seems to translate into words rather than actions and firm commitments
she does not seem to have kept her 2016 pledge to tackle the ‘burning injustice’ of social stagnation and improve social mobility
the latest State of the Nation Report, published by the Social Mobility Commission, tracked the changes in improved social opportunities between 2014 and the present day
it concluded that inequality is “now entrenched from birth to work”, with social mobility stagnating during the period “at virtually all life stages”
how is Theresa May’s social policy more Thatcherite than one nation: not entirely committed
it appears that much of the momentum for tackling social injustice was lost when May lost the Conservative majority at the 2017 election
challenge the idea that May’s party is truly committed to distancing itself from Thatcher’s ‘nasty party’ and indicates that her party may still be Thatcherite rather than the ‘compassionate conservatism’ that many claim
how is Theresa May’s foreign policy still reminiscent of Thatcher’s nasty party rather than being one nation: Mediterranean migrants
Theresa May’s foreign policy also suggests that her party is still rather Thatcherite
even as Home Secretary, there were elements of the old ‘nasty party’ in her policies
for example, in 2014, the Italian Navy ended the highly successful search and rescue operation which had rescued over 150,000 migrants in the Mediterranean under pressure from the British government
the British position was that saving migrants only encourages them to flee, while leaving them to drown may act as a deterrent to others seeking a new life in Europe
Theresa May’s party does not seem to have distanced itself enough from Thatcher’s conservatism to be considered a break from Thatcherism altogether
how is Theresa May’s foreign policy still reminiscent of Thatcher’s nasty party rather than being one nation: GDP
this lack of compassion has also been evident in a number of other international policy announcements made since she came to office
in 2016, it was announced that the government’s commitment to meet the UN’s goal of contributing at least 0.7% of GDP to international development programmes was to be watered down following a right-wing press campaign vilifying such programmes as a waste of money
how is Theresa May’s foreign policy still reminiscent of Thatcher’s nasty party rather than being one nation: 2017
then, in 2017, an enquiry into human rights abuses by British soldiers in Iraq was closed down, with hundreds of cases still unheard
in the same year, May’s government announced that it was no longer willing to take in the 3000 unaccompanied child refugees it had promised to accept only the previous year
