Topic 4: Politics (1979-87) Flashcards
1
Q
5
Describe the main aims of Thatcherism
A
- Roll back the state through privatisation
- Reduce inflation to virtually nothing to encourage saving and economic confidence
- Gradually reduce state benefits
- Deregulation to encourage competition
- Monetarism
2
Q
4
Describe the New Right ideological influences on Thatcher
A
- Chicago School of Economics and Milton Friedman
- 1974, anti-Heath Keith Joseph and Thatcher founded CPS to promote free-markets following election loss
- 1977, ASI founded to promote neo-liberal ideas
- Became central policy engines of Thatcher government
CPS - centre for policy studies
ASI - Adam Smith Institute
3
Q
5
Describe Thatcher’s first cabinet
A
- Not yet secure in her position to rely on loyalists - limited agenda until 1981
- 3/4 of cabinet could be associated with mainstream keynesianism/Macmillan ideals
- Included ‘wets’ and ‘dries’
- ‘monetarists and dries prevalent in Treasury
- ON Willie Whitelaw (HS/DPM) served as link
4
Q
3
List ‘wets’ in Thatcher’s first cabinet
A
- Lord Carrington - FS
- Michael Heseltine - Env Sec
- James Prior - Employment
5
Q
4
List ‘dries’ in Thatcher’s first cabinet
A
- Sir Geoffrey Howe - CX
- Keith Joseph - Trade and Industry
- David Howell - Energy Sec
- Monetarist John Biffen as Chief Sec of Treasury - prevents opposition to monetarist econ plans
6
Q
4
Describe relations with Northern Ireland in Thatcher’s first term
A
- Thatcher staunchly unionist
- Relations with Irish Fianna Fail premier, Charles Haughney, were tense
- Growing sectarian murders hardened British stance
- Hunger Strikes
7
Q
3
Describe sectarian murders in the Troubles in 1979
A
- 1979, aide Airey Neave killed by IRA car bomb in Westminster
- Warrenpoint Ambush 1979 - IRA claimed responsibility for bomb which killed 18 British parachute regiment members in Warrenpoint
- 1979 (same day as Warrenpoint), Lord Mountbatten killed on yacht in County Sligo, Ireland
Lord Mountbatten - Cousin of Queen
8
Q
5
Describe Maze Hunger Strikes 1980 and 1981
A
- 1980, Republican inmates went on strike for political status at Maze prison, Belfast
- Thatcher under pressure to retain hardline stance, but conceded significant concessions to prevent ‘martyr effect’
- e.g. offered concession deal that would have met most of prisoner demands
- May-August 1981, 10 IRA/INLA prisoners starved themselves to death after protesting British govt’s refusal to treat them as political prisoners rather than criminals
- Bobby Sands became first to die in May
9
Q
5
Describe Bobby Sands
A
- Commanding officer of IRA at Maze
- Had been elected an MP during imprisonment and hunger strike with over 30k votes
- over 100k attended funeral
- Thatcher’s unyielding approach to terrorists won her praise in Britain
- Yet hardened SF and nationalist support in NI
10
Q
6
Describe reasons for conservative victory in 1983
A
- Falklands War victory
- ‘Right to buy’
- Economic success (e.g. inflation falling from 22% to 5%)
- Trade Union reform
- Campaign
- Labour failures
11
Q
3
Describe the electoral impact of the Falklands War
A
- Thatcher went from being most unpopular PM since polls began to spiking in popularity
- Labour held 6 point lead in March despite leftist tilt
- By May Conservatives held 12.5% lead over Alliance (with Labour in 3rd place)
12
Q
5
Describe the results of the 1983 election (for the conservatives)
A
- Expected result - due to Falklands
- 144-seat Conservative majority
- However won only 42.4% of popular vote, lower than any other conservative victory from 1945-79
- Performed poorly in Northern England and Scotland
- Relied on Southern England + Greater London where more seats were now located following expansion from 635 to 650 MPs
13
Q
3
Describe the impact of the SDP in the 1983 election
A
- June 1981, formed ‘Alliance’ with liberals to prevent split of centre vote
- November 1981 poll showed that 45% of electorate supported Alliance (though in context in unpopular Thatcher and Labour in dissaray)
- Split vote with Labour to certain extent
14
Q
5
Describe evidence that shows the impact of the SDP in the 1983 election
A
- Won 25.4% of popular vote, only 2.2% behind Labour
- FPTP system led to Alliance coming 2nd in 209 constituencies
- Conservatives gained 58 seats despite 1.5% decrease in popular vote
- Though Alliance only achieved 23 MPs, with only 6 beng SDP
- Comparatively, Alliance made little gain compared to past results by Liberals in Conservative territory
15
Q
3
Describe the 1983 election results for Labour
A
- Labour won 27.6% of pop votes (lowest since 1918)
- Labour fell by 60 seats to 209
- less than 40% trade unionists and less than half of unemployed voted for Labour
16
Q
4
Describe the conservative campaign in 1983
A
- Thatcher attacked pacifict unilateralists and embodied strong leadership (this stance was facilitated by Falklands victory)
- Conservatives held overwhelming backing of popular press
- Manifesto promised further legislation against trade unions, abolition of metropolitan councils and continued privatisation
- Conservative campaign held 320 agents compared to Labour’s 63
17
Q
7
Describe the issues with the Labour campaign in 1983
A
- Riven by factionism
- SDP split centre-left vote
- Manifesto described as ‘longest suicide note’ in history
- Foot pillaged by right-wing press
- Missed opportunities to campaign via TV
- Radical defence policy lost traditional supporters - anti-NATO/Europe, pro-UDI
- Incorporated irish nationalist, feminist and environmental movements
18
Q
6
Describe the ‘longest suicide note in history’ 1983
A
- 39-page manifesto
- UDI
- Higher personal taxation
- Withdrawal from EEC
- renationalisation of privatised companies e.g. British Aerospace
- abolition of HoL
19
Q
6
Describe Thatcher’s cabinet reshuffle in her second term
A
- DPM Whitelaw handed first hereditary peerage since 1964 (though of little value as he had no male heir)
- Howe (dry) replaced Francis Pym (wet) at FS for being too concillatory during the Falklands conflict
- Lawson put as CX
- Leon Brittan (dry) became HS
- Oct 1983, Cecil Parkison replaced as Trade and Industry Sec by right-winger Tebbitt after sex scandal
- Thatcher had wanted to move Tebbitt to HS but Whitelaw vetoed the move
20
Q
5
Describe the problems with local government 1979-87
A
- Local authorities like GLC were spenders on huge scale
- Local unions such as NAGLO had expanded significantly amassing 700k members by the late 1970s
- Major authorities were led by Far Left figures
- Ken Livingstone (GLC), Derek Hatton (Liverpool Council)
- Liverpool council controlled by far-left Militant, a symbol of ideological extremism and financial extravagance
NAGLO - National and Local Government Officers’ Association
21
Q
3
Describe Thatcher’s response to Local Government issues (1979-87)
A
- 1984, introduced ‘rate-capping’ which imposed upper-limit on the tax rate per household local authorities could demand
- 1985, local councils attempted to defy these provisions by applying surcharges to compensate for expenditure cuts
- Local Government Act 1986
22
Q
4
Describe the Local Government Act 1986
A
- Abolished large metropolitan councils and curbed many powers of local councils
- Effectively disbanded GLC and Merseyside authority
- Signficant blow to local democracy and participation
- Marked transition to centralisation of power
23
Q
3
Describe economic issues in Northern Ireland (1983-87)
A
- Unemployment at 21%, highest in the UK
- stood at 30-40% in Catholic WC areas of Belfast and Bogside, Derry
- indsutries such as Shorts Aircraft faced financial difficulties
24
Q
5
Describe the Brighton hotel bombing 1984
A
- October 1984 Conservative Party Conference
- Grand Hotel, Brighton
- Assassination attempt on Thatcher and entire cabinet
- IRA bomb killed 5 including deputy Chief Whip Anthony Berry
- Thatcher defiant and delivered her planned speech the next morning
25
Q
4
Describe the terms of the Anglo-Irish (Hillsborough) Agreement 1985
A
- Ulster would remain in UK
- Ministers from both UK and ROI would regularly meet for reviews
- Irish Government had advisory role in political, security, legal matters
- Thus involved ROI in internal affairs to placate nationalists
26
Q
3
Describe the impact of Anglo-Irish Agreement 1985
A
- 15 UUP MPs resigned in outrage
- Greater security gains did not follow
- Thatcher focussed on reducing terrorist threat and agreement did not evolve to peace
27
Q
2
Give an example of disagreement on legal/human rights
A
- Birmingham Six - 6 men falsely imprisoned for life following 1974 Birmingham pub bombings
- Convictions quashed in 1991
28
Q
3
In the 1980s, what percentage of the RUC were Catholic
A
- approx 3%
- Despite Catholics making up 38% of population of NI by 1981
- Seen as Ascendency force
29
Q
5
Describe Thatcher policy on the BBC (1983-87)
A
- Increasingly challenged by government
- Conflict arose over funding
- Accusations over anti-Government reporting, especailly on the Libya bombing raids of 1986
- Govt imposed ban on BBC interviewing SF members
- Govt politcally appointed Thatcherite ‘Duke’ Hussey as new BBC chairman
30
Q
3
Describe Thatcher policy on the GCHQ
A
- Concern for security led govt to ban trade union membership at GCHQ security base in Cheltenham
- 1984
- equated union membership with disloyalty
GCHQ - Government Communications HQ
31
Q
4
Describe Tory rebellions (1983-87)
A
- Heath took ‘wet’ position on several issues
- Heath led opposition to the dismantling of GLC, later opposing poll tax and europe policy
- Shops Bill 1986 to permit Sunday Trading derailed by 72 Con rebels
- Heseltine resigned over the Westland Affair
32
Q
4
Describe the context of the Westland Affair 1985-86
A
- Westland Helicopters, Britain’s last helicopter manufacturer, subject to rescue bid
- Thatcher and Industry Sec, Leon Brittan, favoured a merger with Sikorsky, an American firm
- Heseltine favoured European consortium
- Thatcher sided with Brittan due to support for US ties and growing euroscepticism
33
Q
3
Describe the events of the Westland Affair 1985-86
A
- Jan 1986, Heseltine resigned as Defence Sec after dispute about whether proper debate on the issue was being allowed in cabinet
- Brittan would too resign after leaking a confidential letter critical of Heseltine, though it appeared that Thatcher had some knowledge of leak
- Temporarily threatened Thatcher’s position
34
Q
5
Describe the Spycatcher scandal 1986
A
- 1986, govt tried to suppress publication of book, Spycatcher, by ex-MI5 member, Peter Wright
- Book included allegations that MI5 had tried to destabilise Wilson’s govt
- Cabinet Sec, Robert Armstrong sent to Australia to prevent publication
- Armstrong made reference to civil servants being ‘economical with the truth’ to discredit claims
- Book published though not allowed to be sold in UK, though could be easily purchased in airports
35
Q
4
Describe the results of the 1987 election
A
- Predictable conservative majority of 102
- Con: 376 (-21)
- Lab: 229 (+20)
- Alliance: 22 (-1)
36
Q
3
Describe the rise of nationalist party support in the 1987 election
A
- PC rose from 2 to 3 seats
- SNP rose in support
- moderate SDLP gained seats
37
Q
3
Describe the regional electoral trends in the 1987 election
A
- Conservatives increasingly became party of SE
- lost 11/21 Scottish seats
- Tories had no rep in several Northern cities inc Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester
38
Q
3
Describe the 1987 election results for Labour
A
- Re-established itself as dominant opposition party
- proportion of trade union members voting lab had slightly increased
- however trade union members’ share of electorate had declined
39
Q
2
Describe the role of the Alliance in the 1987 election
A
- Main challenger in 3/5th Conservative seats
- Alliance share of vote fell by 3% and lost 1 seats
40
Q
4
Describe the reasons for Conservative victory in the 1987 election
A
- Affluence of Lawson’s policies
- Industrial policy (miner’s strike and trade union policy)
- Failures of Labour
- Wider political factors
41
Q
6
Describe the success of Conservative policies by 1987
A
- ‘Economic miracle’ (consumer-driven boom) in prosoperous regions that had backed Conservatives in 1983, consolidating support
- All of major innovations (sale of council houses, privatisation, tax reform, trade union reform) had been achieved and met with popular acclaim
- Real wages higher than inflation in many areas
- Privatisation provided windfall profits
- 1987 giveaway budget
- Conservatives held image of competence and enterprise
42
Q
5
Describe Labour strengths by 1987
A
- Lead more effective campaign than in 1983
- Enlisted talents of Hugh Hudson, director of 1981’s Chariots of Fire to direct party broadcast Kinnock - the Movie
- More radical policies of 1983 dropped
- Campaign management team, headed by Bryan Gould, gave prominence to Kinnock and MEP wife Glenys, in broadcasts
43
Q
4
Which policies of 1983 Labour had been dropped by 1987?
A
- abolition of HoL
- withdrawal from EEC
- closure of American nuclear bases
- yet UDI remained
44
Q
5
Describe Labour weaknesses by 1987?
A
- Core of policies remained (e.g. UDI) leaving open scathing criticism by right-wing press
- Sun ran headline ‘Why I’m backing Kinnock, by Stalin’
- Still focussed on Northern Industrial base and largely ignored growing home-owning population in the South
- Held only 2 seats in SE
- Political loyalty to Labour had eroded due to Thatcherism (much like consumerism had eroded brand loyalty in the 1980s)
45
Q
3
Describe wider political factors that contributed to conservative election victory in 1987
A
- Thatcher survived Westland Affair unscathed
- Cabinet realignment to ‘dries’ had better delivered policies
- Alliance ethusiasm dissipated as vote share fell by 3% as Labour’s leftist addiction waned
