Towards a new consensus 1987-1997: Political + Economic

Question 1

Who are the 2 Conservative prime ministers within this time?

Answer 1

1. Thatcher (resigned in 1990)
2. John Major (1990-1997)

Question 2

What forced Thatcher to resign?

Answer 2

A vote of no confidence in 1990

Question 3

When was the poll tax abandoned?

Answer 3

1991 in favour of the new council tax

Question 4

How much did unemployment rise by between 1991 and 1992?

Answer 4

1991- 1.6 million
1992- 2.6 million

Question 5

What was inflation by 1990?

Answer 5

10.9%

Question 6

What was Britain’s economic situation before the 1992 election and what did Major do about it?

Answer 6

1. Unemployment rose from 1.6 million to 2.6 million
2. Homeowners were trapped in negative equity (had to repay mortgages higher than value of house)
3. Many had homes repossessed
   - Major resorted to high public spending (forced to do this as a result of rising unemployment)
   - Used government borrowing for subsidies on transport and increased NHS spending

Question 7

What was Black Wednesday?

Answer 7

• Britain joined ERM in 1990 (Thatcher was persuaded it would help the rising inflation problem)
• ERM required Britain to maintain a fixed rate of exchange
• By 1992 the British currency was under pressure
• Major was determined to avoid devaluation of the pound and wanted to remain in ERM, but despite all efforts the pounds value continued to decrease
• Had to leave ERM in 1992

Question 8

What were the political effects of Black Wednesday?

Answer 8

1. Steep drop in Conservative support in opinion polls
2. Major’s personal authority was badly weakened
3. Criticised by newspapers that previously supported him
4. Labour Party shot ahead in polls

Question 9

What were the economic effects of Black Wednesday?

Answer 9

1. Economy stabilised
2. Prevented Britain from having to keep high interest rates to protect the stability of the sterling
3. Exchange rates decreased
4. Unemployment slowed
5. House prices increased
6. Expanded world trade
7. Consumer spending increased

Question 10

What was the political sleaze and scandals under Major?

Answer 10

1. More than a dozen sex scandals involving Conservative MP’s
2. 1994 Scott Enquiry- Created by Major to investigate illegal gun dealing but found that Conservative ministers were the ones illegally dealing the guns to Iraq
3. 2 leading Conservatives were convicted of perjury
4. Private eye mocked Major

Question 11

Which of Thatcher’s policies did Major continue?

Answer 11

Privatisation (coal industry privatised in 1994 and railways privatised in 1996)

Question 12

What was the private finance initiative?

Answer 12

Public private partnerships which meant that private companies would fund infrastructure improvements and deliver public services that the state would pay for

Question 13

What was the citizens charter and when was it created?

Answer 13

• 1991
• Gave public service users more power over the quality of their services they received by providing information about the standard they should expect

Question 14

What was the cones hotline?

Answer 14

A phone number motorists could call if motorway lanes were unexpectedly closed (became target of satire)

Question 15

What was Major’s approach to Northern Ireland?

Answer 15

• In 1993 the government received a secret message which hinted that Sinn Fein was ready to discuss a peace agreement
• Major had a good relationship with the Irish Taoiseach
• Major and Taoiseach went public in 1993 with a joint Downing Street Declaration
• In 1994 the IRA announced a ceasefire
• However in 1996 the IRA bombed parts of London and Manchester

Question 16

What were the divisions within Thatcher’s government?

Answer 16

1. Thatcher’s use of Walters as an economic adviser infuriated her Chancellor (Lawson), leading to him resigning in 1989
2. Alienated Howe by demoting him from foreign office, leading to him resigning a year later

Question 17

What were the divisions within Major’s government?

Answer 17

1. Right wing wanted more radical social policies
2. By 1995 Major felt so insecure as a leader that he called for a leadership election so he could be re elected into his own job (89 Conservative MP’s voted against him)

Question 18

Who are the 3 Labour leaders within this time period?

Answer 18

1. Neil Kinnock (1983-1992)
2. John Smith (1992-1994)
3. Tony Blair (1994-2007)

Question 19

How did Kinnock try to reorganise the Labour Party after its defeat in the 1987 election?

Answer 19

By moving its policies towards the centre ground (became a much more professional party)

Question 20

What image of the Labour Party did John Smith achieve?

Answer 20

Reassuring image of moderation and competence

Question 21

What happened to the Labour Party’s 1983 manifesto by 1988?

Answer 21

• Most of it had been ditched after a policy review was launched in 1987
• Included EEC withdrawal, unilateral nuclear disarmament, tax rises on high incomes

Question 22

What did Kinnock do with the trade unions?

Answer 22

Signalled a split with them by ending the Labour Party’s support for closed shop union agreements in 1989

Question 23

How did John Smith signal a shift in the Labour Party?

Answer 23

By moving to abolish the trade union block by introducing ‘One member, one vote’ in 1993

Question 24

How was John Smith seen as a leader?

Answer 24

• Serious
• Trustworthy with the economy
• People argued he might have achieved what Blair did and maybe even more

Question 25

How did Blair set out to remodel the Labour brand?

Answer 25

By promoting ‘New Labour’ to end the perception of the 1980’s that Labour was unelectable

Question 26

How did Blair promote the New Labour image?

Answer 26

1. Dramatic shift in policies to show how Labour was breaking away from its past
2. In 1995 he persuaded the Labour Party conference to rewrite clause IV (wanted party to drop socialist ideas that were outdated and to instead embrace modern capitalist economy)

Question 27

What did Gordon Brown do to the Labour Party?

Answer 27

• Wanted to convince people that the Labour Party was economically competent
• Promised the Labour Party would follow Conservative spending plans
• Made it hard for Conservatives to attack Labour’s economic promises

Question 28

What did the Labour Party have a record number of?

Answer 28

Female candidates due to an all women shortlist

Question 29

Did the media favour the Conservatives or Labour?

Answer 29

Labour- 1 of the Conservatives most powerful weapons had been neutralised

Question 30

What were the 5 Labour promises on their pledge card for the 1997 election?

Answer 30

1. Cut class sizes to a maximum of 30 for under 7 year olds
2. Fasten the punishment for persistent young offenders by halving the time from arrest to sentencing
3. Cut NHS waiting times by treating an extra 10,000 patients by releasing £100 million saved from NHS red tape
4. Get 250,000 under 25 year olds off benefits and into work by using money from privatised utilities
5. No rise in income tax rates, cut VAT on testing to 5%, inflation and interest rates would be as low as possible

Question 31

What were the 2 Conservative arguments against New Labour and were they successful in influencing the public?

Answer 31

1. Labour had stolen Conservative policies
2. New Labour was the old Labour in disguise
   - Neither argument was successful

Question 32

What was the outcome of the 1997 election for Conservative and Labour?

Answer 32

• Conservatives got 31% of the vote (lowest figure since 1823)
• Labour won with 43.2% of vote