Towards a New Consensus 1987-97 Flashcards
Poll: What was the Poll Tax
aka Community Charge:
A flat tax (unprogressive) on households to replace the rates-based system of council tax.
Poll: Aims of the Poll Tax
Make councils more accountable to their ‘cusomers’ (citizens)
Make it so that not only the homeowner has to pay taxes, but everyone
Spread the burden out as more people would be paying it
Make people boot out their high taxing Labour councillors
Poll: Militant
Militant Tendency had a rebirth in the form of the Anti-Poll Tax Federation as a popular group opposing the regressive tax
Poll: Why did Thatcher’s intransigence hurt her
It was introduced to Scotand in 1989 and was deeply unpopular, but Thatcher refused to U-turn and implemented it in England in 1990
Poll: How many people refused to pay PT in some areas?
Up to 30%, encouraged by SNP
Poll: Battle of Trafalgar Square
March 1990, 300,000 protested against the tax across England, but especially in Trafalgar Square.
Turned into a riot, 5,000 injured
Looting, arson and violence
Militarised police
Why did Nigel Lawson resign
He clashed with MT’s SPAD Alan Walters over the ERM, Lawson supported it but MT listened to her advisor over her Chancellor. Lawson resigned as he felt he wasn’t being treated fairly.
Lawson also disagreed with the Poll Tax but was overruled by Thatcher and the cabinet
Replaced by Chief Sec to the Treasury John Major
Why did Geoffrey Howe resign?
Howe was a Europhile which clashed with Thatcher’s increasing Euroscepticism.
When Thatcher refused to join the ERM despite Howe and Lawson’s urges. He also opposed Poll Tax. Thatcher demoted him to become Deputy PM with John Major replacing him as Foreign Secretary
He resigned in 1990 citing disagreements over Europe and Thatcher’s domineering attitude towards her cabinet
Why did Nick Ridley resign?
He said that giving up sovereignty to Europe would be as bad as giving it up to Hitler, said Europe was a ‘German racket designed to take over Europe’
Forced to step down from the cabinet in 1990.
Poll: How did the Poll Tax lead to Thatcher’s downfall
Annoyed her middle-class base as it increased taxes on them
Battle of Trafalgar Square
By-election hailing in Thatcher’s downfall
1990 Eastebourne by-election
Loss of an ultra-safe seat to Lib Dems
1990 Polls
Labour 20 points ahead in polls
Thatcher’s popuarity lowest in her premiership
1990 Conservative Leadership Election
Michael Heseltine contested Thatcher’s leadership of the party.
MT got more votes than Heseltine, but after 40% of MPs voted against her, her cabinet pressured her to resign
After Thatcher stepped away, Foreign Secretary John Major and Home Secretary Douglas Hurd stood against Heseltine.
MPs didn’t like the flamboyant Heseltine or the uncharismatic Hurd, so picked Major as the only other option.
Thatcher supported Major as a continuation, but during his premiership Major positioned himself as different to MT.
No No No
Thatcher’s response to Jacques Delors raising the issue of further European integration. Led to Howe’s resignation.
1990 inflation rate
10%
John Smith
Kinnock resigned after Labour 4th consecutive loss in 1992.
His Shadow Chancellor John Smith, a right-wing modernised was elected in his place
Served until he died of a heart attack in 1994
Promoted Blair and Brown into shadow great offices of state
Removed the influence of TUs in Labour through One Member One Vote for deciding Labour leaders
Bruges Speech
1988 speech by Thatcher arguing against European federalism
Turning point for Thatcher’s relations with Europe
What reasons did Thatcher have to oppose Europe?
She disagreed with protectionism in an increasingly globalised economy
Feared UK was being scammed even after the 1984 rebate
She believed that centralised economies were failing, as demonstrated by the collapsing Soviet Union
Saw Brussels bureaucracy as inefficient
Personal clashes with Delors and Kohl
Thatcher didn’t really oppose the European project, but after the Single European Act, she thought that any more federalism would be wrong, so clashed with its federalist leader Jacques Delors
Thatcher on Germany
Supported Gorbachev’s views for a united, neutral Germany instead of the West subsuming the East
Scared of Germany dominating Europe
Thatcher didn’t like German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
What was the ERM
Exchange Rate Mechanism
Fixed exchange rate agreement
Thatcher reluctantly joined it in 1990 to help fight double-digit inflation and pegged the sterling to the deutschmark.
Sterling was overvalued, and German reunification only meant this overvaluing would get worse
Examples of the collapse of detente in the 80s
Shooting of the South Korean KAL007 passenger plane by the USSR
Cruise missiles being stationed in Greenham Common
Reagan’s Star Wars initiative
Anthony Meyer
Tory MP who stood against Margaret Thatcher in 1989 due to his pro-European leanings, but lost handily. Displayed divisions in the Tory party over Europe.
Citizen’s Charter
1991 political initiative by John Major to improve public services through regulatory bodies
Established Ofcom, Ofsted, Ofwat, Ofgem etc.
Gulf War
After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the UK and other Western coalition forces liberated Kuwait in a quick and easy war in 1990-91.
Which Tory unifier left the cabinet under Thatcher?
Willie Whitelaw in 1987 after suffering a stroke
Poll: Increase in number of taxpayers
14m ratepayers -> 38m polltaxpayers
Poll: Who came up with the Poll Tax?
Adam Smith Institute, opposed by most of party
Poll: How much did it cost to collect PT?
2.5x more expensive to collect than the rates-system
What did Thatcher promise when she resigned?
She’d be a good “back seat driver”.
Major turned out to be more independent than Thatcher expected though
How did the polls react to Major’s ascension
Tories overtook Labour as they jumped up around 15 points.
Newspapers supported the new PM
Major’s quote on Europe when he took office
Aimed to see Britain take its place “at the very heart of Europe”
How was the party divided when Major took offce?
Europe had begun to deeply divide the party
Thatcherite loyalists wanted to punish those who had ‘betrayed Maggie’
Should the poll tax be scrapped?
Major instinctively tried to unite these differences
Poll: When did Major scrap the Poll Tax?
Late 1991, it was replaced with Council Tax meaning £1.5bn had been wasted
Recession under Major
Early 90s Recession:
3m unemployed
Mortgages put into negative equity and houses reposessed
Affected homeowning middle-class
11% inflation in 1990
How did unemployment increase in the early 90s?
1.5m in mid-1991 -> 2.6m early-1992
What was the exchange rate between the sterling and the deuschmark set at during the ERM period
£1 = 2.95 deutschmarks
WHEN was Black Wednesday
16 September 1992
WHAT was Black Wednesday
Taking the pound off of the ERM leading to the value of the pound crashing as currency speculators put downwards pressure on the value of the pound by betting against it.
Interest rates were raised from 10 to 12 to 15% on Black Wednesday before Normal Lamont (Chancellor) capitulated and left the ERM
Pound dropped 15% in one day
Bank of England spent large amounts of its reserves trying to prop up sterling
Labour jumped ahead in polls
Outcome of Black Wednesday
Interest rates could be lowered as the pound didn’t need to be propped up
The pound depreciates
Norman Lamont was sacked 8 months later
Poll: SNP’s reaction to poll taxes
SNP encouraged people not to pay their poll tax
When did the SDP and the Liberals merge?
1988
House prices during Lawson Boom
Increase in house prices in the late 80s (up 20% in the year following the 1988 budget)
Decrease in inflation while we were in ERM (1990-92)
11% -> 3.5%
Decrease in reserves after Black Wednesday
£3.3bn
How many houses were reposessed and how many were in negative equity in the 90s recession
65,000 reposessed
900,000 in negative equity
How many small businesses shut down in the early 1990s recession?
26,000
GDP growth in 1991
-2.4%
Who ran against John Major in a Tory leadership election in 1995?
John Redwood opposed the more moderate Major over Europe.
Redwood was backed by Thatcher
Major was supported by 2/3 of MPs
Sex scandals under Major
12, including two cabinet ministers Mellor and Yeo
Scott Inquiry
Proved that government ministers had been illegally enabling Matrix Churchill to sell arms to Iraq
Cash for Questions
Mohammed al-Fayed was bribing two MPs (eg Neil Hamilton) to do things like ask questions he wanted to be brought up
Other similar instances of this occured
What was the nickname for the Conservatives’ corruption under Major?
Tory sleaze
Which financial quasi-loan did Major introduce
Public Finance Initiatives (PFIs)
When did Major privatise coal?
1994
How many coal pits did Major and Heseltine close in 1991?
31 (including some UDM ones despite their loyalty)
When did Major privatise the railways
1996
Why was British beef banned in Europe?
Mad Cow Disease
NI: Warrington Bombing
2 children killed by an IRA attack in 1992. IRA apologised for this.
NI: Miscarridges of justice to do with the IRA
Guilford Four and Birmingham Six were revealed to the public.
Wrongly convicted of terrorism in 70s
Abused and very poorly treated despite being innocent
NI: What had changed by the 90s?
A generation had grown up tired of fighting, calling for peace
NI: Controversial SAS killing
Operation Flavius
1988 shoot-to-kill policy after three IRA members were shot in Gibraltar
NI: Bookmaker’s shooting
5 Catholic civilians shot by loyalists after a recent IRA atrocity in 1991
NI: When did the Provisional IRA declare a ceasefire?
1994
When progress did not happen they got impatient and went back on this a few years later
NI: Downing Street Declaration
1992 declaration by Major and Irish Taoiseach Reynolds.
Promised inter-governmental efforts to reach a settlement in NI
Declared that the UK would hand over NI if they voted for it
Laid the groundwork for Good Friday
Which politicians on the right of the Tory party butted heads with Major on social issues and Europe?
John Redwood
Michael Portillo
Blair’s quip against Major’s leadership
“I lead my party. You follow yours”
How did Thatcher make life difficult for Major?
Supported Redwood’s leadership bid
Demanded a referendum on Europe
Seemed to support Blair in 1997
When did Blair become Labour leader?
1995
Peter Mandelson
Labour’s spin doctor trying to modernise the party. Kinnock’s director of communications, carried on his work into the New Labour period.
How did Kinnock break away from TUs?
Ended Labours commitment to supporting closed shop union agreements
Didn’t support NUM strike
1992 General Election
Major v Kinnock
Polls expected an easy Labour victory
Poll Tax
Recession
Black Wednesday
Gulf War
Labour gained 40 seats
Tories got 40% of the vote
What did Blair change about the Labour Constitution
Removed Clause IV, abandoning Labour’s commitment to nationalisation
When did Blair remove Clause IV
1995
Blair Brown Pact
aka Granita Pact
Shadow Home Sec Blair and Shadow Chancellor Brown decided that Blair would stand for Labour leadership, and make Brown his Chancellor, giving him large amounts of power and autonomy
Blair possibly said he would step aside to let Brown take over after two terms (he stood for three and denied that he ever said this)
Alastair Campbell
Blair’s press secretary. Had a significant over the party’s messaging, pushing Blair’s moderate ideals. Editor for the Mirror. Played a large role in drafting the Iraq and September Dossiers
1997 General Election
Blair v Major
Landslide victory for Labour
Brought in 100 women (Blair’s babes)
Majority of 180
The Sun changed support to Labour
No Tory MPs outside of England
Which Eurosceptic party was set up under Major?
Referendum Party
Back to Basics
Campaign by Major to encourage traditional values
Socially conservative slant, but mainly things like courtesy, decency and family values
Contrasted with the scandal-heavy period
Changes in relations to homosexuality in 80s
Section 28 (Don’t say gay)
AIDS (‘the gay plague’)
Diana shaking hands with AIDS patient
Loony Left councils accused of promoting homosexuality
What childrens book caused an backlash?
Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin (about a gay couple)
When was the age of consent for homosexuals lowered (not equalised)?
- 21 -> 18 (still above 16 for heteros), ECHR case spearheaded by Stonewall
Increase in percentage of children born to unmarried parents
Doubled in 80s
12% -> 30%
How was the monarchy called into question under Major?
3/4 of the Queen’s children got divorced
Taxpayer had to fund rebuilding Windsor Palace
Queen strongarmed into paying income tax
Queen accused of not caring after Diana died in 1997
YBA
Young British Arists
Groups of avante-gard and anti-establishment artists. Emblematic of evolution of anti-establishment subculture
1988 Summer
‘Second Summer of Love’
Youth festivals, raves and free parties exploded
A lot of psychadelics and MDMA used
Police empowered to break these parties up
Third Wave Feminism
Started in 1990s, focused on culture instead of economics of legislation.
Tried to break down stereotypes and empower women
Riot Grrrl subculture
When did the Church of England start ordaining female ministers?
1994
When did rape between two married people become illegal?
1994
When did the amount of female workers hit 50%?
1996
How did the Tory party start to divide under Thatcher over Europe?
Split formed in the wake of the Bruges Speech (1985)
Pro-Europeans (eg Howe and Major) criticised Thatcher for backtracking
Eurosceptic MPs formed the Bruges Group to oppose the EU
Thatcher’s views on expanding the EU?
Supported expanding it to spread free market principles to the Eastern Bloc after the fall of Communism
Division of Major’s cabinet on Europe?
Europhile:
-John Major
-Kenneth Clarke
-Chris Patten
Eurosceptic:
-John Redwood
-Michael Portillo
-Iain Duncan-Smith (backbencher)
Maastricht Treaty
Reformed the EEC into the EU to cope with Eastern Europe joining
Single currency (EMU)
Enshrined workers rights (Social Charter)
Major allowed Britain to opt out of the EMU and Social Charter
Struggled with Eurosceptics to get it through
Ratified by Parliament after 18 months
When was the Maastricht Treaty?
1992
Maastricht Rebels
Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs who opposed the Maastricht Treaty (supported by Thatcher)
Major threatened to call a vote of no confidence, which would have led to an election which Labour would have won if they didn’t back down
Major removed the whip from multiple of them
Was caught calling unnamed militant Eurosceptics ‘bastards’
Yugoslav Wars in Major era
Yugoslavia had broken out into ethnic conflict
Little diplomatic gains could be made as Milosevic would go back on his word, and there wasn’t an aim for how the Balkans should look like aside from ‘more peaceful’
After the Bosnian Genocide started, the Vance-Owen Plan (co-drafted by the formed foreign secretary David Owen) helped pave the way for lasting peace in the region
Srebrenica Genocide would show that Western/UN efforts did little to deter Milosevic
NATO then bombed the Serbs
US secured a peace deal (Dayton Accords)
Peak and trough of unemployment under Major
3m in 1992 -> 1.5m in 1997
Who started PFIs?
John Major
TULRA
1992 anti-TU act
Who got rid of Neddy?
John Major
Wefare reform under Major
Introduction of the Jobseekers’ Allowance to incentivise employment.
How did anti-union pressure cause the downfall of the Tories
Diminished TU influence over leftist politics, making Labour more electable (1997)
Political effects of Black Wednesday
Chancellor Lamont replaced with Ken Clarke after a few months
Hurt Tories’ economic credibility
Bad losses in European and local elections 1994
“Devalued PM of a devalued govt” -John Smith
Majority sapped away by repeated by-election losses
What industries did Major privatise?
Coal and Railways
Why did some Conservatives oppose privatising coal
They saw it as a betrayal of the loyal UDM.
Because of this, generous redundancy payments were given to those laid off.
When was the Channel Tunnel opened?
1994
