Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Section 4 - Modern Britain - Coggle Diagram
Section 4 - Modern Britain
The Thatcher Governments
Thatcher as Leader
In some ways, Thatcherism was a style rather than an Ideology
Thatcher described herself as a "conviction politician"
Her policies reflected her beliefs which were based on her upbringing
Believed in Self Reliance and Self Improvement
Overall dismissive of the post-war consensus
She saw this as the reason behind Britains Ills
Thatcherism was based on Traditional conservative thinking
Heavily influenced by "New Right" academics
"New Right" rejected Keynsian economics in favour of monetarism and Free Market economics
Thatcherite supported Free Market economics as it encouraged individuals to take responsibility for their own actions
Ministers; Support and Opposition
Many senior tories in the cabinet were described by Thatcher as "Wets"
Willie Whitelaw
Jim Porter
Disagreements arose between Porter and Thatcher over anti-union legislation
Prior was removed from office and replaced by Norman Tebbit
Other Tories whom Thatcher liked and respected were seen as "Dries"
Geoffrey Howe
John Biffen
Nigel Lawson
The Conservative success in the 1983 election consolidated Thatchers position
The wets in her party were marginalised
Most of her opposition came from personal disagreements
The most serious challenge to Thatchers authority was over the Westland Affair
Heseltine stormed out of a cabinet meeting and resigned his position
Divided Opposition; Labour and the SDP
Labour became very close to being obliterated politically
Internal divisions had boiled over
Began when Michael Foot was elected over Healey
Labour regarded as unelectable
Labour could no longer depend on Working class support
Press coverage of Labour was hostile
Some labour voters became "Thatcher Conservatives"
Demographic change loosened the loyalties of the working class
Labour in danger of being marginalised by Thatcher and SDP
Neil Kinnock played a role in dragging Labour back into the political main stream
Key personalities had broken away to form the Social Democratic Party
Led to defeats in 83 and 87
Formed by David Owen, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers
They believed that the best way to save the party was to rebuild a new right-centrist party
Soon made an impact on national politics
Formed an alliance with the "Liberals"
Relations with the parties were often tense regarding ideologies and between the leaders
Conservative Electoral Success
Conservatives won in a landslide vitory in 1983
Political landscape was changed by the impact of the Falklands War
Military Regime in Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982
Thatchers response was to send a full scale military effort
Highlighted Thatchers bold leadership
Led to waves of patriotism across the country
Labour Leadership lacked credibility
Labours manifesto was filled with Left wing ideas
Conservatives fought the election on issues of defence, economy and lowered taxes
Kinnock was still trying to reunite the Labour party and had already managed to restore party discipline
Labour still suffered defeat.
Loss of momentum for the SDP in votes
SDP began to shrink
Eventually the Alliance became the Liberal Democrats
Northern Ireland and The Troubles
The troubles in Northern Ireland continued
Thatcher had strong unionist sympathies
Was determined not to give into terrorism
Despite this, there were consistent secret contacts
London and Dublin governments discussed proposals for a settlement in Northern Irland
1985, an Anglo-Irish agreement was signed at Hillsborough
Gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Ireland
Caused furious unionist and loyalist backlash
This set up permanent cooperation between UK and Irish governments
Republicans opposed this as it confirmed Northern Ireland was apart of the UK
Faced crises over the ongoing campaign for Special Category Status by IRA prisoners
Hunger Strikes led by Bobby Sands began and gained a lot of attention
The death of an independant republican MP gave Sinn Fein an opportunity
Sands died alongside 9 other protesters before the protest was called off in 1981
Thatcher claimed the strikes were a defeat for the IRA as their aim was not granted
Thatcher became a hate figure for republicans in Northern Ireland
1984, the IRA exploded a bomb in Brighton during a Conservative Conference
Led to national outrage in Britain
Thatchers Economic Policies
Thatchers government set out to reduce government spending according to monetarist principles
Controlling the money supply
Believed that it would reduce inflation and lead to economic growth
By the 1980s the economy had plunged into a recession
Inflation was above 15% and unemployment rose above 2 million
Stagflation returned
Many people expected the government to reverse these policies
1981 budget applied further monetarist measures
Government spending decreased drastically
Grants to councils were cut
Benefits were frozen
Thatcher believed that people spent their money better than the government
Led to a shift away from direct taxation and rather changed to Indirect taxation
Taxes on petrol, cigarettes and alcohol went up in every budget since 1979 to 1987
Supporters argued that reducing direct taxation would incentivise wealth creation by allowing people to keep more of what they earned
Critics argued that transferring the burden onto indirect taxation was less progressive and hit the poor harder
Cutting public spending led to clashes between central government and Labour town councils
In order to control overspending of Labour councils, the government introduced Rate capping
Limited the amount of money that the council was allowed to raise in local taxation
1986 Local Government act abolished the big metropolitan local councils that were set up by the Heath Government
Privatisation and Deregulation
Monetarism was ended by Thatchers second term
did not mean a return to Pre-thatcherite economics
Greater emphasis on supply side economics rather than a return to Demand side economics
Concentrated on market reforms such as privatisation and deregulation
Privatisation
Denationalisation became central to Thatchers economic policies
The drive to privatisation gained momentum with the successful sale of BT in 1984
The sale of British Gas became the biggest share offer in history
By 1990, the number of individuals owning stocks and shares had risen to 9 million
A few steps had been taken to this direction in her First term
Privatisation of BP in 1979
Privatisation of British Aerospace in 1980
Driven by anti-socialist ideology
The belief that the private sector was more efficient than the public at delivering goods and services
Businesses would compete in the marketplace
Encouraged improvements and innovation
Brought in a lot of revenue for the government
Critics argued that privated enterprises were sold off cheaply to ensure all shares were taken up
2 more items...
Deregulation
Ensured that the government interfered as little as possible
Meant removing the red tape and making it easier for businesses to trade and grow
Encouraged wealth creation
The government introduced measures to encourage people to start their own companies
The Loan Guarantee Scheme made it easier for small businesses to borrow money
Enterprise Allowance scheme allowed businesses to gain 40£ a week for up to a year to allow them to get their businesses off the ground
Financial Deregulation freed up the City of London from tight controls of the bank of England
The Big Bang deregulated the London Stock Exchange, opening the way for Computer Screen Trading
Foreign Banks could perform as stockbrokers
Financial services became one of Britains most important industries
Issues of Inflation, Unemployment and Economic Realignment
Believed that Inflation was a threat to the economy
Looked back to the recurring problems that the British Economy had faced in the post war period
Blamed Keynsian economics that allowed inflation to rise
The Control of Inflation
Intereset rates were used as a mechanism to control inflation
Raised to 17% in 1979
Higher interest rates meant that it was more expensive for businesses to borrow money
Value of the pound increased
Made it more difficult for businesses to export
High interest rates of the early 1980's led to a decline in both output and demand
Economy went into a recession and many businesses went bankrupt
Led to high unemployment
Maintaining low unemployment was no longer the primary aim of the government
British industry had to be prepared to be more competitive
2 more items...
Unemployment reached 3 million in 1983
13.5% of the entire workforce
Government implemented policies to combat this
2 more items...
Did not fall below 3 million until 1987
Led to inflation, which went up to a peak of 22%
Fell after may 1980, reaching 2.5% in 1986
Economic Realignment
Long term economic trends were affecting Britains old industries
Labour intensive industries faced competition from foreign companies and technological advancement
North-South divide was sharpened
Urban decay of many inner city areas
Increased problems of Ill health and depression, alongside alcoholism and drugs
Scarman report was commissioned to exam the causes of riots in 1981
Identified poverty and race as its key components
The Impact of Thatcherism on Society
Sale of Council houses
Key aim of the Thatcher Government was to turn Britain into a property owning democracy
Housing act of 1980 gave council tenants the Right To Buy their council house
They recieved a discount depending on how long they lived in their house
By 1988, approximately 2 million new homeowners had bought their council houses
Became a symbol of the success of Thatcherism
Did, however, have many negative consequences
Sale of council houses were predominantely in better off areas
Did not have an impact in less desirable estates
Councils were ordered to use the profits to reduce debts rther than buildcouncil housing
Number and quality of homes declined sharply
Waiting lists for homes got longer
Many people were housed in emergency accomodation
2 more items...
Labour Initially opposed the right to buy scheme
Dropped after seeing its success
The miners strikes and other Industrial disputes
Thatchers economic reforms aroused hostility from trade unions
Unions representing public sector workers became more militant
Teachers unions carried out a lengthy dispute over working conditions
The role of the unions became constrained by new laws
Secondary Picketing was banned in 1980
1984 unions were put under pressure to hold ballots before calling for strike action
Employers tried to keep unions out of their workplaces
Miners strike of 1984/85
NCB warned of the need to close 23 pits
Government were unprepared for a return of the Strikes in 74 and compromised
reduced the amount of coal imported and prevented the closures
Government felt prepared in 84 after huge stocks of coal had been built up
The flow of North Sea oil made it less likely that there would be an energy crisis
Scargill announced that he had heard of a secret plan to close 70 pits
Did not get total support for a National strike
Failed to overcome divisions from miners
Scargills campaign had failed
Jobs in the coal mining industry fell significantly
Many were sympathetic towards mining communities
Thatcher demonised scargill in the press
The final months of the strikes were incredibly demoralising
Steady drift back to work
Trade unions could no longer intimidate governments
Poll Tax
Thatchers final attempt to reform local government finances
Increased local taxation
Anti-poll tax unions were set up urging people not to pay their poll taxes
Police and other means of enforcement were unable to make people pay
Foreign Affairs
The Falklands
People who lived on the Island were keen to remain British
Lord Carrington approved to Withdraw HMS endurance
Left the south atlantic without any British Naval presence
Led to the Argentinian Military Junta sending an invasion force to occupy the Falklands
Led to Lord Carrington Resigning
Thatcher immediately sent out a Naval task force to remove the Argentine forces
Sent her soaring in popularity polls after previously being deemed the most unpopular Prime minister
It was a very risky gamble that could have ended in a disaster of Suez Proportions
Despite sending a task force, diplomatic efforts were being made
2nd of may saw the last chance of a peaceful settlement disappear
British Submarine sunk an Argentine ship
Caused heavy controversy however many applauded the situation at the time
2 more items...
The Special Relationship with the USA
Strong bond between Thatcher and Reagan
Personal and Ideological
Both of their lives had been shaped by the second world war
The end of the Cold War
Late 1970's the west seemed to be losing the COld War
When soviet forces invaded afghanistan in 1979, the west considered this a threat
3 Cold war warriors emerged
Thatcher
A Polish Pope
Reagan
All 3 were determined to abolish soviet power
Thatcher was determined to support the USA
Allowed for the deployment of Cruise Missiles in Britain
Showed the world that there was a genuine fear that a Nuclear war between the east and the west was likely
Government provided booklets that outlined what to do in the event of a nuclear strike
1 more item...
Thatchers contribution in ending the cold war rested on 3 pillars
Her combatative style
Her determination to confront the USSR
Her willingness to negotiate with Mikhail Gorbachev
1 more item...
Thatcher and Britain's relationship with Europe
Thatchers relations with the EEC were marked by contradictions
Yet there were many instances where Britain worked closely with Europe
Thatchers first priority in Europe was to secure a better deal for Britain in the EEC
Britain was paying in much more than they were getting out
Thatcher was able to provide Britain the opportunity to be given a rebate in 1984
Thatcher worked well with the French president
They cooperated closely over the Channel Tunnel project
Thatcher also negotiated the Single European Act