Politics (elections and Local Government)

1988 - changes in local authority finances

• System of standard spending assessments (SSAs) → central government could control local government expenditure levels

• Councils had to contract out their services to the companies that could provide the best service at the lowest price → all about competition

Why did Thatcher want to change local government?

• Ideas of public accountability

• To make them more responsive to the needs of the people

• Many local authorities unpopular

• Only a minority - sometimes under 25% - voted in local elections

• Allowed socialist groups to dominate areas such as the London boroughs and the city councils in Liverpool and Manchester

Greater London Council

• Had been led by left-wing Labour leader Ken Livingstone, was Anti-Thatcher

• High spending authority

• Abolished it in 1986

1983 election

• Landslide for Tories

• Labour vote share fell 9%

1987 election

• Third consecutive electoral victory for Thatcher

• Some Labour recovery from disastrous 1983 election

• Government maintained share of popular vote - lost 22 seats but still had an overall majority of 100 in the Commons

Late 1989 opinion polls setting the tone for the next political events

Late 1989 opinion polls showed that Thatcher was the most unpopular PM since polling had begun 50 years before

Leadership ballot no. 1 1990

• Heseltine challenging Thatcher in this ballot is significant as while he loses the first round, with 52 less than Thatcher, his popularity clearly prevents Thatcher from gaining the 15% lead required

• A second ballot is required

After leadership ballot 1… 1990

• Thatcher would resign from the second ballot, which wouldn’t have happened if she’d won ballot 1.

• Lots of members of the Cabinet advised her to step down - most of them evening of 21st November 1990 - some said they’d resign if she didn’t

2nd ballot

•   Second Ballot 27 November – Major most votes, but two votes short of 187 which was required

• Within an hour of declaration of second ballot Heseltine and Hurd publicly urged supporters to join them in voting for Major in third ballot – Major was declared to be elected