social

housing act (1980)

• key aim to turn Britain into a property owning democracy

• allowed tenants the right to own their house

• labour opposed it until they saw its popularity

• council tenents recieved a discount to buy their council house (33-50%)- dependant on how long they had lived in their house

number who had bought council houses

2 million

labour reaction

• initially rejected idea

• popular with labour voters

• mainly benfitted better off areas

• money wasnt reinvested into housing

• money younger families suffered as they couldnt get on the property ladder

• some families were housed in B&Bs at a cost to the council

poll tax 1989

brought in Scotland prior to England in 1990, fixed rate and everyone paid the same

system was replaced with council tax system in 1993

council tax aims (poll tax)

• to contribute to local government finances

• to introduce a system where everyone contributed

• believed if everyone contributed it would be a fairer system

• was hoped local councils would be forced to be more efficient and reponsible for their spending

“cant pay”, “wont pay”

• anti-poll tax unions e.g Anti-poll tax federation and 30 set up across the country

• highlighted thatchers unwillingness to alter course and connect with ordinary people

• up to 30% of people were non payers in some areas

number of anti poll tax protests

30 set up across the country

poll tax riots: 1990

• riots in london, week before tax was due to be implemented

trafalguar square protests

• 200,000 protesters attended

• 5000 injured including police officers and bystanders

• over 300 arrests

consequences of riots

• labour had strong leading opinion in polls

• Neil Kinnock vowed to abolish poll tax if he won election

• 1990: Micheal Heseltine challenged thatcher for leadership

• november 1990: thatcher resigned

• 1991: tax aboloshed by successer John Major

• 1992: general election legislation passed replacing poll tax with council tax for 1993

• system strongle resembles old rates system that poll tax had replaced

education and the arts

• oxford university voted against giving Thatcher an honorary degree: public spending cuts to higher education

• artisitc establishments: anti-thatcher= cuts in public spending to arts

• playwrights churchill, Hare, wrote plays that satirised thatcherism

• tv programmes showed consequences of thatcherite policies e.g boys from block stuff

the church

• 1985: report called faith and the city

• called on the government to do more to help deprived communities

• david jenkins/ sheppard outspoken in critcism

pressure groups

• charities: e.g shelter which campaigned against the increasing homelessness problem

• age concern which campaigned against pensioner poverty

• 1958: campaign for nuclear disarment protest movement

pacifism and feminism: “the greenham women”

1979: decision was taken to station america crusie missiles at bases in britain

• cnd organised massive protest marches

• 1981: group of women protesters set up a camp outside the greenham common base: focal point for feminism/pacifism

• 1983: protesters formed a human chain of protest from Greenham to Amsterdam

• 1984: newbury local council evicted the women and demolished the camp

• 1991: Greenham women kept camp going to protest

“the greenham women” (1983): number of protesters

70,000 protesters formed 14-mile human chain of protest

environmentalism

1984: Bhobal gas leak in india

1986: chernobyl accident in Russia

1985: discovery of Antarctic ozone hole caused by CFC’s

• damage done to limestone buildings and freshwater lakes by acid rain

• greenpeace and friends of earth grew in strength

number killed in gas leak in india

between 3,000- 8,000 people