A-Level History: Britain 1979 - 1997

Why did Thatcher win the 1979 election?: Labour weaknesses

- The voters were trying to punish Labour for its failure to deal with inflation, unemployment and the 'over-mighty' trade unions, which led to the winter of discontent - in London, SE and midlands 40 seats lost

- People didn't vote for the Liberals because they blamed them for keeping Callaghan's government in office since 1977 (Liberals vote dropped by over a million)

- Callaghan could have called the election in Autumn 1978 when they were ahead of the polls but chose not to (in hindsight)

Why did Thatcher win the 1979 election?: Labour weaknesses - evaluation

Labour's vote held up quite well - only dipping by 3% - retaining its traditional strength in industrial areas of NE, Scotland and Wales - double Tory vote

Why did Thatcher win the 1979 election?: propaganda win

- 47% women voted for - including Harold Wilson's wife - 'gaffe'

- Gordon Reese and Tim Bell were publicity specialists e.g. encouraging Thatcher to embrace 'Iron Lady'

- The SUN - long-time labour supporter changed to Conservatives - significant as their readers were the voters that the Tories need to attract - "Labour isn't working" accompanied by iconic poster of long unemployment lines resonate strongly with people

HOWEVER: still less personally liked by Callaghan - explaining why she didn't go on Weekend World alongside him - called a 'suburban lady in a hat'

Why did Thatcher win the 1979 election?: Strong policies

- much smaller 5 point manifesto compared to Labour, vagueness meant that they faced less criticism from the Sunday Times who called Labour 'dull'

- stronger policies against Trade Unions e.g. wanting to put an end towards secondary picketing

- appealed to 'C2 voters' by wanting to reduce income tax from 33% to 30% as it appealed to 'aspirational' workers alongside home ownership

- with crime rising her tough stance on law and order appeared necessary

Why did Thatcher win the 1979 election? judgement

Labour weaknesses was much more important as Callaghan was much more popular than Thatcher - explaining why they didn't lose that badly after the winter of discontent - but Thatcher was able to capitalise on her strong policies on TUs as the public believed they needed to be controlled and Labour wouldn't be the ones to do it

How far did Thatcher cause an economic revolution?: privatisation and deregulation

- privatised British Airways in 1987 as they made a £500m deficit 1981-82 which affected the tax payer

- after BT was privatised 100k people became unemployed but more competition as prices fell by 17% in 1990

- sales raised over £50 billion for the Treasury between 1979–1997.

- proportion with people with shares increased from 8 to 25% (1979-1990) HOWEVER grew unequally as unskilled male workers only had 9% owned shares

HOWEVER: nature of shares was short-lived whereas individuals owned 38% of shares in 1975, they only owned 20% by 1990

Who did monetarism, and why did they do it (success)?

- Thatcher wanted to control inflation by reducing government expenditure to reduce the amount of money in economy.

- Monetarism economic success

Inflation decreased 18% 1979 to 4.5% in 1982. As a result foreign trade improve with exports and it reduced erosion of the middle class swings and wage demands declined.

What were the consequences of monetarism?

- Due to the reduction of government expenditure created a recession within the economy - contracted 2% in 1980. Manufacturing declined 4% and unemployment reached over 3 million.

- Rioting in Brixton 1981. Due to unemployment led to poverty which created a north-south divide.

What were Thatcher's policies surrounding tax? - what are its successes and failures

- Thatcher wanted to reduce direct taxes so the workers received more for their effort. In 1979, Geoffrey Howe increased VAT from 8 to 15%

- Less direct taxation gave people the incentive to work harder. Reduce rate of inflation 18% - 1979 to 4.5% - 1982.

- VAT initially increased inflation which reached 27% in 1981 and was considered divisive. High interest rates made it difficult for people paying off loans.

- income tax fell (top rate from 83% to 40%)

Overall tax revenue remained fairly similar

How is unemployment and privatisation linked 1979-1990?

Increased unemployment from privatisation - only people with money could afford shares. Therefore unemployed were left out which led to increase in inequality because working class and unemployed could not afford it which led to geographical divide.

What were Thatcher's social policies - homosexuality

- Wanted to promote traditional family values (shown in the Tory manifesto of 1979) leading to section 28 (outlawing homosexuality) and section 46 (sex education should promote 'the value of family life')

What were Thatcher's social policies - racism

- Reintroduced racist discourse articulated by Enoch Powell, who had been dismissed from the Shadow Cabinet in the 1960s for his anti-immigration stance, calling the UK 'swamped' and suggesting that immigration worsened the British way of life

- Led to a new form of racism which arose under Thatcher cultivated by politicians known as the New Right group

- Supported apartheid regime in South Africa over Nelson Mandela

- The Scarman Report provided evidence that there was unnecessary stop-and-search after Operation Swamp (10 day operation in which 150 plain clothes officers made 1000 stops and 150 arrests)

What is evaluation for Thatcher's view on homosexuality being a social revolution

the British Social Attitudes Survey in 1987 found that 75% of the population believed homosexual activity was "always or mostly wrong"

What is evaluation for Thatcher's view on racism being a social revolution

- the decline in industry exacerbated anti-immigration views and immigrants were thought to be stealing jobs

- ingrained within the Tory Party such as Enoch Powell

- in British election survey 1979, 1983, 1987 - 87% agreed too many immigrants had been admitted to the UK

What were limitations for privatisation and deregulation?

Significant polarisation in the public demonstrated by a 1989 Ipsos MORI poll which showed that 18% of British people considered privatisation the worst thing that Thatcher's government had done, in competition with widely unpopular policies such as the poll tax and cuts to the NHS.

What social unrest was there from Thatcher's policies? - racism

- Brixton Riots (1981) happened directly due to Operation Massacre taking part in black areas of London - DUE TO sus law where 1000 minority people targeted in a 6 day period and unemployment at 50% for Black youths

- Moss side (1981) protests included 1000 black youths outside a police station-12 police cars set on fire- windows plus buildings broken

How did Thatcher cause an economic revolution? - reducing power of trade unions

- The employment acts of 1980 criminalising secondary picketing led to the number of working days lost to strikes falling from nearly 29.5 million in 1979 to a little over 4.3 million in 1981.

- Employment act of 1982 reduced sympathy for TUs as it provided compensation for any worker sacked for not joining a TU - explains why membership of TUs fell by 40% during time in office

Thatcher's fall from power: relations with her ministers

- disagreeing with key allies over ERM led to resignation of Nigel Lawson and demoted. Howe from foreign secretary to deputy PM

- Nov 13 Howe resigned - partially due to bullying - his speech acted as a key catalyst for Heseltine who had had disagreements over the Westland affair

- Winning the 1st ballot 204 to 152 meant that her cabinet e.g Wakeham thought that she wouldn't win a 2nd - when super-safe Eastbourne went to the Liberals (Oct 1990) they thought that they wouldn't win the next election

Thatcher's fall from power - Poll Tax

- 200k riot day before poll tax put in place at Trafalgar square showcases public opposition

- flat-rate tax hindered those who were less well-off

- made it appear that Thatcher couldn't handle the economy properly

- isolated MPs such as Patten, she and Major, without apparently consulting Patten, came up with an idea for allowing local councils to levy a higher poll tax than stipulated by central government, provided they first put it to a local referendum (a "poll tax poll").

Thatcher's fall from power: divisions over Europe

- widened internal divisions - despite eventually accepting "madrid conditions' in order to join the ERM (October 1990) the dispute led to Lawson's resignation in 1989 - alongside her dependency on Walters

- Declaring 'no,no,no' against Delor's propsal for joining the EMU

- Led to Howe's resignation which ultimately led to Heseltine opposing her

Why did Major replace Thatcher?: consensus and public appeal

- Elected by Tory MPs because majority of the Tories didn't want Heseltine, whom they blamed for engineering the fall of -Thatcher

- Thatcher supporters voted for him because she had recently appeared to mark him out as her successor- Affable, reliable and conscientious and appealed to the MPs who had become tired of Thatcher's bossiness.

How successful was Major: successes

- removal of poll tax - had contributed to thatchers fall - he was able to scrap the policy without causing divisions within the party

- educational reforms - nursery education available to all 4 yr olds and imposed plans to enable 3 yr olds to access nursery education

- also introduced league tables to monitor schools - he was able to impose these policies despite party concerns and the costs of extending education

- Northern Ireland - his policy was peace and diplomatic negotiation with IRA to help end the troubles in NI - this was very successful and negotiations were handled peacefully, paving the way for the Good Friday Agreement, ending the troubles

How successful was major: unsuccessful/ Why did Major lose the 1997 election?: Europe

- Maastricht Treaty caused in-fighting within the Tory Party after leaving ERM

- The raise in IRs from 10 to 12% further exacerbated recession - used to encourage speculators to purchase sterling after leaving ERM due to Black Wednesday where pound fell by 4.2% in value

- Cost the British government £3.14 billion (pi)

RUINED REPUTATION OF TORY COMPETENCE SURROUNDING THE ECONOMY

How successful was major: unsuccessful/ Why did Major lose the 1997 election?: Major

- Had limited experience - had only been in the cabinet since 1987.

- Uncharismatic personality ridiculed in the media. His vigorous campaigning won him support in April 1992 election but the Conservative majority was only 21 seats meaning:- he could be threatened by Tory MPs who disagreed his policies + any by-election defeats would increase the danger of parliamentary defeat.

How successful was major: unsuccessful/ Why did Major lose the 1997 election?: Major limitations

- Affable, reliable and conscientious and appealed to the MPs who had become tired of Thatcher's bossiness.

- Despite only being in the Cabinet for a short time had major roles, e.g. Chancellor the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary

How successful was major: unsuccessful/ Why did Major lose the 1997 election?: Sleaze and scandals

- in speech said to go 'back to basics' suggested family values in 1993 during a time of 'moral panic' due to an increase in single mothers - backfired when Tories seen as corrupt

- Neil Hamilton was a Conservative MP at the centre of a sleaze story for accepting money for asking questions in parliament. In the 1997 election much media attention was focused on his battle to retain his seat under challenge from an independent candidate who stood against corruption. He lost.

- High-profile cases like "Cash for Questions" (1994), where MPs were accused of accepting bribes to ask parliamentary questions, damaged public trust

- Sex scandals involving Tory MPs (e.g., David Mellor, Tim Yeo) reinforced the image of a party out of touch with morality.

Why did Major lose the 1997 campaign?: New Labour

- New Labour modernised, united and energised challenge from the Labour Party. Adopting a centrist position and accepting many Thatcherite policies, it won significant support from traditionally Tory- supporting households and business.

Blair persuaded the party to remove Clause IV as part of the New Labour reforms

- Tony Blair became Labour leader at the very young age of 41 and led the implementation of New Labour. - Managed to win support for Labour among the young as part of the 'cool Britannia' movement. Contrast to uninspiring Major.

- Rupert Murdoch was won over by the slick, media-savvy leadership of New Labour, his newspapers, particularly The Sun, switched their influential support from Tories to Labour

- The pledge to maintain Conservative spending plans for two years reassured business leaders and the middle class.

Why did Thatcher win the 1983 election: Falklands War

- MADE HER MORE POPULAR AFTER 2 RELATIVELY POOR YEARS

- in October 1981 - Labour had a 14% lead in the opinion polls but Tory had 59% by end of Falklands war

- seen as resourceful + decisive - reconfirming 'iron lady' which was successfully used in Tory campaigns e.g. rejecting negotiation with Argentina and deployed 27,000 Royal Navy marines

- her improved popularity in the media contrasted FOOT

Why did Thatcher win the 1983 election: Labour weaknesses

- manifesto seen as the 'longest suicide note in history' - including cancelling trident nuclear missile program - nuclear disarmament was an issue that split the party earlier and during a time of increased patriotism and a time when Britain internationally appeared more militarily great there would be even less want for this

- Foot seen as old and as a scarecrow on Spitting image. His "Donkey jacket" on remembrance day 1981 was attacked in the press for being inappropriate and disrespectful

Why did Thatcher win the 1983 election: the formation of SDP

- splitting the vote - Labour (27.6%) and SDP-Lib (aka the Alliance) (25.4%), but SDP-Lib only got 23 seats - took away votes from Labour but not seats for the Tories

- the defection from of many Labour MPs further showcased how incompetent Labour was - too extreme

- 40% peak pre-Falklands war (shows importance of the Falklands War)

Why did Thatcher win the 1983 election: JUDGEMENT

Overall the Falklands War was the most important because despite the Alliance splitting the vote of the Labour Party meant that Labour cannot win, the success of the Falkland War meant that the alliance vote fell from 40% - if this was maintained the Alliance instead would have won. Tory had a 102 seat majority

Why did Thatcher win the 1987 election: Tory campaign

- Proactive - when Labour had a 4% lead on 'Wobbly Thursday' after Thatcher went 'on and on' scared some that she may privatise NHS as prescriptions charges increased from £2.20 to £2.40 Tim Bell spent £2m in a single week on "Britain is great again. Don't let Labour wreck it"

- They attacked the confusion about Labour's defence policy with a poster of soldier surrendering entitled 'Labour's Policy on Arms' and exposing that Labour election proposals would cause £35b extra spending and Chancellor Nigel Lawson claimed it would mean income tax of 58% of VAT at 50%

Why did Thatcher win the 1987 election: Tory strong economic record

- Overall GDP growth in 1987 was 5.5% - highest since 1963, and steadily growing since 1984

- Unemployment fell by 1.4% since 1984

- Inflation fallen from 5.3% in 1985 to 3.3% in 1987

- Government policies of selling council houses and shares in private industries such as BT appealed to middle-class

Why did Thatcher win the 1987 election: Kinnock not seen as good leader

- Neil Kinnock's U-turns to make Labour more appealing to masses - shifting away from supporting strike actions (NUM) and trying to rein in the influence of Militant Tendency within the party

- famously denounced in his 1985 speech saying: "You have no right to be in our party."

- Old-fashioned Leadership: In an era when political leaders were increasingly expected to have a charismatic, media-friendly image, Kinnock's style was seen as more old-fashioned and inflexible. While he worked hard to modernize Labour, his traditional political approach and lack of media savvy made him appear less dynamic than newer leaders like Tony Blair - seen as speaking 'forcefully'

- 'Kinnock: The movie' improved his image e.g. talking about being 'the first member in his family to go to university'

Why did Thatcher win the 1987 election: JUDGEMENT

the strong Tory campaign not only highlighted Thatchers strong economic record but also capitalised on flaws within the Labour manifesto. Kinnock was able to improve his image so this was not a very important reason for them losing. The strong campaign explains why in January Labour was winning opinion polls by 2% but after campaigns start opinion polls in their favour

Thatcher social policies: housing

- increased social mobility through the introduction of the “Home Ownership Scheme” made it easier for people to buy their own homes and also created a competitive housing market.

- Right to buy scheme (1980): 2 million council homes were sold by 1990, which gave many working-class families a stake in property ownership and contributed to the rise of "property-owning democracy". But led to a shortage of affordable rental apartments (disproportionately affecting lower-income people ) - ignored needs of urban renters

Thatcher social policies: NHS

- The introduction of internal markets (1983) aimed to make NHS hospitals and clinics more efficient and accountable ev: 1990 study showed cost of managing internal markets would cost £300m annually

- District Health Authorities had more autonomy to manage and allocate resources locally, allowing for better decision-making tailored to local needs (but widened regional disparities)

- Although Thatcher’s government introduced cuts in some areas, there was also a continued commitment to investment in healthcare, with improvements in some key areas, such as treatment for heart disease and cancer care. EV: A 1990 report by the Institute of Public Health revealed that patients in poorer regions of the UK experienced longer waiting times and had poorer outcomes in areas such as cancer treatment and heart surgery compared to patients in wealthier regions.

EV: lack of investment in core areas meant between 1980 and 1990 number of available hospital beds decreased by 20%

1979 election % of vote and majority

Conservative – 43.9% Labour – 36.9%, securing a majority of 43.

1983 election % of vote and majority

Conservative – 42.4% Labour – 27.6%, securing a majority of 144.

1987 election % of vote and majority

Conservative – 43.4%, Labour – 31.7%, securing a majority of 102.