society

what was the Right to Buy scheme

encouraged council tenants of council houses to buy their houses

name 2 positives of right to buy

• 2m people had used the scheme to buy their house by 1988

• so popular that Labour dropped opposing policy

name 2 negatives about right to buy

• mostly sold in affluent areas, widened societal divisions

• long term there was shortage of council property + waiting lists for accommodation got longer, housed in B&B which was expensive and not always suitable

how was the role of unions constrained by new laws (2)

1. 1980 outlawing of secondary picketing

2. 1984 unions put under pressure to hold ballots before strike action was called

how many pits did the NCB announce to close

20 in 1984

how many pits were actually to be closed and who found this out 

70, Arthur Scargill, president of National Union of Miners 

what had been built up which meant the country was less dependent on miners

built up coal at power stations, north sea oil = less dependent on imported oil

what was the battle of Orgreave

5000 miners tried to stop coal being brought in, 50 picketers injured allegations of police politicised and brutality

what did some miners disagree with + what was weak about Scargill

Sscargill’s refusal to hold a ballot weakened his case, could not overcome historic regional divisions against miners

disagreed with the strikes, Nottinghamshire miners formed their own Union of Democratic Mineworkers UDM

how did Thatcher use the miners strike to her advantage

compared her strength and control of them to Heath and Callaghan

what was poll tax

a community charge for all to pay

how did the poll tax make local government more accountable

all electors would contribute, link between electors and local govt would be stronger

where was poll tax first intro

Scotland, 1989

in some areas, what % of people refused to pay

30%

what happened in Trafalgar square in 1990

anti-poll tax demonstration, 200K attended with 5K injured , 300 arrested

what did Oxford university decide?

voted against giving Thatcher an honorary degree

what did the Church do in opposition to Thatcher’s policies

the Pope released Faith In The City 1985, report calling on government to do more to help depriving communities

what was set up at Greenham Common

Sep 1981, a camp set up to protest against Cruise missiles being based there - camp would stay there for 19 years

70k protesters formed a 14 mile human line of protest 1983, from Greenham to Aldermaston

camp was kept to protest against Trident after being closed by Newbury council

what individual bishops criticised Thatcher

David Sheppard, David Jenkins

give one example of a union which started to become more militant

COHSE (Confederation of Health Service Employees)

why was Scargill criticised

cared too much about hard-left politics than the interests of miners 

in 1990, what was total union membership compared to 1979

2/3 of amount in 1979

evidence of art establishment being anti thatcher bc of funding cuts

• playwrights e.g. david hare, caryl churchill wrote plays that satirised thatcherism

• tv programmes showed social consequences of thatcherite policies - boys from the blackstuff

• red wedge - musical collective, campaigned against thatcher

give 2 examples of charities who raised awareness about social issues

• Shelter - campaigned against rising levels of homelessness

• Age Concern - campaigned against pensioner poverty

• rising support for CND

what discount did people receive on their houses in right to buy

33% -50% depending on how long they lived there for

give 2 names of unions representing public sector workers which became more militant

COHSE, NUPE

how were newspapers unions restricted

led by press baron Rupert Murdoch, major confrontation at Murdoch’s Wapping plant startting in Jan 1986. print unions failed to prevent the publication/distribution of newspapers and strike collapsed after 13 months

critcisms of the police in the miners strike

had new equipment, more experience of riot control, better tactics. Thatcher’s critics blamed her for politicisation of the police

how was Scargill a factor in the defeat of the NUM

• alienated moderates

• never got support of Labour party leadership

• easy to demonise by thatcher as a dangerous revolutionary

what was the difference in employment in the coal industry

1979 : 200,000

1990 : 60,000 and still falling

what was total union membership by 1990

only 2/3 of what it had been in 1979

what was set up in oppostion to poll tax

anti poll tax unions

what environmental pressure groups grew stronger and why

Greenpeace, friends of the earth

growing awareness of environmental concerns ;

1. 1984 Bhopal gas leak in India

2. 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident

3. discovery of Antarctic ozone hole caused by CFCs