Was there a Thatcher revolution (1979-1990) ?

Intro Margaret Thatcher was either loved or hated by the British, and her nickname The Iron Lady reflects her double image as a good tough leader or as a too hard leader. Some say she did not do a revolution but only did a mess with British affairs, some say she did a revolution and it was a good one, she saved Britain from irreversible decline, and others say that she did a harmful revolution, by damaging Britain and its industry. I There was a Thatcher revolution st 1 of all, her election in 1979 might be considered as a revolution since no one expected her to be elected, Heath did not think that the party would choose a woman at its head (won elections in 1983 and 19787) 1. A new type of leadership : Thatcherism personal leadership (regardless of whether it respected the Consensus or not) roll back the state reduce gov. spending opposition to socialism, at home (Labour + trade unions) and abroad (anti communism) new responsibility for British people self made man/woman previous nanny state 2. Politically she put an end to the Consensus which was operating since 1945 she introduced monetarism to end wasteful gov. spending she introduced privatisation to replace a highly nationalised economy Poll tax : according to the number of people in the house, regardless of whether people own the house or not working class suffered the most, became very unpopular and her party pushed her to resign 3. Economically she sold the council houses (she thought that there would be more ownership but it increased disparities between the very rich and the very poor who could not afford to buy a house Britain lost industrial jobs but did not replace them roll back the state and reduce the number of inefficient industries she cut down subsidies to inefficient industries. Ex : coal mining : 200 000 workers in 1970, 30 000 in 1990 she resisted the trade unions during the Miners strike (1984-85) nicknamed The Iron Lady women employment increased in those years : 59% of women employed in 1975, 69% in 1990 4. Society promoted a competition spirit, self made man/woman , reduce the state responsibility back to Victorian values, maintenance of law and order (greater protection of citizens) 5. Europe she got what she wanted from Europe : a rebate on Britain's contribution and refused CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), obtained no tax on Australian and New Zealand's goods against a federal union, with political, social, cultural and monetary unions II But an unfinished one, things happened but it is not because of her she did not manage to roll back the state as much as she wanted : in 1980, gov spendings represented 43.2% of Britain's GDP, 42,5% in 1990 she did not invest in high tech industry no renewal of industry Britain experienced a consumer society just like elsewhere (Lawson boom, 1980s) despite her strong opposition, Thatcher signed more treaties bounding Britain to a closer Europe

revolutionised her own party by eliminating the old consensus conservatives, but came back after her fall she did not end the Welfare state, although cut spending on the National Health Service she cut down taxes but the rich people benefited from this more than the poor did not cut down unemployment : 5,4% in 1979, 7,5% in 1990

Conclusion Thatcher made very big changes in politics, in the economy, in society. Was it good or bad ? Good : Lawson boom (1980s), Falklands war restored British sovereignty. Bad : increased disparities between the very rich and very poor, unemployment increased, violent racial riots in Bristol, London, Liverpool, Manchester, life has become less secure than before THATCHERISM Facts : house ownership increased : from 44 to 66% of the pop (highest in W Europe) good relations with Reagan and Gorbachev st resigned in November 1990 after falling to win an overall majority in the 1 round nd for the Conservative party leadership (did not stand in the 2 round, furious at not having been elected in the 1st round) John Mayor replaced her but lost power in 1997 when the Labour came back to power with Tony Blair productivity increased in the 1980s and a lot of companies became more efficient, less strikes introduction of the secret ballot reform in education, standardise the country more than 30 million people unemployed in 1992 de-industrialisation : 1960s 8M people worked in the manufacturing industry, less than 5M in 1990s loss of British manufacturing industry led to more imports and a high balance of payment deficit ( of British industry was owned by foreigners, Britain lost control of its own base) widening gap between the rich and the poor as income tax reduction benefited more to the rich than to the poor poverty increased, along with crime rate Unemployment only decreased a bit: 2.8 million in 1981/ 1.9 million in 1990. And inflation still remained high 4% in 1983 to 10% in 1990. 1987 7.5 billion extra spending on education, health, social service opposed to the nanny state, thought that by taking care of the people it would lead to idleness 1984-85 : Miners strike : she stopped the subsidies which were used to shore up (=consolidate) the ailing (=souffrantes) industries violent clashes between miners and the police but a gov success Thatcherism : personal leadership (regardless of whether it respected the Consensus or not) roll back the state reduce gov. spending opposition to socialism, at home (Labour + trade unions) and abroad (anti communism) new responsibility for British people self made man/woman previous nanny state Quotes :

"We want a society where people are free to make choices, to make mistakes, to be generous & compassionate. This is what we mean by a moral society; not a society where the state is responsible for everything & no one is responsible for the state." There will be no lame ducks (uncompetitive companies) "In politics, if you want anything said ask if a man, if you want anything done ask a woman." "I've got a woman's ability to stick to a job & get on with it when everyone else walks off & leaves it." "The woman's mission is not to enhance the masculine spirit but to express the feminine." "To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan, you should wear it inside where it functions best." "People think that at the top there isn't much room, they tend to think of it as an Everest. My message is that there is tons of room at the top."