Politics and Party Development 1979/90 - The Impact of Thatcher 1979 - 1990

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Conservatives

UNITED PARTY: Gained support from a divided conservative party
·       Careful not to criticise Heath’s U-turn before 1974
·       Enlisted a ‘wet’ (one-nation tory) Willie Whitelaw, to her side - ‘everyone needs a Willie’
·       Rallied the Conservatives around her free-marked, patriotic views before the 1979 election
·       Was careful not to ignore the back-benchers

ENDING CONSENSUS POLITICS: introduced new political ideas of individualism, low taxation choice and free market liberalism
·       Ended conservative support for full employment and nationalised industries
·       Fought to save Britain from ‘creeping socialism’
·       These ideas continued to post Thatcher conservative governments.
-   E.g. privatisation of British Rail 1994-1997
-   Extension of trade union legislation – trade union and labour relations consolidation act of 1992
-   Commitment to lower direct taxation – basic income tax reduced from 25%to 23% in 1997

NEW CONSERVATIVE ELITE: Changed the ‘social makeup´ of the conservative party
·       ‘less posh’ – mp’s educated at public school dropped from 75% to 66% between 1974 and 1987
·       ‘old conservative elite’ wealthy privileged, upper class, linked to aristocracy made up 75% of mp’s in 1974
·       ‘new conservative elite’ Like Margret Thatcher – middle class grammar school, self -made success made up 44% of Mp’s in 1987
·       However mainly men – number of female mp’s only increased from 19 to 41 during her time as Prime Minister

MODERNISED PARTY: new American innovation swiftly adopted by Conservatives
·       Use of PR companies e.g. Saatchi and Saatchi for marketing in elections - Labour Isn’t Working
·       Use of press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham to leak information to the press to damage opponents
·       Use of computers to target potential voters in marginal constituencies - 1983 election a direct mail campaign targeted 500 000 voters

Labour

WHY DID LABOUR NEED TO CHANGE: Thatcher challenged creeping socialism aggressively and successfully Thatcher forced the Labour Party to readjust in order to be electable- Disastrous performance 1983: 28% of votes. They had to change become of:
·       Disillusionment with Labour
o   Labour unable to deal with strikes in the 70s - 1979 Winter of Discontent
o   Attacked by right wing as being ‘the loony left’ due to labour activism and Militant Tendency  group of extreme left wingers who gained control over the Liverpool branch of the party
·       Policies
o   1983 manifesto described as the ‘longest suicide note in history’
o   Policy proposals included scrapping nuclear weapons, withdrawal from the EEC and more direct control over bank lended
o   These policies did nothing to deal with the problems facing Britain (high unemployment, declining industries, riots) - Labour looked out of touch
·       Leadership
o   Leader Michael Foot was scruffy, held strong socialist opinions and was never able to appeal to the ordinary voter
·       Electorate
o   Thatcher’s tackling of the unions and deindustrialisation diminished Labour’s traditional voter base
o   Right to buy increased Conservative support among the growing middle class - 60% of Labour voters who bought their council house then voted conservative
·       Split
o   1981 the ‘Gang of Four’ broke away from Labour and formed the SDP
o   They were concerned by TU power, Euroscepticism and Michael Foot
o   Labour then also had to compete with SDP for votes


KINNOCK’S REFORMS: became leader 1983-1992 split between Labour and SDP made it harder for Labour to tackle the left wing of the party – Kinnock had to take action against Militant Tendency and had to get rid of left wing ideas in order to gain support;
  • Nuclear disarmament  was rejected as Labour Party policy
  • Labour moved to more pro-European stance
  • 1989 party dropped its support for unions
  • Kinnock resigned after the 1992 election

TONY BLAIR: Became leader in 1994, described by Thatcher as her ‘greatest legacy’ Persuaded party to embrace Thatcher’s ideas in order to gain votes – he recognised that the party needed to continue to move away from traditional working class and trade union support to reach out the growing number of middle class supporters.
  • Ending and rejecting nationalisation if favour of privatisation - clause IV abandoned public ownership
  • Continue low direct taxation
  • Big business would be embraces and free markets allowed to flourish – free market liberalism
  • Limit trade union powers + abandon class politics
  • However also aimed to promote ‘inclusiveness’ and reduce gap between rich and poor
-   Aimed to promote equal distribution of opportunities for everyone (contrasted to previous attempts to equally distribute wealth)
-   Denounced ‘forces of conservatism’
-   Committed to a minimum wage introduced in 1998
-   Investment in education to create equal opportunities

Other Parties

SDP AND LIBERAL: saw that Thatcher representing the right and foot the left, there was a need for a centre-left party
  • Claimed members from labour party and disaffected conservatives unhappy with Thatcher
  • SDP and Liberal party allied for 1983 election – alliance gained ¼ of popular votes
  • SDP unable to capitalise and merged with liberals to form Liberal Democrats in 1988
  • Lib Dems seen as socially liberal and pro-European

REGIONAL NATIONAL PARTIES: Realignment of economy under Thatcher control hit Wales and Scotland hard. Coal mining practiced in both regions – Shipbuilding was the backbone of the Scottish economy
  • SNP (Scottish national party): called for greater powers and later full independence for Scotland- SNP seen as anti-thatcher – especially after poll tax introduction
  • Welsh Nationalist part- increasing dissatisfaction with Thatcher’s policies made conservatives declined and increased labour à welsh assembly  

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