Daniel Béland and André Lecours
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199546848
- eISBN:
- 9780191720468
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546848.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
Chapter 3 looks at Scotland in the United Kingdom to explore the relationship between nationalism and social policy. It explains how the relationship between British nation-building and social policy ...
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Chapter 3 looks at Scotland in the United Kingdom to explore the relationship between nationalism and social policy. It explains how the relationship between British nation-building and social policy emerged during the post-war era and outlines the particular importance of this process in Scotland, which depended more upon social benefits than did the South of England. It then explores the mobilization process favouring devolution for Scotland in the context of social policy retrenchment, and shows how these two issues meshed during Thatcherism. Finally, it analyses the impact of devolution on social policy development in Scotland and in the United Kingdom at large. Although it is too early to draw definite conclusions about the nature and extent of this impact, it is clear that the institutional and political transformations involved in devolution have affected policy processes and outcomes.Less
Chapter 3 looks at Scotland in the United Kingdom to explore the relationship between nationalism and social policy. It explains how the relationship between British nation-building and social policy emerged during the post-war era and outlines the particular importance of this process in Scotland, which depended more upon social benefits than did the South of England. It then explores the mobilization process favouring devolution for Scotland in the context of social policy retrenchment, and shows how these two issues meshed during Thatcherism. Finally, it analyses the impact of devolution on social policy development in Scotland and in the United Kingdom at large. Although it is too early to draw definite conclusions about the nature and extent of this impact, it is clear that the institutional and political transformations involved in devolution have affected policy processes and outcomes.
Anthony F. Heath, Roger M. Jowell, and John K. Curtice
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245116
- eISBN:
- 9780191599453
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245118.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
The authors focus on the principal aspects of the Thatcherite economic reform programme and assess to what extent they were accepted by the British electorate. The analysis shows that the electorate ...
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The authors focus on the principal aspects of the Thatcherite economic reform programme and assess to what extent they were accepted by the British electorate. The analysis shows that the electorate accepted the Conservative reforms on privatization and trade union legislation and that, during her time in office, Margaret Thatcher won public backing for the changes. But in two other respects, Margaret Thatcher failed to carry the country with her; once the problem of inflation was solved at the beginning of the 1980s, the electorate wanted the government to pay more attention to the high level of unemployment and did not appear to accept Thatcherite policies in this area. The electorate showed no enthusiasm for the Thatcherite philosophy of reduced government spending on public services. The analysis of the Thatcherite economic reform programme gives support to the thesis that a political party does not need to be closely in tune with the electorate's policy preferences in order to win an election.Less
The authors focus on the principal aspects of the Thatcherite economic reform programme and assess to what extent they were accepted by the British electorate. The analysis shows that the electorate accepted the Conservative reforms on privatization and trade union legislation and that, during her time in office, Margaret Thatcher won public backing for the changes. But in two other respects, Margaret Thatcher failed to carry the country with her; once the problem of inflation was solved at the beginning of the 1980s, the electorate wanted the government to pay more attention to the high level of unemployment and did not appear to accept Thatcherite policies in this area. The electorate showed no enthusiasm for the Thatcherite philosophy of reduced government spending on public services. The analysis of the Thatcherite economic reform programme gives support to the thesis that a political party does not need to be closely in tune with the electorate's policy preferences in order to win an election.
Anthony F. Heath, Roger M. Jowell, and John K. Curtice
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245116
- eISBN:
- 9780191599453
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245118.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
The authors analyse the long process of modernization of the Labour party that had its origins in Neil Kinnock's period as a leader of the party between 1983 and 1992 and that culminated in Labour's ...
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The authors analyse the long process of modernization of the Labour party that had its origins in Neil Kinnock's period as a leader of the party between 1983 and 1992 and that culminated in Labour's victory in the 1997 general election. Heath, Jowell, and Curtice draw the conclusion that on the non‐economic issues such as disarmament, Europe, and devolution, Tony Blair's New Labour was merely a continuation of Neil Kinnock's policy. It was Neil Kinnock not Tony Blair who had made the radical break with Labour's recent past. However, on economic issues New Labour made a clearer break with its Old Labour inheritance—on nationalization, unions, government spending, and taxation, New Labour adopted many Thatcherite precepts. The decisive move of New Labour towards the centre on the economic issues, did have major electoral benefits because it squeezed the Liberal Democrats’ share of the vote on the centre‐left, but it also captured ground on the centre‐right from the Conservatives. New Labour's move to the centre also disrupted the usual patterns of vote‐switching; more Conservatives than usual switching directly to Labour rather than to the Liberal Democrats.Less
The authors analyse the long process of modernization of the Labour party that had its origins in Neil Kinnock's period as a leader of the party between 1983 and 1992 and that culminated in Labour's victory in the 1997 general election. Heath, Jowell, and Curtice draw the conclusion that on the non‐economic issues such as disarmament, Europe, and devolution, Tony Blair's New Labour was merely a continuation of Neil Kinnock's policy. It was Neil Kinnock not Tony Blair who had made the radical break with Labour's recent past. However, on economic issues New Labour made a clearer break with its Old Labour inheritance—on nationalization, unions, government spending, and taxation, New Labour adopted many Thatcherite precepts. The decisive move of New Labour towards the centre on the economic issues, did have major electoral benefits because it squeezed the Liberal Democrats’ share of the vote on the centre‐left, but it also captured ground on the centre‐right from the Conservatives. New Labour's move to the centre also disrupted the usual patterns of vote‐switching; more Conservatives than usual switching directly to Labour rather than to the Liberal Democrats.
Kenneth Dyson and Kevin Featherstone
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296386
- eISBN:
- 9780191599125
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829638X.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Few issues have caused as much domestic turbulence for so long in recent decades as those associated with Britain's role in the European integration process. EMU challenged traditional concerns of ...
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Few issues have caused as much domestic turbulence for so long in recent decades as those associated with Britain's role in the European integration process. EMU challenged traditional concerns of British policy on Europe: nationhood, sovereignty, and gradualism. It also conflicted with core Thatcherite policy beliefs about the sensitivity of monetary policy to market conditions. EMU appeared on the agenda as the Conservative Government wrestled with the question of ERM entry, and a cleavage appeared between ‘Europhiles’ and ‘Eurosceptics’. Mrs Thatcher was intent on asserting a more strident leadership on ‘Europe’, whilst her Chancellor was acting as a policy entrepreneur. Her government was thus ill‐prepared strategically for the EMU negotiations. After the surprise of the Delors Committee outcome, the Whitehall machine established tight policy coordination. Given the political context, however, it remained vulnerable to a narrowness of vision.Less
Few issues have caused as much domestic turbulence for so long in recent decades as those associated with Britain's role in the European integration process. EMU challenged traditional concerns of British policy on Europe: nationhood, sovereignty, and gradualism. It also conflicted with core Thatcherite policy beliefs about the sensitivity of monetary policy to market conditions. EMU appeared on the agenda as the Conservative Government wrestled with the question of ERM entry, and a cleavage appeared between ‘Europhiles’ and ‘Eurosceptics’. Mrs Thatcher was intent on asserting a more strident leadership on ‘Europe’, whilst her Chancellor was acting as a policy entrepreneur. Her government was thus ill‐prepared strategically for the EMU negotiations. After the surprise of the Delors Committee outcome, the Whitehall machine established tight policy coordination. Given the political context, however, it remained vulnerable to a narrowness of vision.
Michael Freeden
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294146
- eISBN:
- 9780191599323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829414X.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The strong revival of conservatism in the 1980s, both as a governmental force and as a body of political thought, is frequently portrayed as a flowering of beliefs and attitudes attached to new ...
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The strong revival of conservatism in the 1980s, both as a governmental force and as a body of political thought, is frequently portrayed as a flowering of beliefs and attitudes attached to new theoretical frameworks, meriting the designation New Right or neo‐liberal conservatism, as distinct from plain neo‐conservatism. Those frameworks, it is often asserted, have substantially reformulated conservative doctrine and launched a cohesive set of positive ideas matching progressive ideologies in sophistication and breadth. The contemporary study of conservatism is thus confronted with two conundrums: is there now in evidence a new type of conservatism, breaking with its past incarnations and embarking on a programme of change so active that it may no longer be conservatism; and moreover, is there an unbridgeable rift between two concurrent conservative creeds, neo‐liberal and traditional? It is argued here that late twentieth‐century conservative thought occupies fundamentally the same semantic field as its predecessors, granted that the cultural constraints within which its network of concepts is decontested have been considerably transformed; consequently, conservatism appears to be attached to an innovatory range of substantive ideas and policies. The five sections of the chapter are: (a) Thatcherism as conservatism; (b) The subservience of economics; (c) ‘Who is the fiercest of them all?’; (d) Recent American conservatisms; and (e) The unity of Thatcherite ideology.Less
The strong revival of conservatism in the 1980s, both as a governmental force and as a body of political thought, is frequently portrayed as a flowering of beliefs and attitudes attached to new theoretical frameworks, meriting the designation New Right or neo‐liberal conservatism, as distinct from plain neo‐conservatism. Those frameworks, it is often asserted, have substantially reformulated conservative doctrine and launched a cohesive set of positive ideas matching progressive ideologies in sophistication and breadth. The contemporary study of conservatism is thus confronted with two conundrums: is there now in evidence a new type of conservatism, breaking with its past incarnations and embarking on a programme of change so active that it may no longer be conservatism; and moreover, is there an unbridgeable rift between two concurrent conservative creeds, neo‐liberal and traditional? It is argued here that late twentieth‐century conservative thought occupies fundamentally the same semantic field as its predecessors, granted that the cultural constraints within which its network of concepts is decontested have been considerably transformed; consequently, conservatism appears to be attached to an innovatory range of substantive ideas and policies. The five sections of the chapter are: (a) Thatcherism as conservatism; (b) The subservience of economics; (c) ‘Who is the fiercest of them all?’; (d) Recent American conservatisms; and (e) The unity of Thatcherite ideology.
Jamie Peck
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199580576
- eISBN:
- 9780191595240
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580576.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
This chapter examines the range of popular and academic meanings of neoliberalism, including its associations with the ‘Washington Consensus’ and with ‘Thatcherism’, as a prelude to proposing a ...
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This chapter examines the range of popular and academic meanings of neoliberalism, including its associations with the ‘Washington Consensus’ and with ‘Thatcherism’, as a prelude to proposing a political-economic definition of the phenomenon. Emphasis is placed on the uneven development of neoliberalism across geographical space and the temporal evolution of neoliberal ideology and practice. Neoliberalism has not diffused in an invariant form, but instead has developed in a geometric fashion, through the increasing global interpenetration of its contextually specific ‘local’ forms. The ontology of neoliberalism is presented here in terms of an evolving web of relays, routines, and relations of market-oriented political practices. In turn, this calls for a methodological strategy which draws attention, simultaneously, to the ‘connective tissues’ of the neoliberalization process and its conjuncturally specific manifestations. An adequate analysis of neoliberalism must therefore entail an historical geography of the phenomenon.Less
This chapter examines the range of popular and academic meanings of neoliberalism, including its associations with the ‘Washington Consensus’ and with ‘Thatcherism’, as a prelude to proposing a political-economic definition of the phenomenon. Emphasis is placed on the uneven development of neoliberalism across geographical space and the temporal evolution of neoliberal ideology and practice. Neoliberalism has not diffused in an invariant form, but instead has developed in a geometric fashion, through the increasing global interpenetration of its contextually specific ‘local’ forms. The ontology of neoliberalism is presented here in terms of an evolving web of relays, routines, and relations of market-oriented political practices. In turn, this calls for a methodological strategy which draws attention, simultaneously, to the ‘connective tissues’ of the neoliberalization process and its conjuncturally specific manifestations. An adequate analysis of neoliberalism must therefore entail an historical geography of the phenomenon.
Eliza Filby
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264829
- eISBN:
- 9780191754036
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264829.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores the oppositional role of the voluntary sector in a period of hardship and social unrest, considering the Anglican Church's response to Thatcherism. Despite secularisation and ...
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This chapter explores the oppositional role of the voluntary sector in a period of hardship and social unrest, considering the Anglican Church's response to Thatcherism. Despite secularisation and declining denominational identity, the Church was still a central part of the charitable and welfare sector in the 1980s, when the Thatcher governments championed the role of voluntarism in retraining and work schemes, in an era of mass unemployment. However, its response to Thatcherism was complex and internally divided. Church Action with the Unemployed (CAWTU) was framed in a ‘non-political’, paternalistic way, whereas 1985's Faith in the City report provided a critique of the underlying causes of poverty, articulating an opposition to reactionary social thought that can be traced back to nineteenth-century Christian Socialism.Less
This chapter explores the oppositional role of the voluntary sector in a period of hardship and social unrest, considering the Anglican Church's response to Thatcherism. Despite secularisation and declining denominational identity, the Church was still a central part of the charitable and welfare sector in the 1980s, when the Thatcher governments championed the role of voluntarism in retraining and work schemes, in an era of mass unemployment. However, its response to Thatcherism was complex and internally divided. Church Action with the Unemployed (CAWTU) was framed in a ‘non-political’, paternalistic way, whereas 1985's Faith in the City report provided a critique of the underlying causes of poverty, articulating an opposition to reactionary social thought that can be traced back to nineteenth-century Christian Socialism.
Brian Baker
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719069048
- eISBN:
- 9781781700891
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719069048.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This book is a comprehensive critical introduction to one of the most original contemporary British writers, providing an overview of all of Iain Sinclair's major works and an analysis of his vision ...
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This book is a comprehensive critical introduction to one of the most original contemporary British writers, providing an overview of all of Iain Sinclair's major works and an analysis of his vision of modern London. It places Sinclair in a range of contexts, including: the late 1960s counter-culture and the British Poetry Revival; London's underground histories; the rise and fall of Thatcherism; and Sinclair's writing about Britain under New Labour and Sinclair's connection to other writers and artists, such as J.G. Ballard, Michael Moorcock and Marc Atkins. The book contributes to the growing scholarship surrounding Sinclair's work, covering in detail his poetry, fiction, non-fiction (including his book on John Clare, Edge of the Orison), and his film work. Using a generally chronological structure, it traces the on-going themes in Sinclair's writing, such as the uncovering of lost histories of London, the influence of visionary writings, and the importance of walking in the city, and more recent developments in his texts, such as the focus on spaces outside of London and his filmic collaborations with Chris Petit. The book provides a critically informed discussion of Sinclair's work using a variety of approaches.Less
This book is a comprehensive critical introduction to one of the most original contemporary British writers, providing an overview of all of Iain Sinclair's major works and an analysis of his vision of modern London. It places Sinclair in a range of contexts, including: the late 1960s counter-culture and the British Poetry Revival; London's underground histories; the rise and fall of Thatcherism; and Sinclair's writing about Britain under New Labour and Sinclair's connection to other writers and artists, such as J.G. Ballard, Michael Moorcock and Marc Atkins. The book contributes to the growing scholarship surrounding Sinclair's work, covering in detail his poetry, fiction, non-fiction (including his book on John Clare, Edge of the Orison), and his film work. Using a generally chronological structure, it traces the on-going themes in Sinclair's writing, such as the uncovering of lost histories of London, the influence of visionary writings, and the importance of walking in the city, and more recent developments in his texts, such as the focus on spaces outside of London and his filmic collaborations with Chris Petit. The book provides a critically informed discussion of Sinclair's work using a variety of approaches.
E. H. H. GREEN
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198205937
- eISBN:
- 9780191717116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205937.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Political History
The chapters in this book identify leitmotifs in Conservative thought which enable one to answer the question ‘What is Conservatism?’ This answer confirms and builds upon arguments developed by ...
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The chapters in this book identify leitmotifs in Conservative thought which enable one to answer the question ‘What is Conservatism?’ This answer confirms and builds upon arguments developed by Anthony Quinton and Michael Oakeshott, particularly the former's ideas of intellectual imperfection, political scepticism, traditionalism, and organicism. At all levels of political debate and action throughout the 20th century, Conservatives articulated a range of positions, norms, and beliefs that were designed to identify the nature and meaning of Conservatism, and which fitted the patterns discerned by Quinton and Oakeshott, with the exception of Thatcherism. Thatcherism's implications were wholly at odds with the organicist emphasis on social association that had previously been such a marked feature of Conservative thought. As the Conservative century came to an end, it seemed that even if the Conservative Party had survived, Conservatism had not.Less
The chapters in this book identify leitmotifs in Conservative thought which enable one to answer the question ‘What is Conservatism?’ This answer confirms and builds upon arguments developed by Anthony Quinton and Michael Oakeshott, particularly the former's ideas of intellectual imperfection, political scepticism, traditionalism, and organicism. At all levels of political debate and action throughout the 20th century, Conservatives articulated a range of positions, norms, and beliefs that were designed to identify the nature and meaning of Conservatism, and which fitted the patterns discerned by Quinton and Oakeshott, with the exception of Thatcherism. Thatcherism's implications were wholly at odds with the organicist emphasis on social association that had previously been such a marked feature of Conservative thought. As the Conservative century came to an end, it seemed that even if the Conservative Party had survived, Conservatism had not.
Michael Ironside and Roger Seifert
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199240753
- eISBN:
- 9780191696862
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199240753.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
Throughout the 1980s Mrs. Thatcher dominated political life in the UK and Thatcherism became the shorthand for a series of political initiatives all over the world. Most accounts of these years have ...
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Throughout the 1980s Mrs. Thatcher dominated political life in the UK and Thatcherism became the shorthand for a series of political initiatives all over the world. Most accounts of these years have concentrated on the economics of free markets and privatisation. This book takes a different stance through a detailed analysis of the responses of The National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO) members, activists, leaders, and officials to the government’s public sector reform and restructuring programme. Employees in health, local government, and education faced cuts in funding, compulsory competitive tendering, internal markets, and new management practices associated with human resource management (HRM) and total quality management (TQM). Others in the gas, water, electricity, and transport industries faced wholesale privatisation.Less
Throughout the 1980s Mrs. Thatcher dominated political life in the UK and Thatcherism became the shorthand for a series of political initiatives all over the world. Most accounts of these years have concentrated on the economics of free markets and privatisation. This book takes a different stance through a detailed analysis of the responses of The National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO) members, activists, leaders, and officials to the government’s public sector reform and restructuring programme. Employees in health, local government, and education faced cuts in funding, compulsory competitive tendering, internal markets, and new management practices associated with human resource management (HRM) and total quality management (TQM). Others in the gas, water, electricity, and transport industries faced wholesale privatisation.
Mike Ironside and Roger Seifert
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199240753
- eISBN:
- 9780191696862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199240753.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter starts in early 1979 with the last few months of the Labour government. It includes an account of the strike by social workers during the ‘winter of discontent’, and of the crisis over ...
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This chapter starts in early 1979 with the last few months of the Labour government. It includes an account of the strike by social workers during the ‘winter of discontent’, and of the crisis over public-sector pay and incomes policies. Then, it covers the election of the Conservative Party under Mrs. Thatcher in May 1979, followed by the main developments during the early years of the Conservative government. It outlines the government’s drive to ‘squeeze inflation out of the system’ through a combination of cutting public expenditure, weakening union power, and increasing unemployment. It also discusses National and Local Government Officers Association’s (NALGO) responses to these policy initiatives by maintaining a ‘business-as-usual’ approach to industrial relations and collective bargaining in all sectors, illustrated by the 1980 local-government comparability pay dispute. Moreover, the linkage between government policy and monetarist dogma is examined. Furthermore, it describes the impact of these and other forces on the union itself. The emerging tensions: over representativeness; coping with an increasingly fragmented and diverse membership; and facing up to the nature of political opposition to government, are determined.Less
This chapter starts in early 1979 with the last few months of the Labour government. It includes an account of the strike by social workers during the ‘winter of discontent’, and of the crisis over public-sector pay and incomes policies. Then, it covers the election of the Conservative Party under Mrs. Thatcher in May 1979, followed by the main developments during the early years of the Conservative government. It outlines the government’s drive to ‘squeeze inflation out of the system’ through a combination of cutting public expenditure, weakening union power, and increasing unemployment. It also discusses National and Local Government Officers Association’s (NALGO) responses to these policy initiatives by maintaining a ‘business-as-usual’ approach to industrial relations and collective bargaining in all sectors, illustrated by the 1980 local-government comparability pay dispute. Moreover, the linkage between government policy and monetarist dogma is examined. Furthermore, it describes the impact of these and other forces on the union itself. The emerging tensions: over representativeness; coping with an increasingly fragmented and diverse membership; and facing up to the nature of political opposition to government, are determined.
Mike Ironside and Roger Seifert
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199240753
- eISBN:
- 9780191696862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199240753.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter covers the remainder of the Thatcher government’s first term of office, from 1981 until the June 1983 election. As the Conservative right tightened its grip on the government, so the ...
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This chapter covers the remainder of the Thatcher government’s first term of office, from 1981 until the June 1983 election. As the Conservative right tightened its grip on the government, so the National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO) strengthened both its policies and its structures. The political economy of Thatcherism is described. The government’s main attack on public services fell onto local government, with reductions in local accountability, finances, and relative pay. The NALGO policy and practice, and the collective bargaining and local disputes, are reported as well.Less
This chapter covers the remainder of the Thatcher government’s first term of office, from 1981 until the June 1983 election. As the Conservative right tightened its grip on the government, so the National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO) strengthened both its policies and its structures. The political economy of Thatcherism is described. The government’s main attack on public services fell onto local government, with reductions in local accountability, finances, and relative pay. The NALGO policy and practice, and the collective bargaining and local disputes, are reported as well.
Brian Marren
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719095764
- eISBN:
- 9781526109668
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719095764.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The last quarter of the twentieth-century brought forth enormous change to the lives of working-class Britons. This transformation came mainly in the form of widespread industrial closure and the ...
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The last quarter of the twentieth-century brought forth enormous change to the lives of working-class Britons. This transformation came mainly in the form of widespread industrial closure and the impoverishment associated with permanent unemployment. No British city bore closer witness to this phenomenon than Liverpool. The despair of joblessness and economic deprivation blighted Merseyside to a significantly greater extent than any other major British conurbation. Liverpool had frequently been prone to industrial unrest since 1945, but it was the dawn of Thatcher and the rise of neoliberal economics which made this city a nucleus of resistance against the encroaching tide of monetarism and sweeping de-industrialisation. This critique explores six case studies which illustrate how elements of a highly mobilized and politicized working-class fought against the rapid rise in forced redundancies and increasing industrial closures. Some of their responses included strikes, factory occupations, organising and politicizing the unemployed, effecting radical left-wing municipal politics, and sadly, even surrendering to violent civil unrest. This critique concludes that in the range, intensity and use of innovative tactics deployed during these conflicts, Liverpool stood out from every other British city. Liverpool was distinctive mainly because of its own unique history which involved a long, tortured, familiarity with poverty and mass unemployment.Less
The last quarter of the twentieth-century brought forth enormous change to the lives of working-class Britons. This transformation came mainly in the form of widespread industrial closure and the impoverishment associated with permanent unemployment. No British city bore closer witness to this phenomenon than Liverpool. The despair of joblessness and economic deprivation blighted Merseyside to a significantly greater extent than any other major British conurbation. Liverpool had frequently been prone to industrial unrest since 1945, but it was the dawn of Thatcher and the rise of neoliberal economics which made this city a nucleus of resistance against the encroaching tide of monetarism and sweeping de-industrialisation. This critique explores six case studies which illustrate how elements of a highly mobilized and politicized working-class fought against the rapid rise in forced redundancies and increasing industrial closures. Some of their responses included strikes, factory occupations, organising and politicizing the unemployed, effecting radical left-wing municipal politics, and sadly, even surrendering to violent civil unrest. This critique concludes that in the range, intensity and use of innovative tactics deployed during these conflicts, Liverpool stood out from every other British city. Liverpool was distinctive mainly because of its own unique history which involved a long, tortured, familiarity with poverty and mass unemployment.
Richard Hayton
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780719083167
- eISBN:
- 9781781706107
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719083167.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Why did it take the Conservative Party so long to recover power? After a landslide defeat in 1997, why was it so slow to adapt, reposition itself and rebuild its support? How did the party leadership ...
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Why did it take the Conservative Party so long to recover power? After a landslide defeat in 1997, why was it so slow to adapt, reposition itself and rebuild its support? How did the party leadership seek to reconstruct conservatism and modernise its electoral appeal? This highly readable book addresses these questions through a contextualised assessment of Conservative Party politics between 1997 and 2010. By tracing the debates over strategy amongst the party elite, and scrutinising the actions of the leadership, it situates David Cameron and his ‘modernising’ approach in relation to that of his three immediate predecessors: Michael Howard, Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague. This holistic view, encompassing this period of opposition in its entirety, aids the identification of strategic trends and conflicts and a comprehension of the evolving Conservative response to New Labour's statecraft. Secondly, the book considers in depth four particular dilemmas for contemporary Conservatism: European integration; national identity and the ‘English Question’; social liberalism versus social authoritarianism; and the problems posed by a neo-liberal political economy. The book argues that the ideological legacy of Thatcherism played a central role in framing and shaping these intraparty debates, and that an appreciation of this is vital for explaining the nature and limits of the Conservatives’ renewal under Cameron. Students of British politics, party politics and ideologies will find this volume essential reading, and it will also be of great interest to anyone concerned with furthering their understanding of contemporary British political history.Less
Why did it take the Conservative Party so long to recover power? After a landslide defeat in 1997, why was it so slow to adapt, reposition itself and rebuild its support? How did the party leadership seek to reconstruct conservatism and modernise its electoral appeal? This highly readable book addresses these questions through a contextualised assessment of Conservative Party politics between 1997 and 2010. By tracing the debates over strategy amongst the party elite, and scrutinising the actions of the leadership, it situates David Cameron and his ‘modernising’ approach in relation to that of his three immediate predecessors: Michael Howard, Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague. This holistic view, encompassing this period of opposition in its entirety, aids the identification of strategic trends and conflicts and a comprehension of the evolving Conservative response to New Labour's statecraft. Secondly, the book considers in depth four particular dilemmas for contemporary Conservatism: European integration; national identity and the ‘English Question’; social liberalism versus social authoritarianism; and the problems posed by a neo-liberal political economy. The book argues that the ideological legacy of Thatcherism played a central role in framing and shaping these intraparty debates, and that an appreciation of this is vital for explaining the nature and limits of the Conservatives’ renewal under Cameron. Students of British politics, party politics and ideologies will find this volume essential reading, and it will also be of great interest to anyone concerned with furthering their understanding of contemporary British political history.
Stephen Brooke
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199562541
- eISBN:
- 9780191731167
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562541.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Cultural History
In the thirty years that followed the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, a struggle ensued within the Labour movement to accommodate gay rights. This struggle remained open and incomplete. The present ...
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In the thirty years that followed the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, a struggle ensued within the Labour movement to accommodate gay rights. This struggle remained open and incomplete. The present chapter begins with a discussion of the Gay Liberation Front, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, and the Marxist gay Left. It then looks at the contributions made by the Greater London Council under Ken Livingstone to develop gay rights at the local level and the efforts by the Gay Labour Group to secure Labour Party commitments to gay rights. It considers the Bermondsey by-election of 1983 and Peter Tatchell’s role in that campaign and concludes with the effect of Section 28 and the modernization of the Labour Party after 1987.Less
In the thirty years that followed the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, a struggle ensued within the Labour movement to accommodate gay rights. This struggle remained open and incomplete. The present chapter begins with a discussion of the Gay Liberation Front, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, and the Marxist gay Left. It then looks at the contributions made by the Greater London Council under Ken Livingstone to develop gay rights at the local level and the efforts by the Gay Labour Group to secure Labour Party commitments to gay rights. It considers the Bermondsey by-election of 1983 and Peter Tatchell’s role in that campaign and concludes with the effect of Section 28 and the modernization of the Labour Party after 1987.
Kenneth O. Morgan
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198227649
- eISBN:
- 9780191678769
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198227649.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Drawing on sources recently released under the Thirty Year Rule, this book is the first comprehensive study by a professional historian of British history from 1945 to the present day. It examines ...
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Drawing on sources recently released under the Thirty Year Rule, this book is the first comprehensive study by a professional historian of British history from 1945 to the present day. It examines the transformation of post-war Britain from the planning enthusiasm of 1945 to the ethic of Thatcherism. Its themes include the troubles of the British economy; public criticism of the legitimacy of the state and its instruments of authority; the co-existence of growing personal prosperity with widespread social inequality; and the debates aroused by the process of decolonization, and by Britain's relationship to the Commonwealth, the transatlantic world, and Europe. Changes in cultural life, from the puritanical ‘austerity’ of the 1940s, through the ‘permissiveness’ of the 1960s, to the tensions of recent years, are also charted. The author examines the paradoxes of life in the modern United Kingdom: the growing affluence and internal peace of mainland Britain, with its underside of disillusion and discontent. Using a wide variety of sources, including the records of political parties and documents recently released under the Thirty Year Rule, the author brings the story right up to date and draws comparisons with the post-war history of other nations. This penetrating assessment by a leading historian of twentieth-century Britain will prove invaluable to anyone interested in the development of modern Britain.Less
Drawing on sources recently released under the Thirty Year Rule, this book is the first comprehensive study by a professional historian of British history from 1945 to the present day. It examines the transformation of post-war Britain from the planning enthusiasm of 1945 to the ethic of Thatcherism. Its themes include the troubles of the British economy; public criticism of the legitimacy of the state and its instruments of authority; the co-existence of growing personal prosperity with widespread social inequality; and the debates aroused by the process of decolonization, and by Britain's relationship to the Commonwealth, the transatlantic world, and Europe. Changes in cultural life, from the puritanical ‘austerity’ of the 1940s, through the ‘permissiveness’ of the 1960s, to the tensions of recent years, are also charted. The author examines the paradoxes of life in the modern United Kingdom: the growing affluence and internal peace of mainland Britain, with its underside of disillusion and discontent. Using a wide variety of sources, including the records of political parties and documents recently released under the Thirty Year Rule, the author brings the story right up to date and draws comparisons with the post-war history of other nations. This penetrating assessment by a leading historian of twentieth-century Britain will prove invaluable to anyone interested in the development of modern Britain.
Stephen Farrall and Colin Hay (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265703
- eISBN:
- 9780191771880
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265703.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, ...
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Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, there is much debate about what ‘Thatcherism’ was, with some arguing that Thatcherism was more noteworthy for its rhetoric than for its achievements. Indeed, when it came to the welfare state little had changed after 13 years of Thatcherism. Some historians have additionally suggested that other social forces that had existed prior to Thatcher will outlast her. Yet, whichever way one looks at it, the Thatcherite project of the 1980s brought about a fundamental reorganization of much of the UK’s social and economic life. Did Thatcherite policies dramatically alter the trajectory of the country’s development? Can even long-term and seemingly enduring path dependencies be altered as dramatically as claimed? Ought Thatcher’s period in office be seen as a ‘critical juncture’ for the UK? This book brings together a range of experts in housing, economics, law and order, education, welfare, families, geography, and politics to discuss the enduring legacy of those social and economic policies initiated by the first of the UK’s New Right governments (1979–90).Less
Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, there is much debate about what ‘Thatcherism’ was, with some arguing that Thatcherism was more noteworthy for its rhetoric than for its achievements. Indeed, when it came to the welfare state little had changed after 13 years of Thatcherism. Some historians have additionally suggested that other social forces that had existed prior to Thatcher will outlast her. Yet, whichever way one looks at it, the Thatcherite project of the 1980s brought about a fundamental reorganization of much of the UK’s social and economic life. Did Thatcherite policies dramatically alter the trajectory of the country’s development? Can even long-term and seemingly enduring path dependencies be altered as dramatically as claimed? Ought Thatcher’s period in office be seen as a ‘critical juncture’ for the UK? This book brings together a range of experts in housing, economics, law and order, education, welfare, families, geography, and politics to discuss the enduring legacy of those social and economic policies initiated by the first of the UK’s New Right governments (1979–90).
Danny Dorling
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265703
- eISBN:
- 9780191771880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265703.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Thatcherism has shaped the early lives and subsequent careers of many social scientists in Britain. The human geography of the country can be said to be shaped by Thatcher’s legacy in much the same ...
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Thatcherism has shaped the early lives and subsequent careers of many social scientists in Britain. The human geography of the country can be said to be shaped by Thatcher’s legacy in much the same way as its physical geography still bears the scars of relatively recent glaciation. Thatcherism has transformed the social landscape but, unlike glaciation, its core processes continue to operate in Britain today. Glaciation left dramatic scenery, but was especially damaging to the soil and species in the North of England, Wales and Scotland where the glaciers gouged out great chunks of the ground and left an often far more infertile landscape than previously. This chapter shows how the same social process did not occur in many similar countries during (and after) the late 1970s, then discusses the implications of living in a country that has been so transformed in so short a time, when time is measured politically and space is seen socially.Less
Thatcherism has shaped the early lives and subsequent careers of many social scientists in Britain. The human geography of the country can be said to be shaped by Thatcher’s legacy in much the same way as its physical geography still bears the scars of relatively recent glaciation. Thatcherism has transformed the social landscape but, unlike glaciation, its core processes continue to operate in Britain today. Glaciation left dramatic scenery, but was especially damaging to the soil and species in the North of England, Wales and Scotland where the glaciers gouged out great chunks of the ground and left an often far more infertile landscape than previously. This chapter shows how the same social process did not occur in many similar countries during (and after) the late 1970s, then discusses the implications of living in a country that has been so transformed in so short a time, when time is measured politically and space is seen socially.
Stephen Farrall and Colin Hay
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265703
- eISBN:
- 9780191771880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265703.003.0018
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This concluding chapter assesses the legacy of Thatcherism in the light of the preceding analysis. It does so by returning to two influential earlier assessments, written whilst Thatcherism was very ...
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This concluding chapter assesses the legacy of Thatcherism in the light of the preceding analysis. It does so by returning to two influential earlier assessments, written whilst Thatcherism was very much still a work in progress, re-assessing and re-evaluating its enduring significance with the benefit of hindsight. It argues that whilst Thatcherism may or may not ‘be with us’ today, the effects of the shifts in social and economic policies initiated by her governments will continue to work their way through the UK in a number of different ways. In ways which go unrecognized or are obscured by more immediate concerns, the legacies of Thatcherism can be distilled along economic, political, social and cultural lines. That not all of these consequences were intended—and that a number of the unintended consequences may appear more dramatic than some of the intended ones—does not make these legacies any the less important.Less
This concluding chapter assesses the legacy of Thatcherism in the light of the preceding analysis. It does so by returning to two influential earlier assessments, written whilst Thatcherism was very much still a work in progress, re-assessing and re-evaluating its enduring significance with the benefit of hindsight. It argues that whilst Thatcherism may or may not ‘be with us’ today, the effects of the shifts in social and economic policies initiated by her governments will continue to work their way through the UK in a number of different ways. In ways which go unrecognized or are obscured by more immediate concerns, the legacies of Thatcherism can be distilled along economic, political, social and cultural lines. That not all of these consequences were intended—and that a number of the unintended consequences may appear more dramatic than some of the intended ones—does not make these legacies any the less important.
Colin Hay and Stephen Farrall
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265703
- eISBN:
- 9780191771880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265703.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter reflects on the debates surrounding Thatcherism with the benefit of hindsight. Most commentators seem to accept that Thatcherism is now a historic concept—referring, if not exactly to ...
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This chapter reflects on the debates surrounding Thatcherism with the benefit of hindsight. Most commentators seem to accept that Thatcherism is now a historic concept—referring, if not exactly to the period 1979–90, then certainly to events now largely concluded. This allows us a degree of historical perspective that was previously unavailable. Current assessments by political scientists of the rise of ‘New Labour’ and of the development of the British state in the post-war period have had to grapple with this period (and, indeed, 1997). But there are other reasons for returning to Thatcherism and perhaps even for preferring the term ‘Thatcherism’ to the more recent ‘neo-liberalism’. ‘Thatcherism’—however hard it remains to offer a strict definition—embraced more than just neo-liberal ideas. Thatcherism combined both neo-liberal and neo-conservative strands and was often at its more radical and consequential when it identified policy targets which combined elements of both.Less
This chapter reflects on the debates surrounding Thatcherism with the benefit of hindsight. Most commentators seem to accept that Thatcherism is now a historic concept—referring, if not exactly to the period 1979–90, then certainly to events now largely concluded. This allows us a degree of historical perspective that was previously unavailable. Current assessments by political scientists of the rise of ‘New Labour’ and of the development of the British state in the post-war period have had to grapple with this period (and, indeed, 1997). But there are other reasons for returning to Thatcherism and perhaps even for preferring the term ‘Thatcherism’ to the more recent ‘neo-liberalism’. ‘Thatcherism’—however hard it remains to offer a strict definition—embraced more than just neo-liberal ideas. Thatcherism combined both neo-liberal and neo-conservative strands and was often at its more radical and consequential when it identified policy targets which combined elements of both.
