Margaret Thatcher was Britain's first female Prime Minister and one of the longest to serve in the role. Her policies helped to reshape British politics.
Thatcher had many detractors, as some of her policies were highly controversial and resulted in divisions within her own party and among the electorate. In what follows, we'll examine the impact Ms Thatcher had on British society and her position on trade unions and the post-war consensus. We will also underscore her successes and failures.
Who was Margaret Thatcher?
Margaret Thatcher was a Conservative MP and the first woman to serve as Prime Minister in both Britain and Europe. Serving 11 full years, she was also the longest-serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century. Thatcher is best known for moving away from the post-war consensus, strongly adopting free-market capitalism, and taking a firm stance on trade unions, specifically the Northern miners. Thatcher was and remains one of the most controversial leaders in Britain's political history.
Post-war consensus: this is a term used to describe the time between 1945 and 1979 when the main UK political parties achieved a consensus on several key political issues.
Free-market capitalism: the economic system where supply and demand regulate production as opposed to a centralised government. Essentially, it is run by private individuals that control the means of production, otherwise known as laissez-faire capitalism.
Trade unions: a group of workers in a trade, group of trades, or profession that come together to protect and further their rights and interests.
The Northern miners were part of Britain's steel and coal industries and were often based in the north of the UK. In 1984, Prime Minister Thatcher had planned in a prepared speech to refer to both the Northern miners and the Labour Party as the ‘enemies within’, before deciding against it at the last minute.
Margaret Thatcher's biography
Margaret Thatcher was the daughter of Alfred Roberts and Beatrice Stephenson. She studied chemistry at the University of Oxford where she became involved in student politics: she was the president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. After graduation, she spent some time as a research chemist before becoming a barrister in 1954.
Thatcher’s first attempt at becoming a member of Parliament in 1950 was unsuccessful. It was not until 1959 that she was able to win her seat in the House of Commons. During her career, Thatcher held several key positions, first as the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance (1961–64), and later as the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1970–74).
One of her most controversial policies prior to her role as Prime Minister was eliminating a program that provided free milk to schoolchildren. This gained her the nickname ‘Thatcher the milk snatcher.’ It was in 1979 that she finally became Prime Minister after leading the Conservative Party to victory.
Fig. 1 - Official portrait of Margaret Thatcher
During her time in office, Thatcher became one of the most divisive leaders in Britain. By November 1990, she had lost a great deal of support from even her own party and failed to receive a majority in the Conservative Party’s annual vote in selecting a leader. As a result, she withdrew her nomination, and John Major was selected as the next Conservative leader. On November 22, she announced her resignation and was succeeded by Major six days later.
Margaret Thatcher’s impact on society
During her time as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher advanced several controversial policies that had a significant impact on British society. One of the most significant and divisive of these was her move away from the post-war consensus.
Thatcherism: the policies put forward by Thatcher, particularly the political and economic policies that involved the privatisation of industries and her firm stance on trade unions.
Thatcherism and the end of the post-war consensus
The post-war consensus was a political agreement made between the two main British political parties (1945–79) which centred around several key political issues:
The introduction and establishment of the welfare state, the foundation of which was the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS) and the national insurance system.
The commitment from both political parties to maintain full national employment through the creation of sound economic policies. For example, government intervention in the state economy to ensure the majority of society was provided for.
Encouraging the establishment of trade unions. After the war, there was greater cooperation between the government and the trade unions on matters relating to economic policy and employment.
A consensus on key foreign policy issues, which included the agreement on the need to establish NATO, the need to join the EEC, and transitioning out of the British empire.
Thatcherism as a response to the post-war consensus
Through her policies, Thatcher made a very clear and divisive move away from the post-war consensus.
Whilst Thatcher did maintain the welfare state, she made it much more difficult for citizens to access the NHS and the benefits system overall by introducing means-based testing.
Thatcher also began privatising many key industries, particularly those that were famously nationalised such as British Airways, British Rail, and the country's gas and electricity industries.
Thatcher took a very strong stance on reducing the strength of trade unions by requiring them to take part in pre-strike ballots and making them financially liable for damages caused by illegal strikes.
Means-based testing: a means test is a way of determining whether someone needs state assistance based on whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help.
Margaret Thatcher’s policies
Thatcher advanced several policies that changed the status quo in the UK. Some of the more notable policies are listed below.
Political policies
She ended the post-war consensus.
She enacted legislation that minimised local governments to curb the power of Labour politicians in metropolitan areas. For example, the 1986 Local Government Act was set up to abolish big metropolitan local authorities with too much power.
She established the 'right-to-buy’ policy, which offered significant discounts that allowed people to get on the property ladder.
Thatcher attempted to set up a poll tax but this proved unsuccessful and ultimately helped lead to the end of her political success.
She took a very strong stance with trade unions, believing it was essential that their power was reduced. For example, in 1982, she introduced laws that would make strikes ballots compulsory as well as laws that banned mass picketing. Knowing that there would be inevitable strikes, she created huge stockpiles of coal. Thatcher's preparations proved useful in mitigating the negative impact of the infamous miner’s strike led by Arthur Scargill in 1984–85.
Right-to-buy: a government scheme designed to help tenants in council housing (government subsidised) to buy their homes with often rather large discounts.
Poll tax: a policy designed to change the way the local government was funded and one which aimed to ensure that the financing of local councils was both fairer and more accountable. However, it was not received well by the public and instead led to civil disobedience and large-scale protests. The poll tax was also harshly condemned by Thatcher's own Conservative party.
Strike ballot: a policy put forth by the Thatcher government mandating unions to make their workers vote before they were able to initiate a strike.
Mass picketing: a group of people, oftentimes striking workers, protesting outside a business whilst holding signs that express their grievance or political message.
Fig. 2 - Miners' strike rally in London 1984
Economic policies
She restored free-market principles that were used to replace the post-war consensus.
She instituted monetarism: the deregulation of financial markets and the modernisation of the city of London, which internationalised the London Stock Exchange.
She lowered income taxes, especially on high incomes but switched to a more regressive VAT and a poll tax.
Thatcher also privatised state-owned assets such as British Airways and the rail industries.
Deregulation: the removal of rules or restrictions placed on a specific industry (e.g. manufacturing, construction, financial, human services, etc.).
Foreign policy
- Thatcher united the UK and increased its role and reputation globally, whilst encouraging a sense of national pride by successfully prosecuting the Falklands War.
- She continued the decolonisation process.
- Thatcher took a firm stance against the Soviet Union and fostered a close relationship with US President Ronald Reagan.
- Her firm approach to foreign policy earned her the reputation as the ‘Iron Lady’. In Europe, she was known for her ‘handbag diplomacy’.
Handbag diplomacy: this refers to the fact that Prime Minister Thatcher was often photographed carrying a handbag, which became something of an iconic symbol for Ms Thatcher. In fact, Thatcher was even known to slam her handbag on the table from time to time during important meetings just to get her point across. During her time leading the country, there were few women in the higher echelons of politics, thus her premiership served as a watershed moment for women who aspired to politics.
The Falklands War was a short war fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina over two dependent British territories (the Sandwich Islands and South Georgia) located in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. After several tense battles that lasted less than three months, Argentinian forces surrendered, allowing for Britain's recapture of the contested territories. While the United Kingdom won the war, the territories remain in dispute today.
Margaret Thatcher: quotes
During her time as Britain's prime minister, Thatcher provided several memorable quotes:
I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.
Thatcher during a heated budgetary discussion at a meeting of the European Council on 31 March 1982.
We are not asking for a penny piece of Community money for Britain. What we are asking is for a very large amount of our own money back, over and above what we contribute to the community, which is covered by our receipts from the community.
Margaret Thatcher during negotiations with the European Community over the Budget Rebate of 1979.
Just rejoice at that news and congratulate our forces and the marines. Rejoice.
Thatcher when announcing the recapture and subsequent liberation of South Georgia during the Falklands War.
Key takeaways
- Margaret Thatcher was the first woman and longest-serving Prime Minister of Britain.
- Thatcher is best known for moving away from the post-war consensus, strongly adopting free-market capitalism, and privatising state-owned assets.
- She was considered highly controversial based on her social, and poll tax policies as well as the role she played in relation to trade unions.
- Thatcher fostered closer relations with the United States due to her close relationship with US President Ronald Regan
- The Falklands War was a short war fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina over contested territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, in which the United Kingdom was victorious.
References
- Fig. 2 - Miners' strike rally London 1984 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Miners_strike_rally_London_1984.jpg) by Nick (https://www.flickr.com/people/34517490@N00) licensed by CC-BY-2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en) on Wikimedia Commons
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