c.1980-2014 – Challenges
- Margaret Thatcher, Conservative, attacked the post-war consensus, questioning whether it was parliament’s job to deal with major social and economic problems
- She believed that individuals, communities and businesses should tackle their own problems
- Tony Blair, Labour, also believed that parliament could not solve all the people’s problems, so they should work with businesses and other groups
- Both Prime Ministers often bypassed government and used media to address the population
- Many groups felt that parliament did not understand their views and would not listen to them
- Organisations such as Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the National Union of Mineworkers challenged the power of parliament in the 1980s
- The regions of the UK demanded greater powers to govern themselves, resulting in a revolution of power from 1999 onwards
- New parliaments were set up in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh
- Another challenge came from membership of the European Union
- Many aspects of law were decided in the European court, which could overrule the British courts
- Certain aspects of the economy and business regulations were also heavily influenced
- By the early 2000s, many groups were disillusioned with parliament
- They felt that MPs, civil servants, journalists and wealthy business people were part of a club that looked after one another, and didn’t represent other people
- Fewer people came to vote at elections, and radical political parties gained support
- In 2010, Britain had a coalition government because no single party could gain the majority of votes
1979-90 – Margaret Thatcher
- By the 1970s, Britain faced severe issues and Thatcher believed that government’s involvement was causing the problems
- She felt that it was wasteful and inefficient to become overly involved in the lives of the people
- She claimed that welfare undermined people’s personal responsibility
- She believed too much state involvement and regulation had harmed business
- Thatcher won the election in 1979 and took the risky decision to act on her beliefs
- Many were unsure of her decisions until after the Falklands War in 1982
- When Argentina invaded the British territory, she overruled the military commanders and ordered forces to take it back
- The victory secured her position, and she thrived in the 1980s
- Being dynamic, forceful and radical, she began to alienate many MPs
- Many were unsure of her decisions until after the Falklands War in 1982
- Thatcher’s policies brought drastic changes to Britain
- She clashed with the trade unions and severely weakened their power
- She cut back public spending in most areas, including health, education and welfare
- She privatised major industries and utilities, including the railways and telephone system
- She stopped stat subsidies to industries that were no longer making any money, such as coal mining
- She reduced income tax and corporation tax on businesses so that individuals and businesses could keep more of their own money
- She reduced the power of local government
- She abolished the Labour-dominated Greater London Council in 1983, after a battle with the Labour council in Liverpool in 1982
- Claiming to reduce governmental control, she took powers away from the councils, so ironically government had them instead
- Thatcher worked closely with public-relations experts, and famously clashed with the BBC over how they reported her policies
- She wanted to appear good yet would argue against anyone who disagreed with her
- She took a more presidential approach to government
- In 1990, Thatcher was effectively removed from her position by her own party
- She had introduced the Poll Tax, meaning that instead of rates being paid on a property, individuals payed the same regardless of wealth
- This was exceedingly unpopular
- Thatcher insisted on keeping the tax leading to massive demonstrations and full-scale riots
- Many conservatives doubted her judgements and clashed with her
- The foreign secretary, Geoffrey Howe, resigned over a disagreement over Britain’s relationship with Europe, and made a highly critical speech about Thatcher
- Michael Heseltine, another minister, challenged her to a leadership protest
- Thatcher defeated Heseltine, however she was not well-supported so resigned
- She had introduced the Poll Tax, meaning that instead of rates being paid on a property, individuals payed the same regardless of wealth
1997-2007 – Tony Blair
- In 1997, after many years of Conservative government, Tony Blair came to power
- He was young and dynamic he renamed the Labour Party ‘New Labour and introduced radical changes to traditional policies
- He made no attempt to reverse Thatcher’s policies
- He rejected the idea that the government should run industries
- He worked hard to win over businesses, particularly big banks
- He involved private companies in issues such as health and education
- He increased the power of the central government in education
- He introduced academy schools, run by the Department of Education rather than by local councils
- He kept many of the restrictions on trade unions
- He ordered Labour candidates to avoid the term ‘socialism’
- Like Thatcher, he took great care of his public image, making extensive use of ‘spin doctors’
- He saw himself as the manager of a large corporation rather than an elected PM
- He often announced new policies in the media before they had been discussed in parliament
- He also acted very presidential, preferring not to work with his party or parliament
- Blair was popular with the people; he won three elections, but his own MPs disliked his lead
- He appointed many of his supporters into the House of Lords
- He appointed more Lords in three years than the Conservatives in 18 years
- He made himself unpopular by involving Britain in the US-lead invasion of Iraq in 2003
- He appointed many of his supporters into the House of Lords
- In 2007, Blair was effectively forced to stand down as prime minister
1980s – Pressure Groups
- Parliament has always been influenced by pressure groups
- In the medieval period, this was barons, the Church, and some peasants
- In the early modern period, this was religious groups such as Puritans
- In the modern period, this was men and women demanding votes
- In the 1980s, opponents were encouraged by Thatcher’s confrontations to exert pressure on parliament by non-parliamentary methods
- They pressed for measures on issues including the economy, health care, international relations, the EU and the environment
- The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) began in Britain in the 1950s
- Its main aim was to remove nuclear weapons from British soil
- From 1957 to 1963, CND campaigned actively and gained much support from well-known figures
- In the 1960s, the CND declined and then resurgence in the 1980s
- This was due to Cold War tensions, realising the nuclear threat
- The UK was hosting US missiles
- Hundreds of thousands of people joined CND, from all sections of society
- There were Labour and Conservative activists, trade unionists, ex-servicemen and members of the newly emerging environmental movement
- Women and young people were involved
- In 1981, 250 000 CND supporters gathered for a rally in London
- In October 1983, CND organised what may have been the largest ever public meeting of about 300 000 people
- It set up long-term protest camps at Molesworth and Greenham Common
- The Greenham Common women’s camp was active in 1982-2000
- CND raised serious issues for parliament as it had a huge membership and posed awkward questions
- At its peak, 30% of the population were members
- They had fair arguments against nuclear armament
- CND was not attached to a political party but was supported more by Labour than Conservative
- It appealed directly to the population and had no other aims
- It did not achieve its aims, but it did raise awareness and influenced public opinion
- Throughout the 1990s, countries did limit nuclear armament, but it was not directly caused by the CND
- The National Union of Mineworkers was founded in 1945
- Since the 1920s, Conservatives were hostile towards miners
- Mine owners tried to keep wages and costs as low as possible, whilst unions tried to raise wages and improve conditions
- The government tended to side with the mine owners and in WWII, the government took control of the mines and later nationalised them, bringing them under control of the National Coal Board (NCB)
- By the 1970s, the coal industry was losing money as their mines were inefficient especially compared to overseas mines
- Thatcher appointed Neil MacGregor as head of the NCB and instructed him to close all mines that were not making money
- Miners argued that mines could improve with government investment and that mining communities would be devastated
- Arthur Scargill, the leader of the NUM, called a strike that lasted a year and resulted in many violent clashes between police and miners
- There was public sympathy for the miners, yet people agreed that the government could not support and industry that was not making money
- The government had prepared for the possibility of a strike and has stockpiled coal to keep power stations running
- There were criticisms of the miners
- There was a lot of violence, and police were injured
- Scargill was accused of trying to overthrow a democratically elected prime minister
- Scargill refused to hold a democratic ballot to see whether the majority of miners supported the strike
- Many miners refused to follow him
- The Union of Democratic Mineworkers was set up as a rival union
- Workers from other industries refused to strike in support of the miners
- There were criticisms of the government
- Thatcher wanted to make an example of them, damaging the power of unions
- Thatcher encouraged police aggression
- Many miners believed that the police acted illegally by preventing demonstrations and excessive violence
- Mining communities were devastated, causing decades of hardship and social problems
- Greenpeace was an environmental pressure group founded in Canada in 1971
- It focused on carrying high-profile direct-action protests to highlight environmental issues
- They campaigned internationally, for example against Japanese whaling policies and the dumping of toxic waste by large companies
- One of Greenpeace’s major UK aims was the British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) reprocessing plant at Sellafield
- They had a constant media campaign to publicise the plant’s waste and danger
- In 1983, four of their divers tried to block a discharge pipe, claiming it was releasing more than 10 million litres of radioactive water a day
- Greenpeace was fined £50 000 and BNFL was granted a permanent injunction against them
- BNFL was later found guilty of the discharge
- Greenpeace also challenged the government by accusing it of being in league with businesses like BNFL at the expense of the environment and health of locals
1980s-2000s – Regions of the UK
- In 1922, Northern Ireland was created as part of the United Kingdom and had its own parliament until 1972
- In 1969-96, the province faced extreme violence between Unionists and Nationalists
- About 3000 people died in these clashes and thousands more were injured
- In 1998, the UK government and Northern Irish representatives made an agreement
- It included the establishment of an Assembly to represent Northern Ireland
- The Assembly was successful in limiting conflict, but parties struggled to cooperate
- It was suspended in 2002-06
- The Northern Ireland Assembly now controls law and order, social and health, policy, environment, transport and education in the province
- In 1969-96, the province faced extreme violence between Unionists and Nationalists
- In 1980-90s, Scotland elected few Conservative MPs, so they were living under a government they did not support
- A campaign for Scottish independence developed and Blair had agreed to a referendum on devolution
- The majority of Scots were in favour and a new Scottish parliament was created
- The parliament had wide-ranging powers over health, education, transport, taxes and many other areas
- The parliament was successful but created new challenges
- The most successful party has been the Scottish National Party (SNP) which wants full independence
- A referendum in 2014 was defeated 55% to 45%, but there is still debate
- In 1997, a referendum was held in Wales and most people voted in favour of devolution
- By 2007, Wales had a fully functioning assembly in Cardiff, with control over education, health, law and order and other aspects of ordinary life
- The Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh assemblies have no control over defence, immigration, currency and many aspects of economic policy and taxation, as these powers are still held by the parliament in London
2000s – The Electorate and Coalition Government
- Disengagement of the electorate was revealed in the Hansard Society’s yearly surveys
- Around half the population would be certain to vote in a general election
- This was less than 20% for 18-24-year olds
- Less than half of people are interested in politics
- A quarter of the population say the parliamentary system works well
- 85% of voters believed parliament was essential in 2010, but only 61% did in 2015
- A third of voters think getting involved in politics makes a difference
- The public’s perception of parliamentary officials is negative
- Around half the population would be certain to vote in a general election
- Professional politicians are on the rise as until the 1980s, many MPs had careers in other areas before becoming an MP
- Since then, political parties have become much more centralised, controlling which candidates stand for which constituencies
- This means that most MPs have had no career outside of politics
- They began as party officials, often worked as researchers or assistants and then stood for MP themselves
- The European Union of which Britain has been a member of until 29 March 2019, means that aspects of British life were not controlled by parliament
- Some say this makes parliament more irrelevant
- The EU’s policy is free movement of people, which has brought large numbers of migrants
- Some argue that this boosts Britain’s economy
- Others argue that they compete with natives for jobs and benefits
- These factors have given rise to new political parties
- The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) sought Brexit and immigration restrictions
- Its support increased since 2010, reflecting people’s disillusionment with mainstream parties
- The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) sought Brexit and immigration restrictions
- The ‘hung parliament’ of the 2010 election left a coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
- This worked better than many people expected as each party was forced to compromise
- The Liberal Democrats wanted to change the electoral system so that seats in parliament would be proportional
- In 2011, this was put to a referendum but rejected, possibly because such a measure would’ve resulted in more future coalition governments
- This worked better than many people expected as each party was forced to compromise
2015 – General Election
- Most expected another coalition parliament
- UKIP was taking Conservative support and the SNP were taking Labour support
- Britain’s ‘first past the post’ electoral system means that a party can gain large numbers of votes nationally but end up with few seats because of a lack of majority within constituencies
- The Conservatives won an outright majority with 331 seats
Describe two examples of challenges to the power of parliament in the period 1979-90. [4]
Explain why there was a lot of disillusionment with politics and politicians in Britain by the early 2000s. [8]
How significant a challenge to government were pressure groups in the 1980s? [14]
‘Britain became more democratic in the period c-1485-2014.’ How far do you agree? [24]
‘For most of the period c.1485-2014, monarchs were more powerful than their subjects.’ How far do you agree? [24]
Was war the most serious problem which faced rulers in the period c.1485-2014? Explain your answer. [24]
‘In the period c.1485-2014 the balance of power shifted decisively towards the majority of the population.’ How far do you agree?