Thatcher and Social policy 1979-1987

Question 1

First Term
What act was passed in relation to council housing?
describe

Answer 1

• Heseltine’s Housing Act of 1980
• promoted sale of council houses
• widespread popular backing among working people
• End of 1984, 800,000 council tenants were buying own homes

Question 2

First Term
What were the problems with the sale of council houses?

Answer 2

• Thatcher had aversion to local authority housing
• gov froze receipts councils gained from sales, thus difficult to build new council houses
• During 80s, public (council) housing completions fell to less than 10% of post war peak
• private housing sector profited whilst homelessness increased

Question 3

First Term
What were the positives and negative of the right to buy scheme?

Answer 3

• had produced 1 million new homeowners
• collapse of public housing accompanied by doubling of N. of families with children registered as homeless between 1980 and 1992

Question 4

First Term
Why was Youth Training Scheme introduced?

Answer 4

• 1981-1982 - under 25s made up 40% of unemployed
• only 50% of Britain’s school leavers were trained
• compared to 90% in Germany and 80% in France
• Over 35% of school leavers entering jobs received no training at all
• also riots

Question 5

First Term
What was the YTS?

Answer 5

-Youth training scheme
- announced at end of 1981
- all young people guaranteed paid training and employers taking on trainees got financial help

Question 6

First Term
Negatives of the YTS?

Answer 6

• Offered some improvement
• however, considerable criticism of standard of training
• some employers able to take advantage of incentives of taking on young people rather than long term (more expensive) unemployed

Question 7

First Term
What happened regarding health and the NHS?

Answer 7

• sensitive political issue
• uproar when documents leaked of 1982 proposal to end free healthcare
• Thatcher proclaimed “The National Health Service is safe with us”
• radical change = political suicide
• still underfunded

Question 8

First Term
What did Thatcher introduce in terms of education? - school

Answer 8

• Assisted Places Scheme
• introduced 1980
• allowed able children from less well off backgrounds access to means tested places at independent schools

Question 9

First Term
What did Thatcher introduce in terms of education? - universities

Answer 9

• faced with severe cuts in funding
  (other more radical changes shelved because of tory resistance)

Question 10

First Term
Describe the riots of the time

Answer 10

• 1981: riots broke out in Brixton
• pitched battles between police and black youths
• since 1950s, Brixton suffering from social deprivation + drug gangs + poor relations between police and immigrants from West Indies

Question 11

First Term
What was done as a result of the riots?
More riots?

Answer 11

• After blaze of publicity, Lord Scarman asked to investigate situation (riots seemed forgotten)
• then 1981- weekend of 4th July: riots broke out in major cities across Britain, from Liverpool to manchester, areas of london + other towns
• According to Times, Oct 1981 - ~ 4000 arrested; 2/3 under 20; less than half unemployed; 2/3 criminal records

Question 12

First Term
Why were these riots occuring?

Answer 12

• Lack of job opps - factor
• technological advances and recession had reduced demand for unskilled and semi-unskilled labour
• estimated that between 1978 + 1985 N. of semi-skilled and unskilled jobs fall by nearly 1 million

Question 13

First Term
What was the SCARMAN REPORT?

Answer 13

• condemned the rioting but drew attention to social and economic difficulties that beset inner city areas
• Reporting on Brixton riots, he spoke of despair of unemployed young blacks + sense of alienation from comunity
• especially from police whose intolerance and insensitivity deplored

Question 14

Second Term
What was introduced in terms of education? - schools

Answer 14

• Clause 28 of Local Government Act of 1987 prohibited state schools for promoting homosexuality or teaching it is acceptable

Question 15

Second Term
What happened as a result of clause 28?

Answer 15

• Campaigning for gay rights and equality intensified
• with greater participation in the annual Gay Prise March
• and in the activities and profile of pressure groups such as Stonewall, Act Up and Outrage

Question 16

Second Term
What happened in terms of Thatcher and education? - Universities?

Answer 16

• universities faced annual cuts in real funding causing severe financial difficulties
• together with pressure to apply new managerial techniques and short term profit making measures
• With loss of morale, concern with “brain drain” of academic staff to USA

Question 17

What was the consequence of Thatcher’s change to funding in universities?

Answer 17

• widening gulf between old professional order and new Thatcherite ethos
• identified with wealth producers and businessmen rather than academics and intellectuals
• 1985 Oxford Uni denied her honorary degree due to “systematic damage” she had wrought on education

Question 18

Second Term
What did Thatcher do in terms of social security?

Answer 18

• The Social Security Act of 1986
• designed to reduce “dependency culture”
• more rigorous means testing
• Family credit payments assisted those on low incomes and grants to poorest claimants replaced by loans

Question 19

Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
How did the media criticise her?

Answer 19

• Playwrights e.g David Hare and Howard Brenton produced highly charged plays attacking culture of selfishness and green caused by Thatcherism
• TV: “Boys from the Blackstuff” gave a sympathetic view of hard-pressed workers
• spitting image and private eye - kept up satirical comments

Question 20

Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
How did the CND criticise her?

Answer 20

• From 1958 most significant protest movement in Britain
• 1980s continued to be well supported
• given new lease of life by Thatcher’s determined backing for the policy of deterrence and stepping up to arms race against USSR in Cold War

Question 21

Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
Church of England

Answer 21

• Criticised jingoistic government policy over Falklands War
• Publication of church report “Faith and the City” in 1985
• showed widening rift between gov and established church
• Exacerbated by Bishop of Durham who criticised gov handling of miner’s strike

Question 22

Second Term
How did Thatcher criticise Church of England and Methodists assemblies?

Answer 22

• personally addressed them to rebuke bishops for hostile approach towards material gain
• • over involvement with issues such as poverty + urban decay and over support for black African nationalists

Question 23

Second Term
How did Thatcher criticise church of scotland?

Answer 23

• brought to book for displaying nationalist tendencies
• Thatcher felt wealth creation was essentially a Christian act + demanded support from church
• church hesitant about its role
• many seeked charity and the achievement of an equitable society as more compatible with their faith

Question 24

Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
Animal Liberation Front

Answer 24

• switched from non-violence to “ecoterrorism” from 1982
• arson attacks on pharmaceutical companies that tested drugs on animals
• letter bombs sent to public figures - inc Thatcher

Question 25

Second Term
Thatcher was very much criticised:
Who were the Greenham women?

Answer 25

• In 1979, decision taken to station American Cruise missiles at bases in Britain
• in reaction CND organised mass protests marches
• Epicentre was RAF Greenham Common in Berskshire
• Sep 1981 a group of female protesters set up camp outside Greenham Common base
• Camp became focal point for feminism + pacifism
• April 1983, when Cruise missiles due to arrive, 14 mile human chain of protest stretched from Greenham to Aldermaston
• 1984 the Newbury local council evicted woman and demolished camp - they rebuilt it