Exam (elaborations)
“Thatcher only won the 1983 election due to the success of the Falklands War”
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Full essay : “Thatcher only won the 1983 election due to the success of the Falklands War”
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“Thatcher only won the 1983 election due to the success of the Falklands War”The Falklands War played a major role in increasing Thatcher’s previously declining popularity.
However, this success only ensured that she won a major victory in the 1983 election. Without it,
it is likely that she still would have won because of the weaknesses of Labour, and the formation
and success of the SDP drawing away Labour votes.
The success of the Falklands War undeniably turned around the rapid decline of Thatcher’s
popularity. She went up 10 points in the opinion polls, and won an overwhelming victory with
42.4% of the vote. This was due to a series of reasons. Since the 1950s, with events such as the
Suez crisis, the independence of many British colonies, and a growing dependence on the USA,
Britain’s international position had seemed to be in decline. Success in the Falklands, brought
about by Thatcher’s strong style of leadership as a conviction politician, triggered a resurgence of
national pride in Britain. Triumph on the world stage gave many a sense that Britain had regained
a certain international standing. This feeling was consequently associated with Thatcher and her
nickname of the “Iron Lady” was consolidated. Her cry of ‘rejoice, rejoice’ at the news of the task
force’s victory resonated with the population at large, and she was likened to Churchill in her
ability to inspire the nation in wartime. It also served to distract from the economic problems, that
although were improving by this point, had definitely played a major role in her declining
popularity in the early 1980s. In 1982, chances of re-election looked low. Inflation still stood at
7.1%, annual GDP growth rates had fallen below 1979 rates, and employment in manufacturing
had fallen by more than one million. A successful outcome in the Falklands, followed by a boost
in national pride and a positive atmosphere within the country, drew attention away from these
problems, and towards Thatcher’s strengths, therefore leading many people to support her in the
election who otherwise may have continued to oppose her.
However, although the Falklands War did help her to regain a lot of support, without the
remarkably poor performance of Labour at this time, it is possible that the Conservatives still
wouldn’t have won the election. Although the Conservatives did win a major victory, they mainly
regained voters that they had lost in the early 1980s. In contrast, Labour’s share of the vote
declined by nearly nine per cent, meaning that the election was a Labour loss, rather than a
Conservative victory. This was due to two major reasons - the increasingly left-wing nature of the
party, and the formation of the SDP. In terms of the former, Labour’s leader, Michael Foot, was a
controversial, uninspiring leader, who was associated with communism at the time of the Second
Cold War. He had allowed the party to concede to the left-wing. Most significantly, firstly at the
1980 and 1981 party conferences, where the left forced through resolutions that gave
disproportionate power to left-wing activists during elections, and secondly, within the 1983
manifesto. The latter was dubbed by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman “the longest suicide note in
history”, and involved leaving the European Economic Community, abolishing the House of
Lords, abandoning the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent by cancelling Trident and removing
cruise missiles. This was especially damaging as it was facing a Conservative manifesto which
stressed issues such as employment, economic growth, and defence. These would have been
very popular issues to address considering the context - the main issues people found with the
Conservatives were the economic problems, and the recent victory in the Falklands would have
led many to support a strong defence budget, emphasising even further the unpopular policies
within the Labour manifesto, which limited spending on defence. The divisions in Labour caused
by the pursuit of these policies, as well as the leadership of Michael Foot, led four disenchanted
Labour MPs to break off and form their own party, the Social Democratic Party in 1981. In
alliance with the Liberals, they performed remarkably well, gaining ¼ of the vote. However, in the
end, this just helped the Conservatives to achieve victory. The SDP drew votes away from
disaffected Labour supporters, but wasn’t strong enough to win itself. This was because they
performed consistently well across the country, but didn’t achieve enough votes in certain areas.
The Tories and Labour have heartlands in certain places where they can be sure of seats. The
SDP was too young to have gained these, so all it succeeded in doing was weakening Labour
even further, and leading the Conservatives to victory.
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