Thatcher: politics and party
develop
🌧 Wets: heath, socialism, Mps like Prior, one nation conservatives, upper class, elite
Reshuffle 1981 (purging of the wets)
Prior was employment secretary → Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Dumping
ground) As he criticised monetarism ; reflects Thatchers unwillingness to change
Sacked Ian Gilmour, Lord Soames, Mark Carlisle
Promoted thatcherites such as tebbit
Led to thatcherites being dominant in cabinet
Thatcher viewed herself as a radical in a party of moderates
Older consensus now in minority
Heseltine
Was secretary of environment and promoted to council house sales in 1980
H challenged thatcher in cabinet ab unemployment, wanted to intervene:
Enterprise Zones and Development Corporations
Resembled traditional ideas, led tto policy disagreements
He was alienated
Thatcher presidential style, unhealthy
🚁 The Westland Affair 1985: serious financial difficulty, divide on being bought by
Sikorsky which was free market but would lead to dependency on US
Thatcher: politics and party develop 1
, the outcome led to Heseltine’s resignation: shows Thatcher presidential style
The Poll Tax 1989/90
Led to widespread anger and large scale protest
All Britain Anti poll tax federation organised mass demonstration in Trafalgar Square
90- 200,000 protestors
Turned into riot due to police presence
Increaed tax bills, many refused and unable to pay, pensions jailed; South Yorkshire
police said impossible to arrest everyone, unenforceable; shows her uncompromising
style
Growing unpopularity
Interest rates 15%
Water privatisation
Party divisions about the EEC
Howe’s resignation: former chancellor and deputy, due to anti-Europe policies
Victory of john major, not wet, similar policies, least pro-European
Major
Poll tax
Short term: increased government grant to local authorities to reduce poll tax bills by
50% 91
Heseltine hired to rethink the poll tax
rejoined the link between local taxation and property value
had exemptions for circumstances
Abandoned Thatchers principal of taxpayer burden of government spending
Thatcher: politics and party develop 2