The Legacy of Thatcherism and Beyond: Blair's Third Way

1. Dysfunctions in the 1970s British Economy. The grounds for Thatcher's policies
1.1.

The failure of nationalization

nationalization was developed under the policies adopted by the Labour Party, from the
election of the Labor leader Clement Attle in the July 1945
the state took over control of the main industries in Britain (coal, steel, electricity, rail etc)
and the logic was that nationalization benefited everyone
the Labour policies were the basis for the post-war economical growth
the nationalization did not work in the long term as long as in the 70s, the British economy
suffered one of the biggest crises So the whole efficiency of nationalized industries was
running down. Why should they be efficient? They had access to the Treasury purse
(Margaret Thatcher, Thatcher Takes the Helm, Onscreen title: Britain, 1979)
the lack of free markets has developed non-profitable and non-competitive industries
the nationalized industries fell to pieces. They lost huge sums of money; they put the prices
up massively and still weren't able to make a profit
1.2.

The grounds for Thatchers policies and the Miners' strike

after decades of exploitation the coal was very deep in the earth; it was hugely expensive to
exploiting it
more than 75% of Britain's coal mines were losing money, the British coal industry became
the biggest socialist problem and eliminating it was one of Thatchers major objectives
the coal industry took government subsidies of $3 billion/year to keep mines open
180,000 miners paid by the government; nearly one million unemployed people; high
inflation with daily strikes in all the state companies
they were not profit-oriented industries, they had more expenses than revenues
the British industry had lack of modernization and new technology
decline in the worldwide coal demand, rising of the oil demand
the nationalized industries fell to pieces; They lost huge sums of money; they put the prices
up massively and still weren't able to make a profits
the first steps of Thatchers harsh policies was the increase of unemployment to almost 2
milion people and heavy costs in bankruptcies
Thatchers politics also destroyed many important companies and industries that could have
been made profitable
The shift towards a deregulated industrial relation system was encouraged
reducing government subsidies to the mines resulted with the closing of 20 coal mines, with
a loss of 20,000 jobs, and many communities in the North of England as well as Scotland
and Wales lost their primary source of employment
economic differences between northern and southern England became obvious and persisted
to the present (today, less than 3,000 work in the mines)
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2.
2.1.

Margaret Thatcher

Short biography

was born on October 13th in 1925, in Grantham, Lincolnshire

she was the daughter of a grocery retailer
her social background was lower middle class
she attended Oxford University (1947-51) to get a degree in natural sciences, specialising in
chemistry
afterwards she worked as a research chemist and began a part-time study as a lawyer
after having qualified as a lawyer she became candidate for the Conservatives and fulfilled
various political positions
she won the party leadership in 1975
she won the election in 1979 and her reign lasted until November 1990
died on April 8th in 2013 in London

2.2.

Thatcherism and Thatcher's policies

1950's and 60's were characterized by economic boom and high employment rates, as well
as social democratic collectivism
1970's brought changes due to an economic downturn accompanied by high unemployment,
vast inflation-rates, higher international competitiveness, and increasing oil-prices
these facts led to discontent among the voters, which were the reason for the shift from
Labour to Tories and the begin of Thatcher's reign in 1979
the term Thatcherism can be explained as a synthesis of two British political traditions:
neo-liberalism in economic matters and authoritarian conservatism in social policy
her central aims were free trade and low taxation, the diminishing of state influence and
union's influence on the free market, as well as the privatization of state-run businesses and
concessions on property owning
these means of accelerating the economy made an emphasis on individualism (as a shift
from social democratic collectivism) and entrepreneurship as key terms
these measures led to an economic boom at the end of the 1980's, which included a shift
from formerly manufacturing industry to a finance oriented industry, with the emerge of the
importance of London as being an international financial centre
but she had also a vast impact on social life including a very conservative attitude on various
issues and unliberal laws on homosexuality and abortion, as well as a cut on expenditure of
the cultural and social sector Thatcher the milksnatcher
her policies regarding foreign affairs were characterized by strong ties to the USA and
Ronald Reagan and a receding from the European continent
she was succeeded by John Mayor, also a Torie, who was Prime Minister until 1997
these changes of course according to Thatcher's political functioning, had a vast influence on
Labour's policies, which led to the term New Labour and the Third Way in the 1990's

3. Anthony Charles Lynton Tony Blair:

3.1.

Short biography:

Born in Edinburgh on the 6th of May in 1953

Went to St. Johns College(University of Oxford) to study law and graduated 1975
After that he joined the Labour Party in the same year
Was member of the Parliament from 1983-2007 for Sedgefield
Gained popularity and became the leader of opposition in 1994
Stayed the leader of the Labour Party from 1994-2007
In 1997 he led the Labour party to a victory in the general election (won with 418 seats)
Got selected as the youngest Prime Minister in 1997, it was the first time since 18 years, that
the Conservative party did not win.
Tony Blair remained Prime Minister until 2007
All in all he had 3 terms of office in a row
3.2.

The Third Way:

Blair disapproved of thatchers free-market capitalism and state socialism, due to the fact,
that it doesn't create equal opportunities for all classes
On the other hand socialism wouldnt allow the freedom
Blair wanted something else, inspired by sociologist Anthony Giddens, he introduced The
Third Way
The Third Way should create an economy and society that combines the individual choice of
the marketplace as well as the opportunities of the welfare state.
In the Third Way the state should create equal opportunities even for the socially
disadvantaged and create conditions to encourage entrepreneurship, as well as the creation
of wealth and innovation(state role should be widen in economy and society)
With the aim to increase the complete income (rather then to redistribute it)
Also wanted to strengthen the communities and create mutual responsibility as well as a
renewal of liberalism
Due to the worlds change, there should also be new politic as well as a new economy.
The center of the change is globalization
Individualism as the center of new labour's philosophy
Remodeled the very bases of the nation state.
3.3.

Tony Blair achievements:

During his time as Prime Minister he arranged the integration of GB into the EU
He was also very close to the Government of the US(seen critical)
raised taxes and introduced the minimum wage (5.52)
new rights for gay people and new employment rights
Arranged peace agreement between the republicans and unionists in Northern Ireland(Good
Friday agreement)
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 permanent economic growth and almost full employment

Bibliography / Works cited

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Plagrave Macmillan. 2009. Print.
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Blair and Brown. California: U of Stanford P, 2010. Print.
Letwin, Shirley Robin. The Anatomy of Thatcheriism. London: Fontana, 1992. Print.
Walker, David.The Third Way: Tony's ology for sceptics. The guardian. 22. Sept 1998. Web. 7.
May 2015.
What is the Third Way. UK Politics : BBC News. 27. Sept 1998. Web. 6. May. 2015.
Evans, Eric J. Thatcher and Thatcherism. London: Routledge, 2013. 3rd Ed.
https://books.google.de/books?
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Thatcher Takes the Helm, Onscreen title: Britain, 1979
http://mksnyder.org/globalization/TCHVideoText/tchone13-19.htm