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124-590: The enquiry was called by the Conservative government and announced on 1 April 1953 by the then Health Minister, Iain Macleod . The National Health Service (NHS) had been established in 1948 and, in its first few years, costs had risen faster than anticipated. The independent enquiry would examine the long-term issues of funding the Service. The terms of reference were to examine the present and prospective financial situation of

248-444: A Party chairman to modernise the party: Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money, and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues. With a narrow victory at the 1951 general election , despite losing the popular vote, Churchill was back in power. Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the welfare state enacted by Labour were accepted by

372-447: A 1979 Marxism Today article. However, this is not true as Tony Heath first used the term in an article he wrote that appeared in Tribune on 10 August 1973. Writing as Tribune ' s education correspondent, Heath wrote: "It will be argued that teachers are members of a profession which must not be influenced by political considerations. With the blight of Thatcherism spreading across

496-592: A characteristic of Thatcherism, Thatcher was far from consistent on the issue, only becoming truly Eurosceptic in the last years of her time as prime minister. Thatcher supported Britain's entry into the European Economic Community in 1973, campaigned for a "Yes" vote in the 1975 referendum and signed the Single European Act in 1986. Towards the end of the 1980s, Thatcher (and so Thatcherism) became increasingly vocal in its opposition to allowing

620-588: A coalition with the Liberal Democrats —the first postwar coalition government . Cameron's premiership was marked by the ongoing effects of the 2007–2008 financial crisis ; these involved a large deficit in government finances that his government sought to reduce through controversial austerity measures . In September 2014, the Unionist side, championed by Labour as well as by the Conservative Party and

744-460: A coalition government. Labour won the October 1974 election with an overall majority of three seats. Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and Margaret Thatcher deposed him in the 1975 leadership election . Thatcher led her party to victory at the 1979 general election with a manifesto which concentrated on the party's philosophy. As Prime Minister, Thatcher focused on rejecting

868-407: A concept. Society is made up of people. It is people who have duties and beliefs and resolve. It is people who get things done. [Thatcher] prefers to think in terms of the acts of individuals and families as the real sinews of society rather than of society as an abstract concept. Her approach to society reflects her fundamental belief in personal responsibility and choice. To leave things to society

992-480: A conservative social system based on traditional morality. There would still be a minimal safety net for the poor, but the major emphasis was on encouraging individual effort and thrift . Thatcherism sought to minimise the importance of welfare for the middle classes and reinvigorate Victorian bourgeois virtues. Thatcherism was family centred, unlike the extreme individualism of most neoliberal models. It had its roots in historical experiences such as Methodism and

1116-581: A dash of populism . Thatcherism attempts to promote low inflation, the small state and free markets through tight control of the money supply , privatisation and constraints on the labour movement . It is often compared with Reaganomics in the United States, economic rationalism in Australia and Rogernomics in New Zealand and as a key part of the worldwide economic liberal movement. Thatcherism

1240-672: A decreasing extent, pro-European factions within it. Historically, the party took a socially conservative approach. In defence policy, it supports an independent nuclear weapons programme and commitment to NATO membership. For much of modern British political history, the United Kingdom exhibited a wide urban–rural political divide ; the Conservative Party's voting and financial support base has historically consisted primarily of homeowners , business owners , farmers , real estate developers and middle class voters, especially in rural and suburban areas of England . Since

1364-464: A leadership challenge in 1995 by Redwood, but Redwood received 89 votes, further undermining Major's influence. The Conservative government was increasingly accused in the media of " sleaze ". Their support reached its lowest ebb in late 1994. Over the next two years the Conservatives gained some credit for the strong economic recovery and fall in unemployment. But an effective opposition campaign by

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1488-759: A massive Liberal victory. Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith enacted a great deal of reform legislation, but the Unionists worked hard at grassroots organizing. Two general elections were held in 1910, in January and in December . The two main parties were now almost dead equal in seats, but the Liberals kept control with a coalition with the Irish Parliamentary Party . In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with

1612-570: A memorandum published by Cambridge University Press : "The Cost of the National Health Service in England and Wales" by Brian Abel-Smith and Richard Titmuss . The published report found no extravagance or inefficiency beyond the inevitable imperfections of any organisation. It recommended no structural changes to the National Health Service. It found that the cost of the Service was not escalating as rapidly as had been feared, once inflation

1736-657: A minority Labour government took office. In 1931, following the collapse of the Labour minority government, it entered another coalition, which was dominated by the Conservatives with some support from factions of both the Liberal Party and the Labour Party ( National Labour and National Liberals ). In May 1940 a more balanced coalition was formed —the National Government —which, under the leadership of Winston Churchill , saw

1860-507: A net gain of one seat for the Conservative Party and returned a mostly unscathed Labour Party back to government. This all occurred months after the fuel protests of September 2000 had seen the Conservatives briefly take a narrow lead over Labour in the opinion polls. In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader of the party. Although Duncan Smith was a strong Eurosceptic , during his tenure, Europe ceased to be an issue of division in

1984-464: A nineteenth-century Liberal". As Ellen Meiksins Wood has argued, Thatcherite capitalism was compatible with traditional British political institutions. As prime minister, Thatcher did not challenge ancient institutions such as the monarchy or the House of Lords , but some of the most recent additions, such as the trade unions. Indeed, many leading Thatcherites, including Thatcher herself, went on to join

2108-466: A particular set of principles and also by some of her friends who had little sympathy for what he called "the English political tradition" because it facilitated "compromise and consensus". Utley argued that a free and competitive economy, rather than being an innovation of Thatcherism, was one "more or less permanent ingredient in modern Conservative philosophy": It was on that principle that Churchill fought

2232-569: A political platform emphasising free markets with restrained government spending and tax cuts that gets coupled with British nationalism both at home and abroad. Thatcher herself rarely used the word "Thatcherism". However, she gave a speech in Solihull during her campaign for the 1987 general election and included in a discussion of the economic successes the remark: "that's what I call Thatcherism". The Daily Telegraph stated in April 2008 that

2356-429: A sizable discount. The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped. Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories in 1983 and 1987 . She was deeply unpopular in certain sections of society due to high unemployment and her response to the miners' strike . Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's monetarist battle against inflation. At

2480-452: A sound start in life—yes, cheated. The law was opposed by many gay rights advocates such as Stonewall and OutRage! . Tony Blair's Labour government repealed it in 2000 (in Scotland) and 2003. Conservative prime minister David Cameron later issued an official apology for previous Conservative policies on homosexuality, specifically the introduction of the controversial Section 28 laws from

2604-471: A systematic, decisive rejection and reversal of the post-war consensus inside Great Britain in terms of governance, whereby the major political parties largely agreed on the central themes of Keynesianism , the welfare state , nationalised industry , and close regulation of the British economy before Thatcher's rise to prominence. Under her administration, there was one major exception to Thatcherite changes:

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2728-401: A table while saying "this is what we believe". In contrast to previous government policy, monetarism placed a priority on controlling inflation over controlling unemployment. According to monetarist theory, inflation is the result of there being too much money in the economy. It was claimed that the government should seek to control the money supply to control inflation. By 1979, it was not only

2852-614: Is all too similar to Reaganism : free-market rhetoric masking statist content". Stuart McAnulla said that Thatcherism is actually liberal conservatism , a combination of liberal economics and a strong state. Another important aspect of Thatcherism is the style of governance. Britain in the 1970s was often referred to as "ungovernable". Thatcher attempted to redress this by centralising a great deal of power to herself as prime minister, often bypassing traditional cabinet structures (such as cabinet committees). This personal approach also became identified with personal toughness at times, such as

2976-621: Is associated with libertarianism within the Conservative Party, albeit one of libertarian ends achieved by using strong leadership. British political commentator Andrew Marr has called libertarianism the "dominant, if unofficial, characteristic of Thatcherism". Whereas some of her heirs, notably Michael Portillo and Alan Duncan , embraced this libertarianism, others in the Thatcherite movement such as John Redwood sought to become more populist . Some commentators have argued that Thatcherism should not be considered properly libertarian. Noting

3100-608: Is the reason why in Great Britain in the mid 1980s the members of the top decile possessed more than a half of all the wealth. To justify this by means of economic "objectivities" would be an ideology. What is at play here are interests and power. The Conservative historian of Peterhouse , Maurice Cowling , also questioned the uniqueness of "Thatcherism". Cowling claimed that Thatcher used "radical variations on that patriotic conjunction of freedom, authority, inequality, individualism and average decency and respectability, which had been

3224-490: Is thus often compared to classical liberalism . Milton Friedman said that "Margaret Thatcher is not in terms of belief a Tory. She is a nineteenth-century Liberal ". Thatcher herself stated during a speech in 1983: "I would not mind betting that if Mr Gladstone were alive today he would apply to join the Conservative Party". In the 1996 Keith Joseph memorial lecture, Thatcher argued: "The kind of Conservatism which he and I [...] favoured would be best described as 'liberal', in

3348-495: Is to run away from the real decisions, practical responsibility and effective action. Thatcherism is associated with a conservative stance on morality . Sutcliffe-Braithwaite (2012) argues that Thatcherism married conservatism with free-market economics . Thatcherism did not propose dramatic new panaceas such as Milton Friedman's negative income tax . Instead, the goal was to create a rational tax-benefit economic system that would increase British efficiency while supporting

3472-432: The 2005 general election , the Conservative Party increased their total vote share and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats, reducing Labour's majority. The day following the election, Howard resigned. David Cameron won the 2005 leadership election . He then announced his intention to reform and realign the Conservatives. For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for

3596-650: The 2024 general election , it is currently the second largest political party by the number of votes cast and number of seats in the House of Commons , followed by the Liberal Democrats . As the second largest party, it has the formal parliamentary role of the Official Opposition . The party sits on the right-wing to centre-right of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives , Thatcherites , and traditionalist conservatives . There have been twenty Conservative prime ministers . The party traditionally holds

3720-735: The Clement Attlee government's post-war reforms, there was continuous right-wing opposition in the lower ranks of the party, in right-wing pressure groups like the Middle Class Alliance and the People's League for the Defence of Freedom and later in think tanks like the Centre for Policy Studies . For example, in the 1945 general election , the Conservative Party chairman Ralph Assheton had wanted 12,000 abridged copies of The Road to Serfdom (a book by

3844-571: The Community Charge (known by its opponents as the poll tax ) in 1989 is often cited as contributing to her political downfall. Internal party tensions led to a leadership challenge by the Conservative MP Michael Heseltine and she resigned on 28 November 1990. John Major won the party leadership election on 27 November 1990, and his appointment led to an almost immediate boost in Conservative Party fortunes. The election

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3968-514: The European Community to supersede British sovereignty. In a famous 1988 Bruges speech, Thatcher declared: "We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them reimposed at a European level, with a European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels". It is often claimed that the word Thatcherism was coined by cultural theorist Stuart Hall in

4092-613: The Falklands War in 1982, the IRA bomb at the Conservative conference in 1984 and the miners' strike in 1984–85. Sir Charles Powell , the foreign affairs private secretary to the Prime Minister (1984–1991 and 1996), described her style as such: "I've always thought there was something Leninist about Mrs Thatcher which came through in the style of government: the absolute determination,

4216-798: The House of Commons on 3 September 2019. Later that same day, 21 Conservative MPs had the Conservative whip withdrawn after voting with the Opposition to grant the House of Commons control over its order paper. Johnson would later halt the Withdrawal Agreement Bill , calling for a general election. The 2019 general election resulted in the Conservatives winning a majority, the Party's largest since 1987 . The party won several constituencies, particularly in formerly traditional Labour seats . On 20 December 2019, MPs passed an agreement for withdrawing from

4340-580: The Liberal Unionist Party merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party. Rivalry with the Labour Party has shaped modern British politics for the last century. David Cameron sought to modernise the Conservatives after his election as leader in 2005, and the party governed from 2010 to 2024 under five prime ministers, latterly Rishi Sunak . The party has generally adopted liberal economic policies favouring free markets since

4464-625: The National Health Service (NHS), which was widely popular with the British public. In 1982, Thatcher promised that the NHS was "safe in our hands". The exact terms of what makes up Thatcherism and its specific legacy in British history over the past decades are controversial. Ideologically, Thatcherism has been described by Nigel Lawson , Thatcher's Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989, as

4588-532: The Tory Party , which it soon replaced. Other historians point to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party , that coalesced around William Pitt the Younger in the 1780s. They were known as "Independent Whigs", " Friends of Mr Pitt ", or "Pittites" and never used terms such as "Tory" or "Conservative". From about 1812, the name "Tory" was commonly used for a new party that, according to historian Robert Blake, "are

4712-454: The cost of living crisis , including price caps on energy bills and government help to pay them. Truss's mini-budget on 23 September faced severe criticism and markets reacted poorly; the pound fell to a record low of 1.03 against the dollar, and UK government gilt yields rose to 4.3 per cent, prompting the Bank of England to trigger an emergency bond-buying programme. After condemnation from

4836-462: The public sector borrowing requirement is held down by the ruse of subtracting the proceeds of privatisation as well as taxes from government expenditure. The principles of monetarism have been abandoned". Thatcherism is also associated with supply-side economics . Whereas Keynesian economics holds that the government should stimulate economic growth by increasing demand through increased credit and public spending, supply-side economists argue that

4960-471: The 1945 election, having just read Hayek's Road to Serfdom . [...] What brought the Tories to 13 years of political supremacy in 1951 was the slogan 'Set the people free'. [...] There is absolutely nothing new about the doctrinal front that she presents on these matters. [...] As for 'privatisation', Mr. Powell proposed it in [...] 1968. As for 'property-owning democracy', I believe it was Anthony Eden who coined

5084-428: The 1950s and early 1960s. The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Eden, but his successor, Macmillan, minimised the damage and focused attention on domestic issues and prosperity. Following controversy over the selections of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home via a process of consultation known as the 'Magic Circle', a formal election process was created and the first leadership election

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5208-607: The 1980s during her time as prime minister, the Thatcher government enacted Section 28 , a law that opposed the "intentional promotion" of homosexuality by local authorities and "promotion" of the teaching of "the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship" in schools. In her 1987 speech to the Conservative Party conference, Thatcher stated: Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay ... All of those children are being cheated of

5332-516: The 1980s, although historically it advocated for protectionism . The party is British unionist , opposing a united Ireland as well as Scottish and Welsh independence , and has been critical of devolution . Historically, the party supported the continuance and maintenance of the British Empire . The party has taken various approaches towards the European Union (EU), with eurosceptic and, to

5456-556: The 1980s, viewing past ideological views as "a mistake" with his ideological direction . Regarding feminism Thatcher said "The feminists hate me, don't they? And I don't blame them. For I hate feminism. It is poison" and "I owe nothing to Women's lib ". In May 1988, Thatcher gave an address to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . In the speech, Thatcher offered a theological justification for her ideas on capitalism and

5580-468: The Conservative Party , including allegations against its policies, fringes, and structure, was often in the public eye. These include allegations against senior politicians such as Boris Johnson , Michael Gove , Theresa May , and Zac Goldsmith . During the period of the Cameron and Johnson governments, a number of Conservative MPs have been accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, with cases including

5704-499: The Conservative Party held a dinner in London Hilton to honour the anniversary. During the dinner, several speeches were given. To Thatcher's astonishment, the Conservatives had decided that it was time to shelve the economic policies of the 1980s. The Conservative Party leader at the time, William Hague , said that the party had learnt its lesson from the 1980s and called it a "great mistake to think that all Conservatives have to offer

5828-590: The Conservative Party's theme since at least 1886". Cowling further contended that the "Conservative Party under Mrs Thatcher has used a radical rhetoric to give intellectual respectability to what the Conservative Party has always wanted". Historians Emily Robinson, Camilla Schofield, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite and Natalie Thomlinson have argued that by the 1970s, Britons were keen on defining and claiming their individual rights, identities and perspectives. They demanded greater personal autonomy and self-determination and less outside control. They angrily complained that

5952-614: The Conservative Party. In Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged Unionists who were opposed to Irish Home Rule into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, essentially forming the Irish wing of the party until 1922. In Britain, the Conservative party was known as the Unionist Party because of its opposition to home rule. Under Bonar Law 's leadership in 1911–1914,

6076-456: The Conservatives amidst the crisis. Thatcherism Defunct [REDACTED] Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and style of management while in office. Proponents of Thatcherism are referred to as Thatcherites . The term has been used to describe

6200-537: The Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as Butskellism and that lasted until the 1970s. The Conservatives were conciliatory towards unions, but they did privatise the steel and road haulage industries in 1953. During the Conservatives' thirteen-year tenure in office, pensions went up by 49% in real terms, sickness and unemployment benefits by 76% in real terms, and supplementary benefits by 46% in real terms. However, family allowances fell by 15% in real terms. "Thirteen Wasted Years"

6324-403: The Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914 but the war pulled the party together, allowing it to emphasise patriotism as it found new leadership and worked out its positions on the Irish question, socialism, electoral reform, and the issue of intervention in the economy. The fresh emphasis on anti-Socialism was its response to the growing strength of the Labour Party. When electoral reform

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6448-738: The Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. The Conservatives gained control of the London mayoralty for the first time in 2008 after Boris Johnson defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone . In May 2010 the Conservative Party came to government, first under a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and later as a series of majority and minority governments. During this period there were five Conservative Prime Ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. The initial period of this time, primarily under

6572-491: The ERM, a day thereafter referred to as Black Wednesday . Soon after, approximately one million householders faced repossession of their homes during a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, taking it close to 3 million people. The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship. The end of the recession was declared in April 1993. From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail . The party

6696-512: The EU referendum in 2016, the Conservatives targeted working class voters from traditional Labour strongholds. The Conservatives' domination of British politics throughout the 20th century made it one of the most successful political parties in the Western world . The most recent period of Conservative government was marked by extraordinary political turmoil. Some writers trace the party's origins to

6820-429: The EU referendum vote, and through the premierships of May, Boris Johnson, and their successors, the party shifted right on the political spectrum. In July 2019 Boris Johnson became Leader of the party. He became Prime Minister the next day. Johnson had made withdrawal from the EU by 31 October "with no ifs, buts or maybes" a key pledge during his campaign for party leadership . Johnson lost his working majority in

6944-491: The EU. On 24 June 2016, Cameron announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister, after he failed to convince the British public to stay in the European Union . On 11 July 2016, Theresa May became the leader of the Conservative Party. May promised social reform and a more centrist political outlook for the Conservative Party and its government. May's early cabinet appointments were interpreted as an effort to reunite

7068-821: The EU; the United Kingdom formally left on 31 January 2020. Johnson presided over the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic . From late 2021 onwards, Johnson received huge public backlash for the Partygate scandal, in which staff and senior members of government were pictured holding gatherings during lockdown contrary to Government guidance. The Metropolitan Police eventually fined Johnson for breaking lockdown rules in April 2022. In July 2022, Johnson admitted to appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip while being aware of allegations of sexual assault against him. This, along with Partygate and increasing criticisms on Johnson's handling of

7192-409: The House of Lords, an honour which William Ewart Gladstone , for instance, had declined. Thinkers closely associated with Thatcherism include Keith Joseph , Enoch Powell , Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. In an interview with Simon Heffer in 1996, Thatcher stated that the two greatest influences on her as Conservative leader had been Joseph and Powell, who were both "very great men". Thatcher

7316-427: The Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives in 1997 , their worst defeat since the 1906 general election . The 1997 election left the Conservative Party as an England-only party, with all Scottish and Welsh seats having been lost, and not a single new seat having been gained anywhere. Major resigned as party leader and was succeeded by William Hague . The 2001 general election resulted in

7440-424: The Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, initiated Labour's rightward shift across the political spectrum by largely concurring with the economic policies of the Thatcher government. The New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were described as "neo-Thatcherite" by some on the left since many of their economic policies mimicked those of Thatcher. In 1999, twenty years after Thatcher had come to power,

7564-476: The Liberal Democrats, won in the Scottish Independence referendum by 55% No to 45% Yes on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country". At the 2015 general election , the Conservatives formed a majority government under Cameron. After speculation of a referendum on the UK's EU membership throughout his premiership, a vote was announced for June 2016 in which Cameron campaigned to remain in

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7688-470: The Maxwell Fyfe Report (1948–49). The report required the party to do more fundraising, by forbidding constituency associations from demanding large donations from candidates, with the intention of broadening the diversity of MPs. In practice, it may have had the effect of lending more power to constituency parties and making candidates more uniform. Winston Churchill , the party leader, brought in

7812-413: The NHS, to recommend structural changes that would improve efficiency, and to advise and recommend how the Service could maintain quality without escalating expense. Guillebaud had been Macleod's tutor at Cambridge. In addition to Guillebaud, the committee included: The Committee was appointed by Macleod and James Stuart , Secretary of State for Scotland . For statistical background, the committee used

7936-631: The NHS. Instead they argued that the "acceptable" level of performance would rise indefinitely: "The advance of medical science continually places new demands on the Service, and the standards expected by the public also continue to rise." On its publication in 1956, Minister for Health Robin Turton told Parliament that the Government "broadly accepted" the conclusions of the Enquiry. An editorial in The Times said

8060-474: The Party morale improved, the "radical right" wing was contained, and the party machinery strengthened. It made some progress toward developing constructive social policies. While the Liberals were mostly against the war until the invasion of Belgium, Conservative leaders were strongly in favour of aiding France and stopping Germany. The Liberal party was in full control of the government until its mismanagement of

8184-605: The Thatcherites arguing for stricter inflation control. The Labour Chancellor Denis Healey had already adopted some monetarist policies, such as reducing public spending and selling off the government's shares in BP . Moreover, it has been argued that the Thatcherites were not strictly monetarist. A common theme centres on the Medium Term Financial Strategy, issued in the 1980 budget, which consisted of targets for reducing

8308-543: The United Kingdom through the Second World War. However, the party lost the 1945 general election in a landslide to the resurgent Labour Party. The concept of the "property-owning democracy" was coined by Noel Skelton in 1923 and became a core principle of the party. While serving in Opposition during the late 1940s, the Conservative Party exploited and incited growing public anger at food rationing , scarcity, controls, austerity , and government bureaucracy. It used

8432-614: The ancestors of Conservatism". Blake adds that Pitt's successors after 1812 "were not in any sense standard-bearers of 'true Toryism'". The term Tory was an insult that entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–1681, which derived from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe (modern Irish : tóraí ) meaning outlaw or robber , which in turn derived from the Irish word tóir , meaning pursuit , since outlaws were "pursued men". The term " Conservative "

8556-522: The annual Conservative Party Conference during party conference season , at which senior Conservative figures promote party policy. The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party . Under Benjamin Disraeli , it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of the British Empire . In 1912,

8680-443: The anti-socialist economist Friedrich Hayek later closely associated with Thatcherism), taking up one-and-a-half tons of the party's paper ration, distributed as election propaganda. The historian Christopher Cooper traced the formation of the monetarist economics at the heart of Thatcherism back to the resignation of the Conservative chancellor of the Exchequer, Peter Thorneycroft , in 1958. As early as 1950, Thatcher accepted

8804-418: The belief that there's a vanguard which is right and if you keep that small, tightly knit team together, they will drive things through ... there's no doubt that in the 1980s, No. 10 could beat the bushes of Whitehall pretty violently. They could go out and really confront people, lay down the law, bully a bit". By 1987, after Thatcher's successful third re-election, criticism of Thatcherism increased. At

8928-400: The charges for spectacles as soon as resources allowed. The committee were divided about prescription charges that the Government had introduced in 1952. The report said that they "hindered the proper use of the Service by at least the great majority of its potential users" but still recommended that they be kept. The committee rejected the idea that there was a natural limit to the demand on

9052-485: The consensus of the day about the welfare state, claiming the credit belonged to the Conservatives in a speech to the Conservative Association annual general meeting. Biographer Charles Moore states: Neither at the beginning of her career nor when she was prime minister, did Margaret Thatcher ever reject the wartime foundations of the welfare state, whether in health, social policy or education. In this she

9176-400: The consumption of pornography in parliament, rape, groping, and sexual harassment. In 2017, a list of 36 sitting Conservative MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour was leaked. The list is believed to have been compiled by party staff. Following accusations of multiple cases of rape against an unnamed Tory MP in 2023 and allegations of a cover-up, Baroness Warsi , who has served as

9300-408: The cost-of-living crisis, provoked a government crisis following a loss in confidence and nearly 60 resignations from government officials, eventually leading to Johnson announcing his resignation on 7 July. Boris Johnson's successor as leader was confirmed as Liz Truss on 5 September, following a leadership election . In a strategy labelled Trussonomics she introduced policies in response to

9424-449: The dissatisfaction with the socialist and egalitarian policies of the Labour Party to rally middle-class supporters and build a political comeback that won them the 1951 general election . In 1947, the party published its Industrial Charter which marked its acceptance of the " post-war consensus " on the mixed economy and labour rights . David Maxwell Fyfe chaired a committee into Conservative Party organisation that resulted in

9548-659: The end of 1990. While credited with reviving Britain's economy, Thatcher also was blamed for spurring a doubling of the relative poverty rate. Britain's childhood-poverty rate in 1997 was the highest in Europe. When she resigned in 1990, 28% of the children in Great Britain were considered to be below the poverty line , a number that kept rising to reach a peak of nearly 30% during the government of Thatcher's successor, John Major . During her government, Britain's Gini coefficient reflected this growing difference, going from 0.25 in 1979 to 0.34 in 1990, at about which value it remained for

9672-467: The establishment was withholding it. They argue that this shift in concerns had helped cause Thatcherism and was incorporated into its appeal. Critics of Thatcherism claim that its successes were obtained only at the expense of great social costs to the British population. There were nearly 3.3 million unemployed in Britain in 1984, compared to 1.5 million when she first came to power in 1979, though that figure had reverted to 1.6 million by

9796-543: The fear of the too-powerful state that had troubled Hayek. Norman Tebbit , a close ally of Thatcher, laid out in a 1985 lecture what he thought to be the permissive society that conservatives should oppose: Bad art was as good as good art. Grammar and spelling were no longer important. To be clean was no better than to be filthy. Good manners were no better than bad. Family life was derided as an outdated bourgeois concept. Criminals deserved as much sympathy as their victims. Many homes and classrooms became disorderly; if there

9920-439: The functioning of the free economy". Several commentators have traced the origins of Thatcherism in post-war British politics. The historian Ewen Green claimed there was resentment of the inflation, taxation and the constraints imposed by the labour movement, which was associated with the so-called Buttskellite consensus in the decades before Thatcher came to prominence. Although the Conservative leadership accommodated itself to

10044-530: The government should instead intervene only to create a free market by lowering taxes, privatising state industries and increasing restraints on trade unionism. Reduction in the power of the trades unions was made gradually, unlike the approach of the Edward Heath government, and the most significant single confrontation with the unions was the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) strike of 1984–1985, in which

10168-502: The growth of the money supply in the following years. After overshooting many of these targets, the Thatcher government revised the targets upwards in 1982. Analysts have interpreted this as an admission of defeat in the battle to control the money supply. The economist C. F. Pratten claimed that "since 1984, behind a veil of rhetoric, the government has lost any faith it had in technical monetarism. The money supply, as measured by M3 , has been allowed to grow erratically, while calculation of

10292-569: The hospital consultants during the founding of the NHS. The comment is often quoted as "I stuffed their mouths with gold". Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party , commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories , is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom , along with the Labour Party . Following defeat by Labour in

10416-469: The industrial and economic reforms of the Thatcher period" and as well that "much of what she wanted to do in the 1980s was inevitable, a consequence not of ideology but of social and economic change." [A] mixture of free markets , financial discipline , firm control over public expenditure , tax cuts , nationalism , " Victorian values " (of the Samuel Smiles self-help variety ), privatisation and

10540-468: The land that is a luxury that only the complacent can afford". Although the term had been widely used before then, not all social critics have accepted the term as valid, with the High Tory journalist T. E. Utley believing "There is no such thing as Thatcherism". Utley contended that the term was a creation of Thatcher's enemies who wished to damage her by claiming that she had an inflexible devotion to

10664-471: The late 1940s but was too great a challenge to the post-war consensus to win Conservative endorsement. Thatcher favoured the idea because it would lead to a "property-owning democracy", an important idea that had emerged in the 1920s. Some local Conservative-run councils enacted profitable local sales schemes during the late 1960s. By the 1970s, many working-class people could afford to buy homes, and eagerly adopted Thatcher's invitation to purchase their homes at

10788-491: The market economy. She said, "Christianity is about spiritual redemption, not social reform", and she quoted St. Paul by saying, "If a man will not work he shall not eat". Choice played a significant part in Thatcherite reforms, and Thatcher said that choice was also Christian, stating that Jesus Christ chose to lay down his life and that all individuals have the God-given right to choose between good and evil . Whilst Thatcher

10912-643: The mild liberalism of the post-war consensus that tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong labour unions, heavy regulation, and high taxes. She did not challenge the National Health Service , and supported the Cold War policies of the consensus, but otherwise tried to dismantle and delegitimise it. She built a right-wing political ideology that became known as Thatcherism , based on social and economic ideas from British and American intellectuals such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman . Thatcher believed that too much socially democratic-oriented government policy

11036-468: The miners' union was eventually defeated. Evidence shows that the Conservative Party and the NUM anticipated this confrontation with the trade unions. The outcome contributed to the resurgence of the power of capital over labour . All too often the ills of this country are passed off as those of society. Similarly, when action is required, society is called upon to act. But society as such does not exist except as

11160-527: The next 20 years, under both Conservative and Labour governments. The extent to which one can say Thatcherism has a continuing influence on British political and economic life is unclear. It could be said that a "post-Thatcherite consensus" exists in modern British political culture, especially regarding monetary policy. In the 1980s, the now defunct Social Democratic Party adhered to a "tough and tender" approach in which Thatcherite reforms were coupled with additional welfare provisions. Neil Kinnock , leader of

11284-442: The old-fashioned sense. And I mean the liberalism of Mr Gladstone, not of the latter day collectivists ". Thatcher once told Friedrich Hayek : "I know you want me to become a Whig; no, I am a Tory". Hayek believed "she has felt this very clearly". The relationship between Thatcherism and liberalism is complicated. Thatcher's former defence secretary John Nott claimed that "it is a complete misreading of her beliefs to depict her as

11408-514: The opposition inside the Unionist/Conservative Party. Nevertheless, Balfour, as party leader, introduced protectionist legislation. Churchill crossed the floor and formally joined the Liberal Party (he rejoined the Conservatives in 1925). In December, Balfour lost control of his party, as the defections multiplied. He was replaced by Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman who called an election in January 1906 , which produced

11532-474: The party as it united behind calls for a referendum on the proposed European Union Constitution . However, before he could lead the party into a general election, Duncan Smith lost the vote on a motion of no confidence by MPs. This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership. Michael Howard then stood for the leadership unopposed on 6 November 2003. Under Howard's leadership in

11656-399: The party conference that her third term was to be about 'social affairs'. During her last three years in power, she attempted to reform socialised welfare, differing from her earlier stated goal of "rolling back the state". Thatcherism is associated with the economic theory of monetarism , notably put forward by Friedrich Hayek 's The Constitution of Liberty which Thatcher had banged on

11780-421: The party formed an alliance with Spencer Cavendish and Joseph Chamberlain 's new Liberal Unionist Party and, under the statesmen Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and Arthur Balfour , held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in 1906 when it split over the issue of free trade . Young Winston Churchill denounced Chamberlain's attack on free trade, and helped organise

11904-586: The party in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union . She began the process of withdrawing the UK from the European Union in March 2017. In April 2017, the Cabinet agreed to hold a general election on 8 June. In a shock result, the election resulted in a hung parliament , with the Conservative Party needing a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP to support a minority government. May's Premiership

12028-427: The party's co-chairman under David Cameron, stated that the Conservative Party has had a problem handling complaints of sexual misconducts against members appropriately. The 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament with the Conservatives having the most seats but short of an overall majority. Following the resignation of Gordon Brown , Cameron was named Prime Minister, and the Conservatives entered government in

12152-589: The party. Heath had come to power in June 1970 and the last possible date for the next general election was not until mid-1975. However a general election was held in February 1974 in a bid to win public support during a national emergency caused by the miners' strike. Heath's attempt to win a second term at this "snap" election failed, as a deadlock result left no party with an overall majority . Heath resigned within days, after failing to gain Liberal Party support to form

12276-426: The phrase. In foreign policy, Utley claimed Thatcher's desire to restore British greatness did not mean "primarily a power devoted to the preservation of its own interests" but that she belonged "to that militant Whig branch of English Conservatism...her view of foreign policy has a high moral content". In practical terms, he claimed this expressed itself in her preoccupation with "the freedom of Afghanistan rather than

12400-454: The premiership of David Cameron, was marked by the ongoing effects of the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the implementation of austerity measures in response. From 2015 the predominant political event was the Brexit referendum and the process to implement the decision to leave the trade bloc. The Conservatives' time in office was marked by several controversies. The presence of Islamophobia in

12524-476: The principles of the British government under Thatcher from the 1979 general election to her resignation in 1990 . In international terms, Thatcherites have been described as a part of the general socio-economic movement known as neoliberalism , with different countries besides the United Kingdom (such as the United States) sharing similar policies around expansionary capitalism . Thatcherism represents

12648-598: The programme of the next non-Conservative government, with Tony Blair 's " New Labour " organisation governing the nation throughout the 1990s and 2000s, basically accepted the central reform measures of Thatcherism such as deregulation , privatisation of key national industries, maintaining a flexible labour market , marginalising the trade unions and centralising power from local authorities to central government. While Blair distanced himself from certain aspects of Thatcherism earlier in his career, in his 2010 autobiography A Journey , he argued both that "Britain needed

12772-444: The public, the Labour Party and her own party, Truss reversed some aspects of the mini-budget, including the abolition of the top rate of income tax. Following a government crisis Truss announced her resignation as prime minister on 20 October after 44 days in office, the shortest premiership in British history. Truss also oversaw the worst polling the Conservatives had ever received, with Labour polling as high as 36 per cent above

12896-454: The recovering British economy, saw the Conservatives returning quickly to the top of the opinion polls and winning the 1983 general election with a landslide majority, due to a split opposition vote. By the time of the general election in June 1987, the economy was stronger, with lower inflation and falling unemployment and Thatcher secured her third successive electoral victory. The introduction of

13020-498: The report might superficially seem to be "a bluebook full of hogwash" but that in fact the committee had "argued their case with considerable thoroughness." It was at a dinner to celebrate the publication of the report that Aneurin Bevan (who as Minister of Health had introduced the NHS) remarked to Julian Tudor Hart that "ultimately I had to stuff their mouths with gold" about his handling of

13144-437: The security of Ulster". Such leftist critics as Anthony Giddens claim that Thatcherism was purely an ideology and argue that her policies marked a change which was dictated more by political interests than economic reasons: Rather than by any specific logic of capitalism, the reversal was brought about by voluntary reductions in social expenditures, higher taxes on low incomes and the lowering of taxes on higher incomes. This

13268-458: The tendency towards strong central government in matters concerning the trade unions and local authorities, Andrew Gamble summarised Thatcherism as "the free economy and the strong state". Simon Jenkins accused the Thatcher government of carrying out a nationalisation of Britain. Libertarian political theorist Murray Rothbard did not consider Thatcherism to be libertarian and heavily criticised Thatcher and Thatcherism, stating that "Thatcherism

13392-437: The time of the 1979 general election , inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983. The period of unpopularity of the Conservatives in the early 1980s coincided with a crisis in the Labour Party, which then formed the main opposition. Victory in the Falklands War in June 1982, along with

13516-495: The time, Thatcher claimed it was necessary to tackle the "culture of dependency" by government intervention to stop socialised welfare. In 1988, she caused controversy when she made the remarks, "You do not blame society. Society is not anyone. You are personally responsible" and, "Don't blame society – that's no one." These comments attracted significant criticism, including from other conservatives due to their belief in individual and collective responsibility. In 1988, Thatcher told

13640-525: The war effort under the Shell Crisis badly hurt its reputation. An all-party coalition government was formed in May 1915. In late 1916 Liberal David Lloyd George became prime minister but the Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their landslide in the 1918 election . The Liberal party never recovered, but Labour gained strength after 1920. Nigel Keohane finds that

13764-523: Was a popular slogan attacking the Conservative record, primarily from Labour. In addition, there were attacks by the right wing of the Conservative Party itself for its tolerance of socialist policies and reluctance to curb the legal powers of labour unions. The Conservatives were re-elected in 1955 and 1959 with larger majorities. Conservative Prime Ministers Churchill, Anthony Eden , Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout

13888-498: Was a strong critic of communism , Marxism and socialism . Biographer John Campbell reports that in July 1978, when asked by a Labour MP in Commons what she meant by socialism, "she was at a loss to reply. What in fact she meant was Government support for inefficient industries, punitive taxation, regulation of the labour market, price controls – everything that interfered with

14012-416: Was an issue, it worked to protect their base in rural England. It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes. In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led the breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power. The Conservatives regained power in 1924 but were defeated in 1929 as

14136-462: Was dominated by Brexit as she carried out negotiations with the European Union, adhering to the Chequers Plan , which resulted in her draft Brexit withdrawal agreement . May survived two votes of no confidence in December 2018 and January 2019, but after versions of her draft withdrawal agreement were rejected by Parliament three times , May announced her resignation on 24 May 2019. Subsequent to

14260-517: Was held in 1965, won by Edward Heath. Edward Heath 's 1970–74 government was known for taking the UK into the EEC , although the right-wing of the party objected to his failure to control the trade unions at a time when a declining British industry saw many strikes, as well as the 1973–75 recession . Since accession to the EEC, which developed into the EU, British membership has been a source of heated debate within

14384-475: Was held on 9 April 1992 and the Conservatives won a fourth successive electoral victory, contrary to predictions from opinion polls. The Conservatives became the first party to attract 14 million votes in a general election. On 16 September 1992, the Government suspended Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after the pound fell lower than its minimum level in

14508-475: Was leading to a long-term decline in the British economy. As a result, her government pursued a programme of economic liberalism , adopting a free-market approach to public services based on the sale of publicly owned industries and utilities, as well as a reduction in trade union power. One of Thatcher's largest and most successful policies assisted council house tenants in public housing to purchase their homes at favourable rates. The "Right to Buy" had emerged in

14632-464: Was less radical than her critics or some of her admirers supposed. Her concern was to focus more on abuse of the system, on bureaucracy and union militancy, and on the growth of what later came to be called the dependency culture, rather than on the system itself. Historian Richard Vinen is sceptical about there being Thatcherism before Thatcher. Thatcher saw herself as creating a libertarian movement, rejecting traditional Toryism . Thatcherism

14756-422: Was neither right nor wrong there could be no basis for punishment or reward. Violence and soft pornography became accepted in the media. Thus was sown the wind; and we are now reaping the whirlwind. Despite her association with social conservatism , Thatcher voted in 1966 to legalise homosexuality, one of the few Conservative MPs to do so. That same year, she also voted in support of legal abortion. However, in

14880-506: Was plagued by internal division and infighting, mainly over the UK's role in the European Union . The party's Eurosceptic wing, represented by MPs such as John Redwood , opposed further EU integration, whilst the party's pro-European wing, represented by those such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke , was broadly supportive. The issue of the creation of a single European currency also inflamed tensions. Major survived

15004-603: Was prime minister, she greatly embraced transatlantic relations with US president Ronald Reagan . She often publicly supported Reagan's policies even when other Western allies were not as vocal. For example, she granted permission for American planes to use British bases for raids, such as the 1986 United States bombing of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , and allowed American cruise missiles and Pershing missiles to be housed on British soil in response to Soviet deployment of SS-20 nuclear missiles targeting Britain and other Western European nations. While Euroscepticism has for many become

15128-519: Was suggested as a title for the party in an article by J. Wilson Croker published in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was formally adopted under the aegis of Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto . The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory

15252-416: Was taken into account. It called for more public funding for hospital modernisation, recommending £ 30 million pounds per year for seven years from 1958 onwards. It also recommended increased funding for community care . The committee concluded that charges for dental treatment and for spectacles were undesirable. Citing the shortage of dentists, the report recommended keeping the dental charges but reducing

15376-511: Was the dominant usage by 1845. The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced the Conservative Party to popularise its approach under Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli , who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1867 . The party was initially opposed to further expansion of the electorate but eventually allowed passage of Gladstone's 1884 Reform Act . In 1886,

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