The Legacy of Thatcherism and Beyond: Blair's Third Way1.
Dysfunctions in the 1970s British Economy. The grounds for
Thatcher's olicies1.1. The failure of nationali!ation
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 ritain !coal, steel, electricity, rail etc" and the lo#ic was
that nationalization benefited everyone the Labour policies were
the basis for the post$war economical #rowth the nationalization
did not work in the lon# term as lon# as in the %&s, the ritish
economy suffered one of the bi##est crises So the whole efficiency
of nationalized industries was running down. Why should they be
efficient? They had access to the Treasury purse !'ar#aret
(hatcher, Thatcher Taes the !elm" #nscreen title$ %ritain, 19%9"
the lack of free markets has developed non$profitable and
non$competitive industries the nationalized industries fell to
pieces) (hey lost hu#e sums of money* they put the prices up
massively and still weren+t able to make a profit1.". The grounds
for Thatcher#s olicies and the $iners' stri%e after decades of
e,ploitation the coal was very deep in the earth* it was hu#ely
e,pensive to e,ploitin# it more than %5- of ritain+s coal mines
were losin# money, the ritish coal industry became the bi##est
socialist problem and eliminatin# it was one of (hatcher.s ma/or
ob/ectives the coal industry took #overnment subsidies of01
billion2year to keep mines open 13&,&&& miners paid
by the #overnment* nearly one million unemployed people* hi#h
inflation with daily strikes in all the state companies they were
not profit$oriented industries, they had more e,penses than
revenues the ritish industry had lack of modernization and new
technolo#y decline in the worldwide coal demand, risin# of the oil
demand the nationalized industries fell to pieces* (hey lost hu#e
sums of money* they put the prices up massively and still weren+t
able to make a profits the first steps of (hatcher.s harsh policies
was the increase of unemployment to almost 4 milion people and
heavy costs in bankruptcies (hatcher.s politics also destroyed many
important companies and industries that could have been made
profitable (he shift towards a dere#ulated industrial relation
system was encoura#ed reducin# #overnment subsidies to the mines
resulted with the closin# of 4& coal mines, with a loss of
4&,&&& /obs, and many communities in the 5orth of
6n#land as well as 7cotland and 8ales lost their primary source of
employment economic differences between northern and southern
6n#land became obvious and persistedto the present !today, less
than 1,&&& work in the mines"1".$argaret
Thatcher".1.&hort 'iograhy was born on 9ctober 11th in 1945, in
:rantham, Lincolnshire she was the dau#hter of a #rocery retailer
her social back#round was lower middle class she attended 9,ford
;niversity !194%$51" to #et a de#ree in natural sciences,
specialisin# in chemistry afterwards she worked as a research
chemist and be#an a part$time study as a lawyer after havin# pril
3th in 4&11 in London".".Thatcherism and Thatcher's olicies
195&+s and ?&+s were characterized by economic boom and
hi#h employment rates, as well as social democratic collectivism
19%&+s brou#ht chan#es due to an economic downturn accompanied
by hi#h unemployment, vast inflation$rates, hi#her international
competitiveness, and increasin# oil$prices these facts led to
discontent amon# the voters, which were the reason for the shift
from Labour to (ories and the be#in of (hatcher+s rei#n in 19%9 the
term @(hatcherismA can be e,plained as a Asynthesis of two ritish
political traditionsB neo$liberalism in economic matters and
authoritarian conservatism in social policyA her central aims were
free trade and low ta,ation, the diminishin# of state influence and
union+s influence on the free market, as well as the privatization
of state$run businesses and concessions on property ownin# these
means of acceleratin# 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 193&+s, which included a shift from
formerly manufacturin# industry to a finance oriented industry,
with the emer#e of the importance of London as bein# an
international financial centre but she had also a vast impact on
social life includin# a very conservative attitude on variousissues
and unliberal laws on homose,uality and abortion, as well as a cut
on e,penditure of the cultural and social sector C (hatcher the
milksnatcher her policies re#ardin# forei#n affairs were
characterized by stron# ties to the ;7> and Donald Dea#an and a
recedin# from the 6uropean continent she was succeeded by John
'ayor, also a (orie, who was Prime 'inister until 199% these
chan#es of course accordin# to (hatcher+s political functionin#,
had a vast influence onLabour+s policies, which led to the term
A5ew LabourA and the @(hird 8ayA in the 199&+s4(. )nthony
*harles Lynton +Tony, Blair:(.1. &hort 'iograhy: orn in
6dinbur#h on the ?th of 'ay in 1951 8ent to 7t) Johns
=olle#e!;niversity of 9,ford" to study law and #raduated 19%5
>fter that he /oined the Labour Party in the same year 8as
member of the Parliament from 1931$4&&% for 7ed#efield
:ained popularity and became the leader of opposition in 1994
7tayed the leader of the Labour Party from 1994$4&&% En
199% he led the Labour party to a victory in the #eneral election
!won with 413 seats" :ot selected as the youn#est Prime 'inister in
199%, it was the first time since 13 years, thatthe =onservative
party did not win) (ony lair remained Prime 'inister until
4&&% >ll in all he had 1 terms of office in a row(.".
The +Third Way,: lair disapproved of thatchers free$market
capitalism and state socialism, due to the fact, that it doesn+t
create enthony :iddens, he introduced A(he (hird 8ayF (he (hird 8ay
should create an economy and society that combines the individual
choice ofthe marketplace as well as the opportunities of the
welfare state) En the (hird 8ay the state should create elso wanted
to stren#then the communities and create mutual responsibility as
well as a renewal of liberalism Gue to the worlds chan#e, there
should also be new politic as well as a new economy) (he center of
the chan#e is #lobalization Endividualism as the center of new
labour+s philosophy Demodeled the very bases of the nation
state)(.(. Tony Blair achie-ements: Gurin# his time as Prime
'inister he arran#ed the inte#ration of: into the 6; He was also
very close to the :overnment of the ;7!seen critical" raised ta,es
and introduced the minimum wa#e!I5)54" new ri#hts for #ay people
and new employment ri#hts >rran#ed peace a#reement between the
republicans and unionists in 5orthern Ereland!:ood Jriday
a#reement"1 permanent economic #rowth and almost full
employmentBi'liograhy . Wor%s cited6vans, 6ric J) Thatcher and
Thatcherism. Second edition. LondonB Doutled#e, 4&&4)
Print)Perryman, 'ark) The %lair Agenda. &ondon$ &awrence '
Wishart, 199?) Print)=aesy, (errence) The %lair legacy$ politics"
policy" go(ernance and foreign affairs. asin#stokeB Pla#rave
'acmillan) 4&&9) Print)Jaucher$Kin#, Jlorence, Patrick Le
:alLs) The new labour e)periment$ change and reform under %lair and
%rown. =aliforniaB ; of 7tanford P, 4&1&) Print)Letwin,
7hirley Dobin) The Anatomy of Thatcheriism. LondonB Jontana, 1994)
Print)8alker, Gavid)F(he (hird 8ayB (ony+s olo#y for sceptics)F The
guardian. 44) 7ept 1993) 8eb) %) 'ay 4&15)A8hat is the (hird
8ay)F *+ ,olitics B = 5ews) 4%) 7ept 1993) 8eb) ?) 'ay)
4&15)6vans, 6ric J) Thatcher and Thatcherism. LondonB
Doutled#e, 4&11) 1rd 6d)
httpsB22books)#oo#le)de2booksMhlNdeOlrNOidNzsPu:6f%;u4=OoiNfndOp#NPD1OdP(l&ubt4/tdms&SvNonepa#eO
