4SSIE001 – Challenges and Transformations: British Political History Since 1945

Module Leader: Dr Michael Kandiah Institute of Contemporary British History, N.227, 2nd Norfolk Building, Surrey Street, King’s College London, WC2R 2LS. (Office Hours: Most Mondays, , and Wednesdays, Appointments recommended)

Lecture: Lecture: Thatcher & Major

Thatcher Administrations

1979 General Election PartySeatsVotes% Conservative ,697, Labour ,532, Liberal 11 4,313, Others 16

Thatcher: First Administration The “Iron Lady” “A Conviction Politician” not a “Consensus Politics” Monetarism – “There is no alternative” Relationship with Ronald Reagan – Cold War politics The Falklands War

1983 General Election PartySeatsVotes%±% Conservative39713,012, –1.5 Labour2098,456, –9.3 Liberal Democrat/ SDP Alliance 237,780, Others21

Thatcher: Second Administration Privatisation Reform of the Civil Service Deregulation of the Stock Market 1986 – “The Big Bang” IRA – the Brighton Bomb & Anglo-Irish Agreement 1985 Single European Act 1986 Finding Gorbachev

1987 General Election

Thatcher: Third Administration “There is no such thing as society” South Africa Bruges Speech 1988 The Poll Tax End of the Cold War & German Unification Gulf War Geoffrey Howe’s resignation speech – 1 Nov 1990

John Major – 1 st administration Gulf War Keeping Britain “At heart of Europe” Continuing Privatisation “Back to Basics” and the Citizens’ Charter

1992 General Election

John Major – 2 nd Administration Black Wednesday & Withdrawal from ERM 1992 Maastricht Treaty 1992 “The Bastards” 1993 Sleaze Leadership crisis Economic management – Chancellors Norman Lamont & Ken Clarke Process leading to the Good Friday Accords 1998