Why Was Margaret Thatcher Re-Elected with Such a Large Majority in 1983 - Essay Example

Order 421792 Topic: Why was Margaret Thatcher re-elected with such a large majority in 1983? Margaret Hilda Thatcher, popularly known as Margaret Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She held that position from 1979 to 1990. William Shakespeare in his immortal drama “Twelfth Night” writes, “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them". - (Act II, Scene V). Margaret Thatcher belongs to the second category. She is a member of the Conservative Party. Her strength was showing even before she came to power successfully challenging Edward Heath, in whose government she was the Education Secretary. She was nicknamed as The Iron Lady in Soviet propaganda. She did not let the Soviet down on this point and continued to be the Iron Lady throughout out her stormy political career. She came to power at the right time. The propaganda machinery of Communism captained by Soviet Union was at the top in 1979 and Thatcher was the arch enemy of socialism. Claire Berlinski writes, “It is almost hard to remember now, but it must be remembered that when Thatcher came to power, in 1979, socialism, communism, and doctrinal Marxism were still taken extremely seriously, not only in the Eastern bloc but in much of the West and the developing world.”(5-6) She became a living shrine for anti-socialists and anti-communists. “Margaret Thatcher was one of the most vigorous, determined and successful enemies of socialism the world has known”(5). She came to power in 1979 and her sterling performance during the four years, gave her thumping majority in the 1983 polls. When she won the polls successively in 1979, 1983 and 1987 general elections, she had secured an important place in the history of Great Britain. She became the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th Century. 1979 was the base on which the superstructure of the victory of 1983 was built. She did not stick to a particular theory and did which was practical and right. She took on the tough trade unionists while tackling the challenge of the miners’ strike. Her contemporary leader at the United States, Ronald Reagan was a pragmatic leader, also strongly anti-communist. In foreign relations, she maintained a close bond with him. The authentic test to her courage, grit and determination came to the fore in 1982, when Argentina invaded Falkland Islands. Thatcher did not hesitate to dispatch her Royal Navy Task force which successfully retook the islands. Her policy on Falkland War made her a heroine overnight and she became immensely popular at home. Though the immediate cause of her success in the 1983 elections was her performance as the Prime Minister during the preceding four years, her achievements that led her to the pedestal of the top post are mention-worthy. Her father Albert Roberts was a practicing politician. She studied at Oxford and became the Chairman of Oxford University Conservative Association in 1946. She was the third woman to hold that post. Once into the active politics, winning became a habit with her. “She made her mark as a conference speaker in 1966 with a strong attack on the taxation policy of the Labor Government as being steps "not only towards Socialism, but towards Communism". (Margaret....) Her rise in politics was quick and sharp. As Leader of the Opposition, on 19 January 1976 she made a speech at Kensington Town Hall in which she made a scathing attack on the Soviet Union. The most controversial part of her speech ran: "The Russians are bent on world dominance, and they are rapidly acquiring the means to become the most powerful imperial nation the world has seen. The men in the Soviet Politburo do not have to worry about the ebb and flow of public opinion. They put guns before butter, while we put just about everything before guns." (Margaret....) The latent causes, not so immediate ones, are as important as the immediate causes that took her to the pedestal of success in the 1983 elections. Her political affiliations apart, people of Great Britain, cutting across the party lines, began to love her at the grassroots level. In the verbal duals, she was taking on the mighty communist empire of the Soviet Union! In the international forums this was not an ordinary achievement! Her nicknames, The Iron Lady, The Great She-Elephant, Attilla the Hen, The Grocers Daughter –all these became her popularity slogans. Though she raveled in controversies even before she became Prime Minister, people liked her strong beliefs and convictions. A tough option lay ahead of her to convert the Conservative Party to her monetarist beliefs. She negatived Heaths support for devolution to Scotland. Time was on her side and the Labor Governments problems with the Trade Unions over the winter of 1978-1979 cleared the path for Conservative victory and Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister. “As Prime Minister 1979–1983 she formed a government on 4 May 1979, with a mandate to reverse Britains economic decline and to reduce the extent of the state. Thatcher was incensed by one contemporary view within the Civil Service that its job was to manage Britains decline from the days of Empire, and wanted the country to punch above its weight in international affairs. She was a philosophic soul-mate with Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980 in the United States.”(Margaret....) Now, as the unchallenged leader, Thatcher meant business. She increased the interest rates to push the rate of inflation down. The Grocers daughter began to show economic miracles. Her practical approach to trade and commerce, baffled the theoreticians and the economists. She took the criticism in her stride but was very sure of the end-results, which proved to be precedent-shattering the economy of Great Britain. Hiking interest rates hit business, the manufacturing sector particularly, and unemployment rose. Her tax policy reforms were based on supply-side economics. A severe recession resulted, and the critics promptly blamed the economic policy of the Government. Political commentators did overtime to criticize her. The subsequent developments proved that Thatcher was right. Despite opposition from 364 economists opposing her, she proved that there are 365 days in a year and not 364! She increased the taxes in the thick of recession –unemployment did increase, but the inflation rate dropped to low single digit figure and interest rates fell. At the time of 1983 elections, the economy was recovering well and Thatcher had the last laugh! When Argentine forces invaded Falkland Islands, her military response was immediate to retake the territory. This resulted in a sensational wave of patriotism in Great Britain and tributes poured in for her fearlessness and statesmanship to save the honor of Great Britain. This military victory alone had the strength to make her victory in the 1983 elections possible. The inevitable happened and the landslide victory is attributed to the “Falklands Effect.” Her personal approval rating rose from 30% to 59%. Conservative support climbed from 27% to 44%. She also proved that her macroeconomic management was perfect. She encouraged the policy of privatization, which was popularly known as Thatcherism. “Thatchers most important change was to make Britain governable again by reforming the trade unions. Both the Heath and the Callaghan governments had been destroyed by the unions. Their reform was the Thatcher governments most urgent achievement. Admittedly any Conservative leader, after the 1978-9 "winter of discontent", would have done the same. The party was united on the need for the unions to be tamed, yet Thatcher deserves great credit.”(Sokal, 2003) Emphasizing the same point Paul Johnson writes, “Mrs. Thatcher, soon dubbed by the Brezhnev regime "the Iron Lady" (a title she relished), called herself a "conviction" politician, as opposed to a consensus one. She implicitly repudiated much of Conservative post-war policy, and especially its tacit agreement with the Labor Party that whole areas of British public life, including the welfare state and the nationalized sector, were sacrosanct. Her first task was to curb the legal power of the trade unions.” (740-743) In fine, her sensational victory in the 1983 elections was due to the following factors: Her brilliant personality, credits in education, and family background, Being a woman, she had the special support of the women voters, Her economic policies and privatization of major public sector industries, Her strong opposition to communism and socialism, Taming the arrogant trade-unions, Victory in the Falkland War. ************* Works Cited: Berlinski, Claire. There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters; Basic Books; illustrated edition edition,September 30, 2008. Johnson, Paul. Thatcher and the Trade Unions, Modern Times ,27 Nov.2009 p. 740-743 Margaret Thatcher section at Gala Wallpapers.... Retrieved on March, 2010. Sokal, Aalan. Review: Margaret Thatcher by John Campbell- The Guardian, 22 NOV 2003 Retrieved on March 12,2010 Read More