Thatcher and Thatcherism It is now twenty years since Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, and over eight years since she left office. So this seems a good opportunity to look back at what Thatcher and Thatcherism may have achieved, and what may be the lessons for today. I must start with a disclaimer. I'm the British High Commissioner and normally speak on behalf of the British Government in Australia. But I hope you will realise that in addressing a subject such as this I am speaking in a personal capacity. I am not quite sure what the Foreign Office would say if I asked them for the official line on Thatcherism. Given some of their run-ins with her on foreign policy, and on Europe in particular, it's perhaps as well that I haven't tried. I've had limited personal contact with Mrs Thatcher. I first met her at a swimming pool, in 1966, during my school speech day. I was at school with her son Mark. I can't say the encounter made a deep impression on me, except for the way my father and she engaged in deep political conversation, while my mother gossiped to Dennis and I did my best to chat up Mark's sister Carol. My next encounter was at somewhat greater distance. In 1971, Margaret Thatcher was Secretary of State for Education in Ted Heath's Government and I was a student at Cambridge University. She was speaking in a debate at the Cambridge Union and I was one of those outside, demonstrating against Government cuts in university funding. I suppose it was probably just as well for my future career that she wouldn't have recognised me under the long hair and the beard I had in those days. I hav... ... middle of paper ... ...l conclusion has to be that she made a difference. She came to power when Britain was feeling rotten about itself. She fought battles that needed to be fought. She was able, at her best, to instill a sense that Britain could hold its head up once again. Today, we see widely contrasting views about her inheritance. Some in the Tory Party seek to distance itself from Thatcherism, in search of a softer line on public services. Others, who were once ardent Thatcherites, now support Tony Blair, and believe he is the inheritor of her radicalism. Yet others argue that it was thanks to her that it became safe to elect a Labour Government. Politics isn't that simple, and Tony Blair is very much his own man. But what is clear is that Thatcherism remains a potent political symbol, and will continue to be so in the future.
In conclusion, before David Cameron came into power, the Conservatives were in the right side of politics were Thatcher left them. He brought the party closer to the centre. He changed people’s perception about the Conservative party because he changes a lot of things leaving few things unchanged. David Cameron definitely moved the party to the centre of politics.
Heath’s premiership during the years of 1970 to 1974 presents a period of affluence and appeasement alongside a lack of control indicates that Heath’s reign largely was a failure in maintaining stability. Despite the achievements that Heath implemented like Brittain finally getting into the EEC, the Oil Crisis, U-turn policies and the rest of the economic failures overshadow the policies that provided stability and modernisation establishing that Heath, according to Row ‘was good at policies not politics.’
Election results also suggest that the Liberal Government were not heading for failure but proceeding to continue strongly. I therefore contradict Dangerfield's theory that the Liberal government were doomed to failure prior to World War 1, suggesting that they were still a strong government. It would be easy to make assumptions looking back in hindsight as Dangerfield did, however I would argue that upon entering World War 1 the Liberal Party still appeared to be strong. Unfortunately the nature of the pre war years seem to accentuate the problems and cast a shadow over the achievements, Dangerfield is a clear critique of Liberal England and what it has to offer.
paved the way for religious freedom. She was a great leader in the cause for
Women have faced oppression in the literary community throughout history. Whether they are seen as hysterical or unreliable, women writers seem to be faulted no matter the topics of their literature. However, Anne Bradstreet and Margaret Fuller faced their critics head-on. Whether it was Bradstreet questioning her religion or Fuller discussing gender fluidity, these two women did not water down their opinions to please others. Through their writings, Bradstreet and Fuller made great strides for not just women writers, but all women.
that the state should play a smaller role in the day to day lives of
When Australia’s 21st Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was swept into power in December 1972 there was huge anticipation for dramatic and swift change. Australia had been under the control of a conservative liberal government for 23 consecutive years, and Whitlam’s promises if social change were eagerly anticipated. Whitlam, despite his failings as a negotiator, managed to implement a huge array of reforms and changes, many of which shaped Australia into the country it is today. However is that enough to say he succeeded? Even Whitlam today admits that he regrets doing “too much too soon”, and perhaps Whitlam’s government was a government that was too socially progressive for its time, which could perchance have been a foreshadowing of things to come for the most recent labor government of Julia Gillard which has been labeled by some as the most incompetent government since Whitlam. Gough Whitlam has had the most books written and published about him than any other Australian Prime Minister to Date. This essay will argue that Whitlam was a successful leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), who had the ability and charisma to lead Australia in an era of prosperity; he did however succumbed to a few grave errors of judgment that ultimately led to his downfall, however his ultimate goal was to transform Australia which he achieved. Whitlam’s’ errors were seen as being due to his inability take advice from senior figures on how to turn his amateur government into a competent one and his inflexible approach to dealing with the hostile senate that the Australian public gave him, and often led to his government being labeled the worst in Australian history and as a failure.
roots and is by no means as socialist as it was. But is it still
Congresswoman Elizabeth Hanford Dole grew up in North Carolina in the small town of Salisbury ,and was born to a wholesaler on July 29, 1936. Dole had a privileged childhood and had the opportunity to study private balled and horseback riding amongst other things. As she grew up she became a model student succeeding in academics as well as extracurricular activities, such as drama and student government; and even got elected as president of her freshman class. After high school like many girls her age, Dole proceeded to go to college where she followed in her brothers footsteps and attended Duke University where she majored in political science in 1958 after which she did post-graduate work at Oxford in 1959 (“San Diego 96”). Some of her many accomplishments while there was to be elected May queen, Student body president, and even got accepted into an undergraduate honors society by the name of Phi Beta Kappa.
middle of paper ... ... d therefore the smaller parties can be considered to have very little effect on the overall political situation. In conclusion, the UK can still best be described as a two party system, provided two considerations are taken into account. The first is that Conservative dominance victories between 1979-97 was not a suggestion of party dominance and that eventually, the swing of the political pendulum will be even for both sides. This can perhaps be seen today with Labour's two landslide victories in 1997 and 2001.
Several weeks back in class we discussed women’s roles in politics today. Linda Tripp has become a political figure whether she likes to think of herself in that manner or not. When you work for the pentagon or in any governmental venue whatsoever you are marked by the lines of politics for the rest of your life. My studies have shown that Tripp has tired to downplay her political role. That was a difficult task when she was posing as the friend of the President’s mistress at the same time as she was recording their personal telephone conversations for Prosecutor Ken Starr’s use.
Conservative Dominance in British Politics There are many different factors which contributed to the Conservative dominance of the period between 1885 and 1905. For one, the electoral reform of Gladstone's second ministry had a large effect on the Conservatives period in office as did the skill of Salisbury as a leader. The role that the government took in terms of its policies and foreign policy, and the nature of support for the party also played important roles in the conservative dominance. This is because the Conservatives lost working class support during its ministry, yet still managed to dominate politics for nearly twenty years.
The Thatcherism ideology was part of the establishment of privatisation, cutting off the taxes and reducing public expenditure in health and care services in order to improve Britain’s economy, as a consequence more than 50 identities were privatised by
The mother of Frank McCourt, Angela, is an antagonist. She blamed Malachy Sr. for all of their problems calling him “useless,” “sitting on your arse by the fire is no place for a man”(218). Angela constantly ridiculing Malachy Sr. could be the cause of his alcohol addiction. Angela never made him feel like a man throughout the book she was always putting him down, the assumption of alcohol was the only thing he was really happy about. Angelas constant nagging drove him away leaving his family without much. Also, Angela constantly abandons her children. Her sexual desires caused her to continue having children despite the hunger and poverty they were already facing. Every time one of her children died she abandoned the rest of them, not taking care of them. The children had to survive on their own during her time of grieving. After Frank’s fight with Laman, Angela never once made sure Frank was okay. Instead she goes to Laman,
... she addressed many problems of her time in her writings. She was an inspirational person for the feminism movements. In fact, she awoke women’s awareness about their rights and freedom of choice. She was really a great woman.