Conservative Party Of Britain example essay topic

How far, if at all, does Thatcherism as a political creed deviate from traditional Conservatism? Margaret Thatcher is perhaps one of the most influential politicians that has ever been seen in the British Isles and it is undeniable that her influence has left an indelible mark on the contemporary political scene. The extent as to which her ideologies were innovative or simply re-invention of the traditional conservative stance is open to much debate and a number of issues affects the way in which this particular debate can be viewed. It would be highly pretentious to belittle the unquestionable talent and knowledge that Mrs Thatcher possessed, but as David Marsh puts it "Thatcherite policies did not spring out of nothing". The Conservative party of Britain has had a long and varied history with its origins being traced back as far as the late 1700's. It has therefore accumulated a great deal of heritage and prestige within the realms of the British governmental system.

It has built up this respect on a number of core principles which have long been associated with the party. The party was known as supporters of the traditional institutions such as the crown and church and in former years defended ideas such as expansionism and imperialism. The Conservative party has always achieved considerable election success with these values, indeed it is one of the most successful political parties in the Western world in terms of number of years spent in government, and as a result it has been decidedly consistent in terms of its manifestos and policies over the years. However, that is not to say that the Conservative party has not seen any adaptations to these particular values throughout its political existence.

The party has suffered and survived the emergence of a number of splits and factions within the party, for example in 1905 when Unionist businessmen supported the introduction of tariffs to protect British products throughout the empire. This went against the traditional conservative value of free trade and did initially cause much conflict within the party ranks. A more recent example would be the surfacing of the 'one nation social reformers' in the mid 1960's lead by Butler and Macmillan. Their belief was that social stability and harmony could only be maintained if the working classes were living in reasonable living conditions. This appeared to show a softening towards the Welfare State that had been introduced in the post-1945 era by the Labour party which counteracted the traditional Conservative thought of 'Laissez-Faire'. The election of 1964 turned out to be one hurdle too far for the 'one-nationists' but proved that the traditional Conservative party was beginning to see some fundamental changes in its political creed.

A more radical right wing movement was to emerge throughout the rest of the 1960's that would give some indication as to which direction the Conservative party was beginning to move to. It was with this that Britain began to experience the first risings of the politician that the media affectionately grew to know as the 'the woman with the iron handbag'. Margaret Thatcher succeeded in winning the Conservative leadership election in 1975 following the defeat of Edward Heath's government in the previous February. Mrs Thatcher was the leader of the 'New-Right' within the Conservative party and by 1979 she has revitalised a stagnant party back into government with her fresh and invigorating style of leadership.

She and her supporters were staunch believers in the idea of a free market and individualism, she followed a significant number of schemes and policy decisions with a verve and determination never before seen. These included strict financial regulations, sale of state industries to the private sector, rigorous control and manipulation of the trade unions whom she had identified as hastening the downfall of her predecessor Heath and substantial cuts in local government funding. These new policies and the haste with which they were introduced only served to increase the belief that Mrs Thatcher was a 'conviction politician' who had a clear direction movement and vision for the party. It could be argued that Thatcherism was a noteworthy deviation because it had a clear and defined aim and was formal in its presentation of what it hope to achieve, for example its manifestos, than its traditional Conservative counterparts which have been described as "simply a ragbag of ideas strung together". Thatcherism initially arose because a cluster of people close to the Conservative party had grown tired of the path in which Britain was travelling and essentially felt the nation was in need of repair or adjustment.

It was felt by these people that Mrs Thatcher's theory of introducing a form of right wing ideological government into Britain could have the desired effect. However, it has to be acknowledged that many people were unoptimistic about the prospects of a nation lead by Margaret Thatcher. She was often portrayed within the media as being cold and self-motivated which did not appeal to a nation already struggling to drag itself out of an economic slumber. Equally, Thatcherism as a whole was seen by much of the public, particularly those of a left-wing tendency, to be benefiting the economically prosperous and leaving those on lower incomes to flounder.

Letwin has characterised this argument by saying "was Thatcherism based upon a desire for economic greed or correspondingly economic efficiency?" Thatcherism did, admittedly, have many elements of Conservatism form years gone- by which would appear to point to the fact that it was more a re-concoction of former ideas than any form of revolutionary ideology. For example, the idea of free trade was initially utilised in the early twentieth century by the Unionist businessmen and the idea of minimal state intervention that Thatcher so believed in was evident a number of times during the twentieth century most prevalent was the initial Conservative scepticism to the NHS (National Health Service) and an increased Welfare State. It could even be argued that the war in the Falklands was a patriotic, even jingoistic, attempt to save one of the last bastions of the British empire even though it is a remote outpost thousands of miles from Britain. As I have mentioned before that is not to say that Thatcher did not achieve any notable successes during her time in office.

The new breed of Conservatism that Thatcherism was billed as was highly successful in reducing the crippling unemployment rate that was evident when Mrs Thatcher gained power. The efficiency of British industry was certainly aided by the move towards a stronger but slimmer state i.e. privatisation and competitive tendering. Also, for the first time a government was brave enough to consider making reforms to the education system by increasing autonomy through increased influence for managing their own budgets or open enrolment. Mrs Thatcher's hope for a freer state was beginning to take shape as Britain in the 1980's went under a social and industrial transformation. Mrs Thatcher used her new form of government to crush a rebellion by the miners in 1984-85, one of the groups that had effectively hounded Heath out of office around ten years earlier. This was an almost symbolic accomplishment in showing that her vision would not be derailed in the manner that had occurred during previous governments.

Her relationship with the Trade Unions was minimal at best and her refusal to let them influence policy making decisions as they had done under preceding Labour governments would effectively prove to be their curtain call from the legislative making process because they would never regain the influence they once held, even when a Labour government did eventually re-enter government in 1997. To conclude whether or not Thatcherism was a new breed of Conservatism or not is a very difficult issue to bring to a close as many of the elements of each overlap and bi- sect each other. It is difficult to see how Mrs Thatcher could ever have achieved success to the magnitude that she did if it were not for the philosophies and ideologies of preceding Conservative governments. Her ideas on Britain being a free state with minimalist intervention by the government of the time most definitely has it roots in the early part of the twentieth century.

On the other hand, Mrs Thatcher was one of the most forward thinking and progressive Prime Ministers that Britain has ever had. The 1980's could well have been a much bleaker period if it were not for the intervention of Thatcherite policies that were aimed at primarily stabilising the nation and then hopefully moving it on to a more economically and socially sound plateau. Overall I feel that whilst Margaret Thatcher did introduce some innovative and successful policies into Britain, she still relied heavily upon the conventional theories and ideologies of traditional Conservatism.

Bibliography

Budge, Ian., Ivor Crewe., David McKay and Ken Newton. The New British Politics (Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. 2001).
Gamble, Andrew. The Free Economy and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism (London: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1988).
Letwin, Shirley Robson. The Anatomy of Thatcherism (London: Fontana, 1992).
Marsh, David., R.A. W Rhodes. Implementing Thatcherite Policies: Audit of an Era (Buckingham: Open University Press, 1992).
Evans, Brendan. Thatcherism and British Politics 1975-1997 (Stroud: Sutton, 1999).
2001).
Gamble, Andrew. Letwin, Shirley Robson. Evans, Brendan. 2001).