Preview

Do you agree with the view that Conservative economic policy was a success in the years 1979-1983?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
894 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Do you agree with the view that Conservative economic policy was a success in the years 1979-1983?
Do you agree with the view that Conservative economic policy was a success in the years 1979-1983?
The Conservative government saw its high and lows from the year 1979 to 1983 however overall it was a success, however this success was only due to the fact that the Conservatives brought about some extreme changes in relation to their economic policy. One of these extreme changes was Thatcher’s adoption of the monetarism. Sources 7 and 9 take into consideration the view that the Conservatives economic policy was a success in the years 1979 to 1983. Source 7 does so by complimenting the success of Thatcherism in the “expanding towns of southern England and East Anglia”. Source 9, comments on the Conservative’s success in decreasing inflation after coming into office. Source 8 directly conflicts with sources 7 and 9 as it shows figures which suggest that unemployment rates and manufacturing output have seen a rapid decrease from the year 1979 and 1984 which the years in which Margaret Thatcher served her first term as Conservative party leader. “Thatcher’s fundamental philosophy of anti-socialist economics prescribed a number of broad objectives” Her basic ideas were that the government basically had to do less in order for it to gain economic success.
The construction industry or “smaller industries” which were thought to be self-sufficient were growing quickly particularly in the south and failed to prosper in the north of England. The reason for this is mainly due to Conservatives economic policy. Although source 7 shows a clear agreement that industries in the south were in fact booming it however fails to recognise the failings in the north of England hence making the source rather subjective. Source 9, states that the “construction industry” and “manufacturing industry” saw greater “prospects” leaving source 9 subjective. Again it fails to state that these industries only existed in the south. The conservative’s economic policies resulted in the loss of much

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    One reason why the Conservatives won was there Stop-Go economic policy. Although the policy itself was bad the Conservatives engineered it by making it a go period when the election came round. They did this by ‘electioneering’ the Budget and cut income tax, purchase tax and the duty on beer. This made the public feel like the economy was good.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ronald Regan begins his first term of presidency in 1981, Regan who took charge of the white house was facing a country with a deteriorating economy. Regan had a clear plan in mind in reconstructing past policies in order to improve the current state of the country by executing “Reaganomics”. Reaganomics is an economic policy that reduces taxes on the upper-income brackets that would boost the investment and economic growth. Under this policy, it has not only controlled the inflation but has brought in a greater number of investors which certainly created more jobs for the people hence a higher employment rate in the country. Although, policies in the Great Society spending has cut down, however, policies such as Social Security and Medicare…

    • 153 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Reagan was particularly beleaguered when unemployment rose to a staggering 9.5%. He dreaded that he would not be re-elected. Presidents Reagan’s goal was to execute economic policy dubbed ‘Reaganomics’. This policy aimed at stimulating America’s economy through tax credits, accelerated depreciation, and tax cuts. Reagan’s core catalyst to attain this goal was the enactment of the ERTA (Economic recovery Tax Act) in 1981. The ERTA brought in phased-in cuts in marginal duty levels that were extensive. ERTA, however, was a too far bridge and failed despondently creating huge budget deficits as well as weakening America’s economy. This resulted in an economic slump that lasted through the better part of 1982. Luckily, Reagan saw the fault, and with enactment of TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act) in late 1982. America’s economy embarked on a path to recovery. TEFRA acted as ERTA’s remedy. In fact, it came to be known as the most extensive peacetime tax rise to be ever enacted in the history of America. Ironically, Reagan, a Republican, had signed the bill. TEFRA began presumably the most considerable bull series in the economic history of America. This cycle lasted for close to half a decade. Reagan deserves much of the credit for endorsing TEFRA and particularly, for its great economic outcome. However, few people recognize that it was Peter Stark, a Democrat, who backed TEFRA. Worth noting is the fact that Reagan played a very instrumental role by joining forces with fellow Democrats. The TEFRA perhaps explains why Reagan was reelected for a second…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1984 presidential election of Ronald Reagan brought upon numerous exceptional and dubious policies to the U.S. economy. A considerable lot of these approaches, including Reaganomics still influence our economy in general and are still significant points of open deliberations today.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When Harold Macmillan said in 1957 that Britain had “never had it so good” it was easy to see why he spoke with such optimism. The period of Conservative dominance brought many benefits to the British people including the end of rationing, full employment and a boom in the economy. However, in labour’s 1964 manifesto they described this period as “thirteen wasted years”. It seems difficult to believe that both could be true and in this essay I will be assessing the successes and failures of the Conservative government during this time.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In terms of the Economy, the Keynsian demand model that had been used up until now had failed and in danger of recession Thatcher chose to raise interest levels to reduce money supply, and therefore suppress inflation. VAT was raised significantly which hit the manufacturing industries hard, causing rising unemployment. This governmental decision was very much a further step away from a state managed economy, and seen as an attempt at emphasising free markets, with a reduced role for the state. Public service provision was rolled back substantially and previously nationalised industries, the most notable of which being British Telecom, were privatised. This was another step for the Government away from a complete welfare state, with private industry and commerce being relied on to provide many of the public services that had been Government run since the end of the war.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thatcher states that while “Others saw only limits to growth. He transferred a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.” Here she shows the perception and vision that he had. Showing him as a person who has ambition and intentions to better the world, even though other people saw it as impractical. She also stated that “Others hoped, at best, for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union.” yet “He won the Cold War, not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.” The purpose of this statement is to show what he has accomplished, but also to show how he went around doing it. Thatcher here displays him as an honorable man by being able to resolve such a huge issue without violence, and even more unbelievable, showing how Reagan took the high road of dealing with the enemies with kindness. To make these substantial changes to our world such as transforming our economy, winning the Cold War, and being cultivated while doing so, showed Reagan’s dedication to his country and the vision that he thought was possible for…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The 1980s had many influences to make it one of the decades with the most changes and inventions. There were lots of new technology and inventions. One of the biggest influences on the 1980s in politics was Ronald Reagan. Some people say he is the greatest president the United States has ever had. Ronald Reagan was an expert at turning the economy around, having one of the best foreign policies, and he gave American’s hope and made them more patriotic for the first in decades.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most significant factors of Ronald Reagan’s first, few months in office was his courageous effort to transform the country’s economic policies. Reagan’s administration created a policy called “Reaganomics”, or “trickle-down” economics, which sought to cut taxes for the upper, middle, and lower classes to stimulate the economy. He reduced taxes to return the wealth to the working middle class. Instead of handing…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reaganomics In The 1980's

    • 1442 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Unemployment exceeded to ten percent , this was the lowest it had been in forty years. With Reagan already in office he knew that there must be a change in the early 80s. He knew that if he corrected United States economic problem that he would have the trust of the citizen for the election of 1984. At the end of 1982 the United States was flourishing once again, the economy was promising due to the new economic system of Reaganomics. Incumbent Ronald Reagan believed that the United States become very strong due to Reaganomics. Between the years of 1983-1990 the economy grew because it was parallel population growth. The census of 1984-1990 shows that we’ve had the most growth on the west coast. Having twenty percent more people than we had in the previous census, all but three states had a population growth. The principles of Reaganomics was to lower taxes and increase the spending money towards our military. Now that taxes are lowered the United States no longer provided any social programs. There were pros and cons with this new economic system, the economy was doing substantially well while our social problems worsen. An example of a social problem would be the drug rate. Approximately thirty seven percent of the population over the age twelve had used an illegal drug at least once. The drug rates grew due to the…

    • 1442 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reaganomics was an economic policy that was advocated during the 1980s by President Ronald Reagan and is still widely practiced to date. This essay will discuss Reaganomics in details. The work will also state the advantages and disadvantages of Reaganomics. The importance of the policy was to lower the increase in government spending, to reduce taxes such as capital gains and federal income. The policy also aimed at decreasing inflation through tightening the money supply. The other pillar of the policy was also to reduce government regulation. President Reagan believed that through addressing the above-mentioned issues the country would experience an economic growth. The policy led to the most successful financial or economic experience in history, which made the economy grow by one-third. Although there were some problems experienced with this strategy it had its upside to it (Book Caps 90).…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Manchester Dbq Ap Euro

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The growth of Manchester included a growth in population which brought advances in manufacturing and gave rise to several positive reactions throughout England. For example, according to Thomas B Macaulay, a liberal Member of Parliament and Historian, the manufacturing system increased the national wealth and thus people were better fed, clothed, and even lived longer (Doc.3) (Document 3 however, is biased because it was written by Thomas B, Macaulay, and as a member of the high class in England, the growth in population gave him profit. ) This idea is supported in Document 10, as it mentions that the increased salaries and “improved working conditions” were all due to the manufacturing industry. Manchester is described as the “Workshop of the World” with an energetic and spirited population (Doc. 9). This document, though, because it is a business directory, it by nature, exaggerates the prosperity of businesses and the economic aspect of situation.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many basic economic and political polices were pursued by the conservative republican administrations. There was an underlying weakness, but not a big one, and it did indedd lead the the great depression.…

    • 363 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you agree with the view that the Conservatives were certain to win in 1979?…

    • 936 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Indeed, a major reason for Labour’s victory was because Harold Wilson advocated a campaign for economic modernisation of Britain so the nation did not fall behind the excelling economies of European rivals such as West Germany. Economists raise the significant point that economic modernisation looks at the internal dynamics of a nation while referring to social and cultural structures and the adaptation of new technologies. The Conservatives failed in every social and economic aspect of this theory, as shown in 1963, as unemployment reached approximately 800,000 making a mockery of Macmillan’s, ‘never had it so good speech.’ The inability of the Conservative Party to economically modernise Britain led not only to their downfall in the 1964 election, but also to the collapse of Britain’s economy during this era. Economists point out that as a result of Conservative mismanagement of the economic sectors, Britain faced financial hardships, including a huge balance of payments deficit, which undeniably caused higher levels of inflation, causing the cost of living for ordinary British people to rise. Moreover, the economic boom of the late 1950s and the, ‘Age of Affluence,’ had reached its end, with great saturation in the markets for consumer goods. Inevitably, poor…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays