Thatcherism: Impact on Society (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Miners' Strike and Other Industrial Disputes
Thatcher's approach to trade unions
Margaret Thatcher viewed trade unions as representing what she termed "undemocratic socialism" - a political force she believed needed to be defeated. In her memoirs, she expressed certainty about the revolutionary aims of what she called "the hard Left", arguing they sought to impose a Marxist system on Britain regardless of cost. For Thatcher, the ballot box had delivered a mandate against this form of socialism, yet unions continued to wield substantial power outside the democratic parliamentary process.
Understanding Governability
Governability refers to the capacity of governments to establish policy directions, pass legislation through parliament, and ensure the police and judiciary enforce those laws. This concept became central to understanding the power struggle between elected governments and trade unions in the 1970s and 1980s.
Historian Jim Tomlinson notes that Conservatives based much of their opposition to unions on concerns about inflation. However, the central question after the defeats of both the Heath (1970-74) and Callaghan (1976-79) governments was whether trade unions possessed enough strength to prevent elected governments from implementing their mandates. This challenge to governability became the driving force behind Conservative employment policy in the 1980s.
Employment legislation restricting union power
The Thatcher government addressed union power through systematic legal reform rather than immediate confrontation. This gradual approach proved more effective than previous attempts at comprehensive reform.
Employment Act 1980
James Prior, Secretary of State for Employment, steered the Employment Act 1980 through parliament. This legislation outlawed secondary picketing - the practice where strikers picketed not their own workplace but the premises of their employer's suppliers or the retailers selling their employer's products. The act also took measures to restrict the closed shop, the arrangement whereby only union members could be employed at certain workplaces. These provisions marked the first legislative steps in constraining union activity.
Employment Act 1982
Norman Tebbit, Prior's successor, moved further with the Employment Act 1982, which placed employers in a stronger bargaining position through five specific measures:
Five Key Provisions of the Employment Act 1982
- It became harder to dismiss someone simply for not belonging to a trade union.
- Companies were forbidden from agreeing contracts exclusively with other companies whose entire workforce held union membership.
- Trade unions themselves, as well as individual union officials, could face legal action if they organised illegal strikes.
- The definition of what constituted a lawful strike was narrowed considerably.
- Employers gained the right to dismiss employees who participated in strike action.
These provisions fundamentally shifted the balance of power between employers and unions.
Historical assessment
Historian Chris Wrigley observes that the Thatcher and Major governments altered trade union law gradually over 1980-93 rather than through single comprehensive legislation as Heath's government had attempted in 1971. This staged approach proved more effective, partly because unions operated from a weakened position following the damaging strikes of 1979, combined with deteriorating economic circumstances and declining public esteem. Opposition to the reforms was consequently less organised and less effective than might otherwise have been expected.
The steel strike 1980
When steel workers initiated strike action in early 1980, the government responded by funding a pay increase. However, the employer, British Steel, subsequently implemented redundancies in an attempt to maintain commercial viability. The union's victory on pay was thus undermined by job losses. This outcome damaged the union's reputation as a defender of members' interests whilst also reducing its income base through lost subscriptions from redundant workers. The strike demonstrated how the government could neutralise industrial action through tactical flexibility.
The miners' strike 1984-85
Background and context
The government made clear its intention to reduce the coal industry substantially. Uneconomic collieries would close and miners would face redundancy. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), determined to prevent the industry contracting and protect members' employment, had previously balloted on strike action three times during 1982-83. On each occasion, a strong majority voted against industrial action.
Seeking to avoid a fourth defeat, NUM president Arthur Scargill permitted a local dispute in the Yorkshire Area of the union to develop into wider action. Various areas called strikes individually, whilst some opposed strike action entirely. When pickets from striking areas arrived to persuade miners in working areas to join them, union members frequently refused to cross the picket lines.
The course of the strike
The strike exposed and deepened divisions within the mining workforce. The Nottinghamshire miners, the highest paid in the country, felt least threatened about their future. They formed the breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) and continued working in substantial numbers.
The Labour movement also lacked unity. Whilst many Labour Party members and trade union activists raised funds to support the strikers, some unions actively opposed the strike - the National Union of Seamen, for instance, opposed coal imports. Neil Kinnock, Labour Party leader and son of a miner, attempted even-handedness, criticising both picket line violence and police violence whilst attacking the government's approach without defending Scargill directly.
Outcome and significance
The strike concluded in March 1985 with miners returning to work without achieving their objectives. The outcome weakened the trade union movement's position across the country's economy, society and political landscape. Pits closed, miners lost their jobs, and the NUM rapidly lost half its membership. The defeat had lasting implications for organised labour's ability to challenge government policy.
Contrasts with the 1974 miners' strike
Seven differences between the 1974 and 1984-85 strikes help explain why the later strike ended in defeat:
Seven Critical Differences Between 1974 and 1984-85
1. Union divisions: The union was not united in 1984-85. Nottinghamshire miners, the best paid nationally, felt least anxious about their prospects. They established the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and remained at work in large numbers.
2. Labour movement divisions: Many Labour Party and trade union activists collected funds to support strikers, and some unions actively assisted. However, the National Union of Seamen opposed coal imports. Labour leader Neil Kinnock sought balance, criticising both picket and police violence and attacking government policy without defending Scargill.
3. Prepared coal stocks: The government had built up coal reserves at power stations where they would be required, rather than leaving them at pitheads where strikers could control access.
4. Summer timing: The strike commenced in summer when coal demand was lower, whereas Gormley had initiated the 1974 strike during winter when demand peaked.
5. Legal preparation: The government had established the legal framework through the 1980 Prior Employment Act and Tebbit's 1982 Employment Act.
6. Electoral strategy: The government avoided making the dispute an election issue, learning from Heath's failed strategy.
7. Government confidence: Buoyed by success in the 1982 Falklands War, the government showed determination to defeat what Thatcher described in a 1984 speech to Conservative supporters as the 'enemy within', having won against the 'enemy without'.
The Wapping dispute 1986-87
Over time, corrupt and fraudulent practices by typesetters (known as compositors) had developed in the newspaper industry. Newspaper proprietors had not challenged these practices, recognising that newspapers cannot recover lost sales - once a day passes during a dispute, that day's sales are permanently lost.
Rupert Murdoch, The Times' new Australian-born owner, made secret plans to circumvent the print unions. New technology enabled journalists to input their stories directly into newspaper design software rather than writing copy on typewriters for others to manually and mechanically set. Those performing the traditional jobs would consequently lose employment.
The Wapping Strategy: Defeating Industrial Action Through Technology
Step 1: Management and unions failed to reach agreement, and in January 1986, a strike was initiated.
Step 2: Management responded by issuing dismissal notices to the 6000 strikers.
Step 3: Production of The Times and the company's other newspapers moved from Fleet Street offices to new premises in Wapping, where a new building with new technology awaited.
Step 4: For a year, unions organised demonstrations, frequently marked by disorder. Police provided sustained, often large-scale, supervision.
Outcome: By February 1987, the strike concluded with management victorious, demonstrating how technological change could fundamentally alter the balance of power in industrial disputes.
The decline of trade union power
Failed strikes and rising unemployment both eroded the union movement's strength. Membership fell by approximately 3 million during the 1980s, with half that decline occurring within just 24 months from 1981 to 1983. In 1990 the Employment Act ended the closed shop, eliminating an important source of trade union power in certain industries. Further restrictive legislation followed in 1992.
The Cultural Decline of Trade Unions
Trade union leaders became less prominent in public life. During the 1970s and earlier decades, leading trade unionists were household names. Television comedy frequently featured impersonations of prominent trade unionists, relying on audience recognition for the humour to succeed. From the 1990s onwards, fewer union leaders achieved such recognition, with impersonators favouring more immediately recognisable public figures instead.
This shift reflected not just political change, but a fundamental transformation in British society's relationship with organised labour.
Key Points to Remember:
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The Thatcher government systematically weakened trade unions through the Employment Acts of 1980 and 1982, which outlawed secondary picketing, restricted closed shops, allowed dismissal of strikers, narrowed the definition of legal strikes, and enabled legal action against unions.
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The 1984-85 miners' strike ended in defeat for the NUM after lasting from March 1984 to March 1985, resulting in pit closures, job losses, and the loss of half the NUM's membership - a defeat with lasting implications for the entire labour movement.
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Seven factors distinguished the failed 1984-85 strike from the successful 1974 action: union divisions (UDM breakaway), Labour movement splits, prepared coal stocks, summer timing, legal groundwork, avoiding an election, and post-Falklands government confidence.
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The 1986-87 Wapping dispute demonstrated how new technology could be used to defeat industrial action, with Rupert Murdoch successfully relocating The Times production and dismissing 6000 strikers despite year-long protests.
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Union membership fell by approximately 3 million during the 1980s, the closed shop was abolished in 1990, and trade union leaders lost their former cultural and political prominence, marking a decisive shift in British industrial relations.