First Thatcher ministry
First Thatcher Ministry | |
|---|---|
| 85th ministry of United Kingdom (since 1707) | |
| 1979–1983 | |
 | |
| Date formed | 4 May 1979 |
| Date dissolved | 9 June 1983 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Head of government | Margaret Thatcher |
| Deputy head of government | William Whitelaw |
| Member party | Conservative Party |
| Status in legislature | Majority |
| Opposition cabinet | Callaghan Shadow Cabinet Foot Shadow Cabinet |
| Opposition party | Labour Party |
| Opposition leader | James Callaghan (1979–80) Michael Foot (1980–83) |
| History | |
| Election | 1979 general election |
| Outgoing election | 1983 general election |
| Predecessor | Callaghan ministry |
| Successor | Second Thatcher ministry |
Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 4 May 1979 to 28 November 1990, during which time she led a Conservative government. She was the first woman to hold that office. During her premiership, Thatcher moved to liberalise the British economy through deregulation, privatisation, and the promotion of entrepreneurialism. This article details the First Thatcher Ministry, which existed from 1979 until 1983.
Formation
Following the vote of no confidence against the Labour government and prime minister James Callaghan on 28 March 1979, a general election was called for 3 May 1979. The Winter of Discontent had seen the Labour government's popularity slump during the previous four months, and the opinion polls all pointed towards a Conservative victory.
The Tories won the election with a majority of 44 seats and their leader Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first female prime minister.
Thatcher inherited some of the worst economic statistics of postwar Britain. The nation was still feeling the effects of the numerous strikes during the recent Winter of Discontent. Inflation had recently topped 20%, and unemployment was in excess of 1.5 million for the first time since the 1930s.
Thatcher's monetarist and deflationary economic policies saw a cut in the inflation rate from a high of 22% in May 1980 to just over 13% by January 1981, and by June 1983 it had fallen to a 15-year low of 4.9%.
She also oversaw union reforms which saw strikes at their lowest for 30 years by 1983. However, her economic policies also resulted in the loss of much of Britain's heavy industry. Coal pits, steel plants, machine-tools and shipyards were particularly hard hit, most of all in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England. By 1983, unemployment had reached 3.2million, although economic growth was now re-established following the recession of 1980 and 1981.
The Labour opposition, which changed leader from James Callaghan to Michael Foot in 1980, was in no position to exploit the situation and mount a threat to the Conservative government's power. The change of leader saw the party shift dramatically to the left, and in 1981 a host of disenchanted Labour MP's formed the breakaway Social Democratic Party. The new party swiftly formed an alliance with the Liberals with a view to forming a coalition government at the next election. Roy Jenkins, leader of the SDP, worked in conjunction with Liberal leader David Steel with the goal of forming a coalition government at the next general election. For a while, opinion polls suggested that this could happen, with support for the Alliance peaking at 50% in late 1981, with both the Tories and Labour faring dismally.
However, when the Falkland Islands (a British colony in the South Atlantic) were seized by Argentine forces in March 1982, Thatcher was swift to declare war on Argentina which was won on 14 June when the Argentines surrendered. The success of this campaign saw a swift turnaround in support for the Tory government, who by the summer of 1982 were firmly in the lead in all of the major opinion polls. A Conservative victory at the next election appeared inevitable, although it appeared far from clear whether it would be Labour or the Alliance who formed the next opposition.
Fate
Thatcher had the option of waiting until May 1984 before calling a general election, but the opinion polls remained in her favour as 1983 dawned and so she called a general election for 9 June. With all the pollsters pointing towards a Tory majority, the most interesting outcome of the election was the guessing game as to whether it would be Labour or the Alliance who formed the next opposition.
In the event, the Tories were re-elected with a 144-seat majority. The election was an unmitigated disaster for Labour, who polled a mere 27.6% of the vote and were left with just 209 MPs in the new parliament. The Alliance came close to Labour in terms of votes with 25.4% of the electorate voting for them, but won a mere 23 seats.
Cabinets
May 1979 to September 1981
- Margaret Thatcher – Prime Minister
- William Whitelaw – Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary
- Lord Soames – Lord President of the Council
- Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone – Lord Chancellor
- Ian Gilmour – Lord Privy Seal
- Sir Geoffrey Howe – Chancellor of the Exchequer
- John Biffen – Chief Secretary to the Treasury
- Lord Carrington – Foreign Secretary
- Peter Walker – Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
- Norman St John-Stevas – Minister for the Arts and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Francis Pym – Secretary for Defence
- Mark Carlisle – Secretary of State for Education and Science
- James Prior – Secretary of State for Employment
- David Howell – Secretary of State for Energy
- Michael Heseltine – Secretary of State for the Environment
- Patrick Jenkin – Secretary of State for Health and Social Security
- Keith Joseph – Secretary of State for Industry
- Humphrey Atkins – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Angus Maude – Paymaster-General
- George Younger – Secretary of State for Scotland
- John Nott – Secretary of State for Trade and President of the Board of Trade
- Nicholas Edwards – Secretary of State for Wales
Changes
- January 1981 – Francis Pym succeeds Norman St John-Stevas as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Pym succeeds Angus Maude as Paymaster-General. John Nott succeeds Pym as Secretary of State for Defence. John Biffen succeeds Nott as Secretary of State for Trade and President of the Board of Trade. Leon Brittan succeeds John Biffen as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. St John-Stevas resigns as Minister for the Arts. His successor is not in the cabinet. The post of Secretary of State for Transport is brought into the cabinet and Norman Fowler is given the post.
September 1981 to June 1983
In September 1981, a substantial reshuffle took place.
- Margaret Thatcher – Prime Minister
- William Whitelaw – Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary
- Francis Pym – Lord President of the Council
- Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone – Lord Chancellor
- Humphrey Atkins – Lord Privy Seal
- Sir Geoffrey Howe – Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Leon Brittan – Chief Secretary to the Treasury
- Lord Carrington – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- Peter Walker – Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
- John Nott – Secretary of State for Defence
- Keith Joseph – Secretary of State for Education and Science
- Norman Tebbit – Secretary of State for Employment
- Nigel Lawson – Secretary of State for Energy
- Michael Heseltine – Secretary of State for the Environment
- Norman Fowler – Secretary of State for Health and Social Security
- Patrick Jenkin – Secretary of State for Industry
- Baroness Young – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- James Prior – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Cecil Parkinson – Paymaster-General
- George Younger – Secretary of State for Scotland
- John Biffen – Secretary of State for Trade and President of the Board of Trade
- David Howell – Secretary of State for Transport
- Nicholas Edwards – Secretary of State for Wales
Changes
- April 1982 – Francis Pym succeeds Lord Carrington as Foreign Secretary. John Biffen succeeds Pym as Lord President of the Council. Baroness Young succeeds Humphrey Atkins as Lord Privy Seal. Cecil Parkinson succeeds Baroness Young as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord Cockfield succeeds John Biffen as Secretary of State for Trade.
- January 1983 – Michael Heseltine succeeds John Nott as Secretary of State for Defence. Tom King succeeds Heseltine as Secretary of State for the Environment.
List of Ministers
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.
See also
References
- "British Cabinet and Government Membership". Retrieved 20 November 2007.
- "British Government 1979–2005". Retrieved 20 November 2007.
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