Thatcher's Fall from Power

In some ways the decline of Margaret Thatcher can be traced back to 1987, as it was then that a number of problems began to surface:

• The first problem was economic. In 1987 the stock market crashed following the ‘Big Bang’, the deregulation of the City in 1986. The policies of Margeret Thatcher’s Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, especially his 1988 budget, led to the rapid expansion of the economic in the ‘Lawson Boom’. This resulted in a balance of payments problem. By 1990, inflation had risen to 10.9%, higher than it had been in 1980. This was a problem for a government that had set as its key economic objective, low inflation. 
• The second problem was political. Many Conservative MPs feared defeat at the next election. The loss of the ultra-safe seat of Eastbourne to the Liberals in a by election in october 1990 was especially alarming. If the Conservatives could lose Eastbourne, they believed they could lose anywhere.
• The Conservative Party’s unpopularity was partly cased by economic problems, but it was also due to th introduction of the Connumity Charge, or poll tax. Mrs Thatcher was strongly advised to drop the scheme. She ignored the advice and pressed on. After the poll tax riot in March 1990 the government’s popularity in the opinion polls fell sharply. 

The Labour Party’s recovery under Neil Pinnock and John Smith was evident. It led the Conservatives in the opinion polls throughout 1990. At that point tensions within government came to head when Sir Geoffrey Howe resigned from the government over Europe. This proved to be a catalyst.

Howe’s resignation speech galvanised Michael Heseltine, who had been a long taking critic of catcher ever since Westland, into action. He announced a leadership challenge. After failing to win on the first ballot Thatcher resigned as prime minister. In the first ballot, Thatcher got 204 votes against Heseltine’s 152. under Conservative Party rules this was no usffieicent and a second ballot was needed. At first, thatcher intended to fight on. However, after meeting with her cabinet ministers, one at a time, she found that most of them advised her that she would not win. This allowed cabinet ministers Douglas Hurd and John major to enter the race as anti-heseltine candidates. It would have been seen as disloyal to do this if she was still running. 

Assessing the legal of Margaret Thatcher’s years in power is both difficult and controversial. She undoubtedly changed Britain and British politics. However, she continues to polarise opinion about whether these changes were for the better. In any case, she did not disappear quietly from the political scene. Even when she left office she promised she would be ‘a very good back seat driver’. She remained an important affluence eon the Conservative Party for the next 15 years and her premiership also affected the development of the Labour Party. 

• John Major was Thatcher's choice of successor and one key reason for Major's rise to leadership was that Thatcherites saw him as 'one of them'. In fact, this view of John Major was not especially accurate. Major's natural instincts were to unify the party. This would be a difficult job as there was ogoing hositlity to Michael Heseltine and a fierce determination amongst some to take revenge against those who had 'betrayed Maggie'.
• Nevertheless, the Conservatives jumped ahead in the opinion polls and the tone of the national press was very positive. Some of this was the 'honeymoon effect' experienced by new governments. But it also relfected Thatcher's unpopularity by 1990. 
• John Major's first big task involved foreign affairs an Europe. Britain was already fighting the First Gulf War, which reached a successful conclusion in March 1991. Major then turned his attention to Europe, making a speech that set out his aim to see Britian take a place at the 'very heart of Europe'. Major and his supporters hoped that it would be possible to follow a middle way on Europe.
• At home Major needed to deal with the poll tax. Many wanted him to scrap it immediately but this risked splitting the party. Only in November 1991, after very lengthy discussions, was the poll tax abandoned in favour of the new council tax. During this meant that £1.5 billion had been wasted but it allowed Major to get away from an unpopular policy that could be blamed on his predecessor.