Editing Thatcherism (section)

== Thatcher's legacy ==
{{further|Margaret Thatcher#Political impact}}

[[File:TonyBlairArmagh1998.jpg|thumb|right|Prime Minister Tony Blair, shown speaking in 1998 while visiting [[Armagh]], has publicly proclaimed his support for various aspects of Thatcherism despite leading an opposing political party years after Thatcher left office.]]

The extent to which one can say Thatcherism has a continuing influence on British political and economic life is unclear. It could be said that a "post-Thatcherite consensus" exists in modern British political culture, especially regarding monetary policy. In the 1980s, the now defunct [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] adhered to a "tough and tender" approach in which Thatcherite reforms were coupled with additional welfare provisions. [[Neil Kinnock]], leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, initiated Labour's rightward shift across the [[political spectrum]] by largely concurring with the economic policies of the Thatcher government. The [[New Labour]] governments of [[Tony Blair]] and [[Gordon Brown]] were described as "neo-Thatcherite" by some on the left since many of their economic policies mimicked those of Thatcher.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200506060022 |title=New Labour Neo-Thatcherite |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=6 June 2005 |access-date=1 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231942/http://www.newstatesman.com/200506060022 |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref>

In 1999, twenty years after Thatcher had come to power, the Conservative Party held a dinner in London Hilton to honour the anniversary. During the dinner, several speeches were given. To Thatcher's astonishment, the Conservatives had decided that it was time to shelve the economic policies of the 1980s. The Conservative Party leader at the time, [[William Hague]], said that the party had learnt its lesson from the 1980s and called it a "great mistake to think that all Conservatives have to offer is solutions based on free markets".{{sfn|Campbell|2011|p=790}} His deputy at the time [[Peter Lilley]] elaborated and said, "belief in the free market has only ever been part of Conservatism".{{sfn|Campbell|2011|p=790}}

In 2002, [[Peter Mandelson]], who had served in Blair's Cabinet, famously declared that "we are all Thatcherites now".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,9061,730718,00.html|title=Mandelson: we are all Thatcherites now|work=The Guardian|date=10 June 2002|access-date=15 September 2006 | location=London | first=Matthew | last=Tempest}}</ref>

Most major British political parties today accept the trade union legislation, privatisations and general free market approach to government that [[Thatcher's governments]] installed.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Before 2010, no major political party in the United Kingdom had committed to reversing the Thatcher government's reforms of the economy, although in the aftermath of the [[Great Recession]] from 2007 to 2012, the then Labour Party leader [[Ed Miliband]] had indicated he would support stricter [[financial regulation]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19775686 |title=Labour conference: Miliband threat to break up banks |work=BBC News |date=30 September 2012 |access-date=14 January 2013}}</ref> and industry-focused policy<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/mar/06/patriotic-economic-policy-british-industry |title=Patriotic economic policy needed to boost British industry, Miliband says |work=The Guardian |date=6 March 2012 |access-date=14 January 2013}}</ref> in a move to a more mixed economy. Although Miliband was said by the ''[[Financial Times]]'' to have "turned his back on many of New Labour's tenets, seeking to prove that an openly socialist party could win the backing of the British electorate for the first time since the 1970s",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/734f0578-f34a-11e4-8141-00144feab7de |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/734f0578-f34a-11e4-8141-00144feab7de |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|work=Financial Times|title=Ed Miliband's move to the left lost Labour the election|date=8 May 2015|access-date=18 September 2020 |first=Jim | last=Pickard}}</ref> in 2011 Miliband had declared his support for Thatcher's reductions in income tax on top earners, her legislation to change the rules on the [[closed shop]] and strikes before ballots, as well as her introduction of [[Right to Buy]], saying Labour had been wrong to oppose these reforms at the time.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband/8791870/Labour-Party-Conference-Ed-Milibands-speech-in-full.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband/8791870/Labour-Party-Conference-Ed-Milibands-speech-in-full.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Labour Party Conference: Ed Miliband's speech in full |work=The Telegraph |date=27 September 2011 |access-date=12 April 2013 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Moreover, the UK's comparative [[macroeconomic]] performance has improved since implementing Thatcherite economic policies. Since Thatcher resigned as British prime minister in 1990, British economic growth was, on average, higher than the other large European economies (i.e. Germany, France and Italy).{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Such comparisons have been controversial for decades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No, Margaret Thatcher Didn't Save the British Economy |url=https://jacobin.com/2020/12/margaret-thatcher-british-economy-tories-austerity |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=jacobin.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Tony Blair wrote in his 2010 autobiography ''[[A Journey (memoir)|A Journey]]'' that "Britain needed the industrial and economic reforms of the Thatcher period". He described Thatcher's efforts as "ideological, sometimes unnecessarily so" while also stating that "much of what she wanted to do in the 1980s was inevitable, a consequence not of ideology but of social and economic change." Blair additionally labelled these viewpoints as a matter of "basic fact".{{sfn|Blair|2010|p=101}}

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Thatcher's 1979 election victory, the [[BBC]] surveyed opinions which opened with the following comments:<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3681973.stm |title=Evaluating Thatcher's legacy |work=BBC News |date=4 May 2004|access-date=18 October 2007}}</ref>
{{blockquote|To her supporters, she was a revolutionary figure who transformed Britain's stagnant economy, tamed the unions and re-established the country as a world power. Together with US presidents Reagan and [[George H. W. Bush|Bush]], she helped bring about the [[end of the Cold War]]. But her 11-year premiership was also marked by social unrest, industrial strife and high unemployment. Her critics claim British society is still feeling the effect of her divisive economic policies and the culture of greed and selfishness they allegedly promoted.}}

From the viewpoint of late 2019, the state of British politics showed that Thatcherism had suffered a "sad fate", according to ''[[The Economist]]'' Bagehot column.{{sfn|Bagehot|2019|p=59}} As a political-economic philosophy, Thatcherism was originally built upon four components:  commitment to [[free enterprise]];{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=321–341}} [[British nationalism]];{{sfn|Dixon|1983|pp=161–180}} a plan to strengthen the state by improving efficiency;  and a belief in traditional [[Victorian values]] especially hard work and civic responsibility.{{sfn|Sutcliffe-Braithwaite|2012|pp=497–520}} The tone of Thatcherism was establishment bashing, with intellectuals a prime target, and that tone remains sharp today.{{sfn|Harrison|1994}} Bagehot argues that some Thatcherisms have become mainstream, such as a more efficient operation of the government. Others have been sharply reduced, such as insisting that [[deregulation]] is always the answer to everything. The dream of restoring traditional values by creating a property-owning democracy has failed in Britain – ownership in the stock market has plunged, as has the proportion of young people who are homebuyers. Her privatisation programme became suspect when it appeared to favour investors rather than customers.{{sfn|Marsh|1991|pp=459–480}}

Recent developments in Britain reveal a deep conflict between Thatcherite free enterprise and Thatcherite nationalism. She wanted to reverse Britain's decline by fostering entrepreneurship – but immigrants have often played an important role as entrepreneurial leaders in Britain.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} Bagehot says Britain is "more successful at hosting world-class players than producing them." In the course of the [[Brexit]] process, nationalists have denounced European controls over Britain's future, while business leaders often instead prioritise the maintenance of their leadership of the European market. Thatcher herself showed a marked degree of Euroscepticism when she warned against a "[[European superstate]]".{{sfn|Alexandre-Collier|2015|pp=115–133}}<ref>{{cite magazine
  | author    = Bagehot
  | title     = The sad decline of Thatcherism
  | url       = https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/10/12/the-sad-decline-of-thatcherism
  | date      = 12 October 2019
| magazine  = The Economist
  | page      = 59
  }}</ref>

Evaluating whether or not political conservatives of the 2020s continue the neoliberal legacy of prior years, [[Theresa May]]'s Conservative Party election manifesto has attracted attention due to its inclusion of the lines: "We do not believe in untrammelled free markets. We reject the cult of selfish individualism. We abhor social division, injustice, unfairness and inequality." Journalists such as Ross Gittins of ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' have cited this as a move away from the standard arguments made historically by Thatcherites and related advocates.<ref name=Ross/>