| When Margaret Thatcher
came to power in May nineteen seventy nine, Britain was a very different
place to today. The trades unions were a
political force to be reckoned with, government was involved
in everything from generating power to making cars and many people
looked to the state to provide their every need. Much of that changed
during her eleven years in power. She neutered
the labour movement, oversaw the privatisation
of large swathes of the economy,
and encouraged people to take more responsibility for their own
lives. Much of this was fiercely resisted
but is now political orthodoxy in
Britain.
But she didn't win all the arguments. The National Health Service
has been spared from comprehensive privatisation
and a policy of ever smaller government and lower taxes has been
abandoned by her Conservative party.
One thing that hasn't changed however is the argument over Britain's
place in Europe. It still divides the Conservatives and could
yet be the undoing of Britain's
current Prime Minister Tony Blair.
|
|
|
|
a political force to be reckoned with:
having real power
neutered: made powerless
privatization: when private companies
are given control and ownership of businesses that were previously
controlled by the government
large swathes of: large parts
of
fiercely resisted: strongly opposed
political orthodoxy: what is
considered to be normal political policy
spared from comprehensive privatization:
although some parts were taken over by private companies, most
remains under government control
abandoned: rejected
the undoing of: the thing that will cause failure
|
