Thatcherism And the Crisis of the Left

Margaret Thatcher on challenges from the left

Polarizations The 1980s: a period of bitter class conflict and political struggle: employers v. workers; state v. trade unions, right v. left The defeat of the left crucial to the reshaping of British politics: The conflict between Thatcher and the unions, especially the miners’ strike 1984-85 The growth and decline of the left within the Labour Party, and within local councils

The postwar consensus, 1945-1970s Broadly similar trajectories across most of Western Europe after World War II: - repudiation of free-trade economics in favour of a more regulated and managed capitalism Full employment High public spending Strong unions Often extensive sectors of state control: eg. nationalized industries in Britain Dominance of Keynesian economics Lowest levels of economic inequality in the history of capitalism Parties of centre-left and centre-right alternating in power; significant spheres where policies overlap

The late 1970s: the consensus crumbles Economic crisis marked by decline in industrial manufacturing and exports; rising fuel prices; mounting inflation and unemployment Right-wing resurgence in economic thought: monetarism, ‘neoliberalism’ – seeking restraints on public spending, clampdown on unions Bitter industrial conflicts: the ‘Winter Of Discontent’, 1978-1979 The rise of Margaret Thatcher: the Right recalibrates its vision

‘The winter of discontent’

Tory campaign poster, 1979

Industrial militancy in the 1970s Emergence of left-wing trade union leaderships: mining, engineering, transport National Union of Mineworkers: rise of Arthur Scargill and a left turn in a hitherto relatively conservative union Flying pickets Miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974: bring down Edward Heath’s Tory government Shop-floor militancy: ‘workers’ control’, shop stewards

Scargill addressing a rally

Scargill – Private Eye cover Jan 1982

The miners’ strike of 1984-85 1981: Thatcher opens hostilities, but soon retreats, conceding in the face of strike action Closure of Cortonwood colliery (still a productive pit) in March 1984: strike declared in response, spreads rapidly across mining districts Elaborate advance preparations by government – stockpiling, transporting, importing coal Massive deployment of police, security, surveillance forces – despite government ‘officially’ having no ‘stake’ in the matter High levels of violence, especially perpetuated by law enforcement agencies Solidarity organizations: Women Against Pit Closures; LGSM; students; printers and other industrial workers Decisive defeat, leading to significant reorientation of economy

Cortonwood Colliery: the first to face the axe

Cortonwood: pickets and slogans

A picket line

The miners’ strike as civil war

Police ‘handling’ of the miners’ strike

Miners’ wives support group

Women Against Pit Closures

Women Against Pit Closures - 2

LGSM: ‘Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners’

LGSM: Pride ‘85

Pride (d. Matthew Warchus, 2014)

“Pits And Perverts”: subverting homophobic abuse

The Sun on Scargill

The Sun on Scargill

Brassed Off (dir. Mark Herman, 1996)

Our Friends in the North (BBC 1996, writer Peter Flannery)

David Peace: GB84

The Labour Party, 1979-83: the rise of the left In postwar Britain, the left wing of the Labour Party traditionally on the margins – till the late 1970s Rise of a strong Labour left, centred around constituency activists and led by Tony Benn – especially strong in early 1980s Initiated a (temporary) shift of Labour programme sharply to the left: wealth controls, workers’ rights, social control of economy, nuclear disarmament, women’s and minorities’ rights Campaign for widening democratic structures within the Labour Party: partially successful, as constituencies gain greater role in internal elections 1983 election manifesto described as ‘longest suicide note in history’: however, Labour enjoyed emphatic poll leads throughout early 1980s, and Tories lagged behind until the declaration of the Falklands War.

Tony Benn in the 1980s

The defeat of the Left inside Labour A significant fraction of the party splits off to form the SDP – later merges with Liberals to form Liberal Democrats Falklands War delivers thumping victory for Thatcher Rise of Neil Kinnock: the left is rolled back within Labour through the second half of the 80s. Despite ‘moderation’ under Kinnock, Labour continues to slide from defeat to defeat: 1987, 1992

Spheres of the 1980s left: councils, movements and campaigns Rearguard left-wing ‘advances’ at the level of local government: left-wing councils establish some deep bases in the 1980s Greater London Council under Ken Livingstone: local government in London run by left-wing socialists through significant portion of the Thatcher years Left councils in Lambeth, Liverpool, Haringey: battles over ‘rate-capping’, education, culture, gay rights, etc. Significant anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigns: radical left leads mobilizations against National Front. Feminist, LGBT, anti-nuclear politics come to form a more significant portion of left politics than before

Liverpool Council in the 80s