What Are The Key Elements Of Thatcherism? To What Extent Was It A Reaction To The Post War Consensus?

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What Are The Key Elements Of Thatcherism? To What Extent Was It A Reaction To

The Post War Concensus?

Whether it is viewed as a success or a failure, most accept that 'Thatcherism' was a major turning point in recent political history. The 1979 general election was in many ways the most significant since the end of the war, as it signalled the comprehensive end of what became known as the Post-war Consensus, changing fundamentally the way in which the country was governed. To understand whether Thatcherism was a reaction against this consensus we have to first understand what the consensus was and what the key features of Thatcherism were.

Thatcherism can be defined as an attempt to establish a new political and ideological framework based on a variety of new right ideas. Thatchers style of leadership also helped make up this ideology. Riddell says. "Mrs Thatcher's view, prejudice and style have determined government's actions more than any other single factor."

It is now possibly to determine several main themes which help make up Thatcherism

The first of these was the new way of managing the economy. Monetarism as it became known is a