how similar is David Cameron to Margaret thatcher?

Authors Avatar by subz100 (student)

How far do you agree that ‘there is no evidence that the fundamental of Thatcherism has been rejected by Cameron’s conservatives?

In my opinion I believe that there is evidence which suggests that David Cameron has kept certain factors of Thatcherism in the modern conservative party, however, there is some evidence which also suggests that David Cameron is his own man and differs from Margaret Thatcher’s views.

Firstly, the world was a very different place back when Margaret Thatcher was in power. The UK had a strong manufacturing base and a lot of it was state owned, Unionism was rife and state employed workers were constantly out on strike. Thatcher saw the Unions as trouble makers and as a malevolent influence on the UK's prosperity as a whole so she decided to do something about it, she reduced the unions' power - making strike ballots compulsory and outlawing flying pickets etc and set about selling off nationalised industry. Similarly, David Cameron also views trade unions as a nuisance that disrupt society’s economic growth. In the 1980s, Prime Minister Thatcher had a secure Tory majority and no reputation for making U-turns. That is not true of Mr Cameron's government. Weakness, even perceived weakness, not strength, provokes aggression from the trade union. David Cameron is threatening to tear up strike laws to prevent militant trade unions holding Britain to ransom. Also, David Cameron is to go to war with the trade unions over new laws to make it easier for firms to sack workers while condemning next week's public sector strike over pensions.

Join now!

On the other hand, you could argue that David Cameron’s presentation of his ideologies and beliefs reflect a more moderate and caring conservatism. For example, when Margaret Thatcher was in power, the New Right Conservatives led to opposition of government intervention to the poor and that the reason why the lower class where in the position they are in is due to their lazy work ethic. Subsequently, the government had created a dependency culture where members of society had become to dependent on state benefits. Conversely, David Cameron said that state support ought to be a last resort; however ...

This is a preview of the whole essay