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‘Still too much socialism in Britain’: The legacy of Margaret Thatcher

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  • Huw Beynon

Abstract

Margaret Thatcher's death in 2013 was followed by extensive tributes to her achievements, often describing her role in ‘saving Britain’. Other more sceptical voices pointed to the destructive aspects of her politics. This article explores these issues through an examination of the major confrontation with the coal miners and their trade union the NUM. Through published sources and interviews with key actors it argues that the dispute epitomised Mrs Thatcher's concern to weaken trade unionism and defeat socialism. This (rather than issues of employment or energy policy) is seen as her strategic objective and her success can be measured in the changed nature of the Labour Party. In this the exercise of state power was decisive. However, the article questions the extent to which ‘Thatcherism’ and the associated individualism has prevailed as an hegemonic force. It provides examples of a continuing patterns of collective behaviour and beliefs and raises the possibility of an emerging and different form of labour movement.

Suggested Citation

  • Huw Beynon, 2014. "‘Still too much socialism in Britain’: The legacy of Margaret Thatcher," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 214-233, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:45:y:2014:i:3:p:214-233
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/irj.12051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Huw Beynon & Rhys Davies & Steve Davies, 2012. "Sources of variation in trade union membership across the UK: the case of Wales," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 200-221, May.
    2. R. Ross MacKay & Rhys Davies, 2012. "Collective Learning, Effective Demand, Loss of Work and Loss of Direction: The Growing Regional Divide within the UK," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(7), pages 859-871, October.
    3. Vassilis Monastiriotis, 2007. "Union Retreat and Regional Economic Performance: The UK Experience," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 143-156.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huw Beynon & Helen Blakely & Alex Bryson & Rhys Davies, 2021. "The Persistence of Union Membership within the Coalfields of Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1131-1152, December.
    2. Alex Bryson & Rhys Davies, 2019. "Family, Place and the Intergenerational Transmission of Union Membership," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(3), pages 624-650, September.

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