Margaret Thatcher revolutionised the Conservative party, bringing life back into what many felt was a tired Tory party. She was dogmatic rather than pragmatic, she believed in the value of the individual and she was a strong advocate of the free market economy. She irrevocably changed the Conservative party and politics. Leaders since her may have felt they were living in her shadow – none of them would dare publically question her, and many of her ideals have stuck. Even Labour accepted some of her policies, such as anti-trade union laws and privatisation. However, she also bred bitterness, so Cameronist politics cautiously echo Thatcherism, whilst trying to appeal to a wider audience. Cameron respected Thatcher rather than worshipped her – he set about what the media called “detoxifying” the Tories, but he still shared many core values with Thatcher. Cameron faces a different backdrop to Thatcher and his challenge has been to adapt rather than revolutionise – he admired Thatcher but is pragmatic enough to change rather than blindly follow her unshaking beliefs.
Cameron’s Conservatism is different to Thatcherism – and although much of it can be put down to the coalition diluting the more hard-line Tory policies, there are many decisions Thatcher would never have taken – again highlighting the difference between Thatcher’s dogmatism and Cameron’s pragmatism. Cameron had also planned to match Labour’s public spending increases from 2010-11 - whilst abandoned the idea shows he is much less averse to a bigger state (in some areas). His silent acceptance of minimum wage, whilst sensible (a reversal would never be accepted), highlights how both the Conservative party and the country have moved on since Thatcher’s time in power. Another example of passive differences to Thatcherism is the devolved state of Wales and Scotland – and even the referendum on Scottish independence – ideas which would have been unpopular with Thatcher. He more actively went against traditional Conservative ideals by cutting child benefit for higher income families – he is not afraid to stray from pure Thatcherite policy. His key differences with Thatcher lie in social beliefs. Cameronism incorporates social liberalism, in contrast with the Thatcherite social conservatism. Section 28 clashes hugely with Cameron’s plans for gay marriage and these differences can’t just be put down to different eras. Thatcher lauded the patriarchal nuclear family without worrying about the wider public opinion – Cameron is far more sensitive to the public mood than she was, and is far more accepting of gay marriage and less traditional values )although how much of that is down to pragmatism rather than deep set conviction is up for debate). This is partly because of the new system for choosing a leader – Thatcher had to appeal to fellow Conservative MPs for 50% of their vote. Cameron now had to ensure he has the support of Conservative party members, because they now have a vote in who the Tory leader is. Cameron was less free to follow his convictions and more tied to appealing to the traditional Tory members. Cameron claimed Britain had a “broken society” and shifted the Tory focus from wealth accumulation to “general well-being”. He changed the Conservative party logo to a tree to signify the new focus on the environment – the opposition to the third runway at Heathrow and investment in more renewable energy with the help of green energy taxes are things no-one would expect of Thatcher. The public perception of the Conservatives has changed under Cameron – he is seen as having dragged it from the right towards a more central ground.
However, the Tories had already moved to the centre in terms of social and economic policy under Hague and Ian Duncan Smith – for example matching Labour spending commitments and focusing on social justice. In terms of immigration and Europe they were more to the right – but arguably so was public opinion. Most of the changes were superficial and in the terminology. The “Big Society” was just a cover for slashing public spending – and using the idea of voluntary roles and community to fill the hole left. Cameron still believes in the free market and privatisation – he even went further than Thatcher by privatising Royal Mail – she famously said, “I’ll never sell the Queen’s head”. Thatcher’s legacy also lives on through increased tuition fees and the new idea of free schools – even with Cameron’s new focus on prioritising public healthcare there have been NHS market reforms. There is still a heavy emphasis on the market and use of the private sector for public services – like G4S for security at the 2012 Olympics. He has kept the policy of not “unduly” taxing the rich; he had plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold and succeeded in cutting the top 50p rate of tax. He also dislikes the idea of a big “nanny state” and this shows through the more traditionally Conservative policies of bedroom tax and making benefits harder to claim – with controversial plans such as the work for benefits scheme. Thatcher had a certain degree of distrust of Europe – every time she went to negotiate with the what later became the EU she was very confrontational and paved the way for Major’s opt-out clauses. Cameron, like Thatcher doesn’t have an irrational fear of Europe – he has resisted calls for an earlier referendum, but shares Thatcher’s wariness – he is also known for confrontation in Europe and has promised both a renegotiation on terms of membership, and a referendum on whether Britain should be part of the EU. Both leaders recognised the benefits Europe could bring but were wary of signing away British sovereignty. Their reactions to a poor economic climate are constant – austerity cuts and giving the private sector public sector roles – they are both traditional in their ideals of low tax low spend libertarianism. In many ways Cameronism is a subtle continuation of Thatcherism for the 21st century – perhaps best summed up by Cameron himself, “We’re all Thatcherites now”.
Despite his best efforts to “detoxify” the party, Cameron still has work to do in terms of winning over the public – 62% of people in the South and 73% of people in the North think that the “Conservatives care more about the rich and affluent than ordinary people”. Cameron needs to be seen to not favour the rich – but his instinct and the instinct of many around him is for less taxes and individualism – it seems he hasn’t struck the right balance to win over the public. One of Thatcher’s less talked about legacies is the near-complete loss of support in Scotland and the huge opposition to the Conservatives in the North. The Tories have also been accused of being hypocrites – despite the change of logo and the new focus on being “green”, Cameron has actually done very little in terms of helping the environment. HS2 has been widely criticised for its impact on the environment – many feel that wasn’t taken into consideration enough in the planning stages. Fracking seems to be set to go ahead despite huge opposition and the green levies that were such a move away from traditional Conservatism seem to be under threat as well. There are also problems with the party itself – it is far too old, white and wealthy by anyone’s standards and it doesn’t seem to be changing fast enough. The Tory party as a whole is simply unrepresentative of society – many view it as the party of the upper classes, those who wish to protect their own interests – a club of the elite – Cameron still has work to do if he plans to fully “detoxify” the Conservative party. Even if he manages it, not everyone will be happy. The Tory membership are not at all an accurate reflection of the wider public Cameron wants to appeal to – they are far more traditional and uncompromising than Cameron himself – how can he please everyone? Now, far more than when Thatcher was in power the Tory party leader has to appeal to the members because they have a say in the leadership – this makes it far harder for Cameron who has to appeal to two (almost completely) opposing audiences; one for the leadership election and one for the general election. His move to echo Thatcher’s “rolling back of the state” that was the “big society” has been criticised and the Cameron has attacked with claims that “people power will provide cover for the break-up of the welfare state”. There are many external problems Cameron still faces – the electoral system doesn’t help the Tories – their large very safe seats result in many wasted votes compared to Labour so they need more votes for every seat they win (although this problem is nowhere near as big as it is for their coalition partners). Perhaps their most pressing problem is EU membership and the issues that that causes. Not only does it divide the Tory party hugely but also the public – many Tories are naturally euro-sceptic, but increasingly the campaign to leave the EU has gathered support among the wider public. Cameron appeared to hesitate over the issue and time waste – many feel his promise of a referendum if they are elected in 2015 is not enough. Even with this promise and the promise of a renegotiation of terms the Tories now face a huge problem – UKIP. Labour has no left-wing rival of equivalent size or that poses anywhere near the same level of threat, and the Conservatives are losing more and more support to UKIP – whose members Cameron tactfully called “a bunch of fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”.
Overall, I think the Tory approach has changed since Thatcher – in terms of pragmatism rather than dogmatism, and evolution rather than revolution. Perhaps the most significant change is the change to social liberalism, although it could be argued this is the traditional Conservative tactic of moving with public opinion rather than a moral stand. In terms of core beliefs, the Conservative party today is very similar to how it was under Thatcher – with a strong belief in the free market, individualism and “rolling back the state”. There have been superficial changes to the way the ideas are presented to the electorate but the reasoning behind them stays the same. Cameron still faces many problems, in terms of public perception, representation and external threats. He is making progress, but is unable to use the sweeping tactics used by Thatcher and so the progress is slow and challenges have time to grow – UKIP seems to be the most imminent threat – in Thatcher’s time there would be no other right wing party with anywhere near enough support to prove any sort of threat to the Tories.