Thatcher and Blair

Introduction

With the campaign ‘New Labour Because Britain Deserves Better’, it appeared that the new look of the Labour Party was so promising that most Britons have poured their votes for the Labour Party, and Tony Blair and his family moved to stay at the 10th Downing Street.

It is said that the New Labour won the election, because they have tried to understand what British people wanted. Like it or not, the New Labour has simply followed Margaret Thatcher’s achievements. Moreover, Tony Blair and his aides have consistently used Thatcherite rhetoric to strengthen his

‘New’ credentials such as the use of ‘No turning back’ and ‘No, no, no.’

(The Guardian, April 20, 1999)

Thus, based on the assumption that the Left Wing has adopted the Right Wing policies, this report attempts to find differences and similarities of Mrs.

Margaret Thatcher’s and Mr. Tony Blair’s domestic and foreign affairs policies as well as the impacts on Britain.

Background

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Its constitution is partly unwritten and flexible. Also, politics in Britain is a two-party politics, and the system of British government is built around the existence of competing political parties, having distinctive policies and views, particularly The Conservative Party and the

Labour Party, which are the dominant parties nowadays. To understand the management policies, it is worth looking into the political philosophy of both rival parties.

The Conservative Party

The Conservative Party or formally National Union of Conservative and

Unionist Associations is a right-of-centre political party. It is the heir and continuation of the old Tory Party, members of which began forming

Conservation Association after Britain’s first Reform Act of 1832, extended electoral rights to the middle class. Formed by Sir Robert Peel in 1834, the first Conservative government announced the reform of abuse; the importance of law and order and of the police; orderly system of taxation, and the importance of both landed interests and of trade and industry.

Among former Conservative Prime Ministers, there are two well-known persons, who shall be mentioned here. Firstly, during World War II, The Conservative

Party dominated national office and Winston Churchill (later became Sir

Winston) led Britain to victory in 1945. Secondly, Margaret Thatcher (b. 13

Oct 1925) and later being made as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven was the first European and British Prime Minister (1979-1990). Not only did she win three consecutive terms in the 20th century, but she also was Britain’s