Thatcher's Britain: Privatisation, Unions, and Society 1983–1990

Thatcher's second and third terms (1983–87 and 1987–90) saw the most radical transformation of the British state and economy since the Attlee government. Privatisation, the defeat of the miners, the abolition of the Greater London Council, the poll tax, and the transformation of the financial sector — the "Big Bang" — reshaped Britain in ways that remain deeply contested. This period also saw rising inequality, the AIDS crisis, and the cultural ferment of the 1980s.

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The Miners' Strike 1984–85

Background

The miners' strike of 1984–85 was the defining industrial confrontation of the twentieth century. It was a deliberate test of strength between the government and the most powerful union in Britain — and the government was determined to win.

Preparation	Detail
Ridley Plan	Nicholas Ridley's confidential 1977 report (leaked to The Economist in 1978) proposed a strategy for defeating a miners' strike: build up coal stocks, prepare to import coal, recruit non-union lorry drivers, establish a large mobile police force, and cut off union funds
Ian MacGregor	Appointed chairman of the NCB in September 1983 — an American-based Scottish businessman who had led the restructuring (and mass redundancies) at British Steel
Coal stocks	The government built up stockpiles at power stations — the critical weakness in the 1972 and 1974 strikes

The Strike

Phase	Events
Trigger	The NCB announced the closure of Cortonwood colliery (Yorkshire) on 1 March 1984. Area strikes began immediately
National strike	Arthur Scargill called a national strike from 12 March 1984 — crucially, WITHOUT a national ballot. This decision undermined the strike's legitimacy and enabled the Nottinghamshire miners (who later formed the breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers) to continue working
Picketing	The strike involved mass picketing, particularly at collieries where miners continued working. The "Battle of Orgreave" (18 June 1984) saw mounted police charge pickets at a coking plant near Sheffield. The policing of the strike was later criticised as disproportionate and politicised
Duration	The strike lasted almost exactly a year — from March 1984 to March 1985
Defeat	Miners returned to work on 3 March 1985 without an agreement. The NCB proceeded with its closure programme — pit numbers fell from 170 in 1984 to 50 by 1994

Historiographical Debate: Raphael Samuel (The Enemy Within, 1986) documented the strike from the perspective of mining communities, emphasising their solidarity and the devastating social consequences of pit closures. Francis Beckett and David Hencke (Marching to the Fault Line, 2009) argued that Scargill's refusal to hold a ballot was a fatal strategic error that divided the union and gifted the moral high ground to the government. Seumas Milne (The Enemy Within, 1994, revised 2004) revealed the role of MI5, Special Branch, and GCHQ in surveillance and infiltration of the NUM — raising questions about the extent of state involvement in defeating the strike.

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Privatisation

Privatisation — the sale of state-owned industries to private shareholders — was Thatcher's most enduring domestic legacy. It began cautiously and accelerated dramatically:

Company	Date	Details
British Telecom	November 1984	The first major privatisation; shares were heavily oversubscribed. The sale raised £3.9 billion. 2.3 million small shareholders applied — more than had ever bought shares in a single company
British Gas	December 1986	"Tell Sid" advertising campaign encouraged small shareholders. Raised £5.6 billion
British Airways	February 1987	Raised £900 million
British Steel	December 1988	Raised £2.5 billion
Water authorities	December 1989	Ten regional water companies privatised. Raised £5.2 billion. More controversial — privatising a natural monopoly and essential public service
Electricity	December 1990	Distribution companies sold; generation companies followed in 1991. Raised £5.2 billion

The "Big Bang" (27 October 1986)

The deregulation of the London Stock Exchange — known as the "Big Bang" — transformed the City of London:

Change	Detail
Fixed commissions	Abolished — introducing competition in brokerage fees
Single capacity	The distinction between jobbers (market-makers) and brokers was abolished
Foreign ownership	Foreign firms were permitted to buy British brokerages and market-makers
Electronic trading	The trading floor was replaced by electronic screen-based trading

The Big Bang made London one of the world's leading financial centres but also contributed to the culture of financial excess and risk-taking that would culminate in the 2008 financial crisis.

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