Thatcherism

Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister during the 1980s.

See also Reaganomics and Rogernomics. Thatcherism is characterized by a free market liberalism perhaps more closely associated with Victorian Liberalism in the United Kingdom, monetarist economics, low taxation, trenchant opposition to vested interests not seen to be associated with the English middle classes, -- especially the Trade Unions -- and a suspicion of the institutions of the British Welfare State. Thinkers closely associated with Thatcherism include Keith Joseph and Milton Friedman.

Support for Thatcherism was strongest in south east England, the wealthiest region of the United Kingdom, and the major beneficiary of Thatcherite policy.

Whether it ultimately benefited Britain or not, it destroyed the post-war consensus of British politics. In 2001 Peter Mandelson, a member of parliament belonging to the British Labour Party closely associated with Tony Blair, famously declared that "we are all Thatcherites now".