Online Document Assignment 29

MARGARET THATCHER

Rebranding the Conservative Message for a Changing World

The 1979 British general election that made Margaret Thatcher prime minister was part of a much larger conservative wave that carried Ronald Reagan to the American presidency and Helmut Kohl to the chancellorship of West Germany. Economic discontent was at the heart of this political revolution. The prolonged period of economic decline that began in the early 1970s undermined popular support for the social welfare state. By the end of the decade, large numbers of people were ready to embrace the market-oriented policies that conservatives promised would bring about economic renewal. Conservative support was also fueled by social and cultural nostalgia. Looking back over almost two decades of rapid and unsettling social and cultural change, many observers longed for a return to a simpler time. Thus conservative rhetoric stressed family, tradition, church, and moral clarity.

Nonetheless, conservatives had to contend with two crucial realities if they were to build lasting political majorities. First, while many people had become disenchanted with the idea of the welfare state, a majority of the public still supported many of its key components, including universal health care, unemployment insurance, and old-age pensions. Second, society had changed since the 1950s. The social movements of the 1960s and 1970s that challenged gender and racial inequality were not fads. Instead, they reflected long-term shifts in social and cultural norms. Women and minorities had become key components of the electorate, and that was not going to change. The political posters from the 1979 British general election included in this exercise provide an opportunity to explore conservative efforts to meet these challenges. As you examine them, think about the objectives of their creators. To whom were these posters meant to appeal? How did they adapt the conservative message to fit the values and beliefs of the majority of British people?

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