Thatcherism and the Third Way are two political concepts which were in practice during the 1980s and the late 1990s respectively. .
Thatcherism itself was a set of ideologies set up by Margaret Thatcher during her time as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1991. Generally, it is defined as an attempt to create new political and ideological frameworks based on liberal and new right ideas. In basic terms, it is an alternative to what had been used over the past century in British politics. The Third way is Blair's alternative to political ideologies used in the past. It is based on modern conservatism and old style labour socialism. In this way Thatcherism and the Third Way are similar; they are both alternatives to what has already been used. .
Privatisation was brought in by Thatcher. Economists argued that inflation was a result of government borrowing a lot, and the way to combat the inflation was to reduce borrowing, and so raise income. This was done by selling off government owned assets. More government funds were therefore raised. However what became important was that people were buying shares and so if they were to sell these shares, they would make some money. This was only good for the economy, as people had more money to invest in products, which lead to economic growth. The New Labour government under Blair has followed this principle. They believe that privatisation increases the idea of profit making, which in turn powers the economy efficiently. This is a good example of free market capitalism. .
The unions were a constant source of annoyance for Thatcher. The post war period had seen a good relationship with the unions, even with the conservative government. However the Thatcherites reject the unions thru a few factors. They fear them; the miners" strike of 1974 proved to be the downfall of Edward Heath. Similarly the strikes during Callaghan's tenure caused him to go.