How far did the premiership of Margaret Thatcher alter the political consensus said by many commentators to have existed in post-war Britain? Why might it be argued that Mrs. Thatcher helped to create a new consensus?.
Margaret Thatcher was not your typical Prime Minister. Most notably the first, and only, female PM to take power in the United Kingdom, she drew a new blueprint for the British party political system and it's political consensus. In this essay I plan to unearth the ways in which Mrs. Thatcher changed the consensus and used her individual thinking and flare to alter the way politics in Britain continues to the present day. Mrs. Thatcher's own personal theory on the consensus can be almost wholly summed up in the following quote;.
"To me consensus seems to be: the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner "I stand for consensus"?"(1).
In order to have a stable government it is important to have consensus. Consensus is a general understanding and agreement on fundamental principles. In politics there are three main types of consensus, Societal Consensus, Political Consensus and consensus in policy making. Main political parties all have policies that are similar, as they all want to appeal to the public. This is Political Consensus. The parties may still disagree over certain policies or issues, but on key issues their policies are very similar. If a party was to introduce policies that were outside the consensus, they would lose popularity and would not be elected. This means that governments often continue the policies of their predecessor. .
Historically Britain has enjoyed consensus politics.