The general view we are given of the 1970s is that Britain was an economic basket case due to constant strikes, inflation, militant unions and inefficient industries. Supporters of Margaret Thatcher argued she saved Britain from decline. How valid is this view? Was Britian as bad as is portrayed? The links below question this view.
Why the Tories Say We Want to Go “Back to the 1970s” (jacobinmag.com)
Neil Clark: Don't believe the myth of Thatcherism: The 1970s were great (neilclark66.blogspot.com)
Hello. Urban historian specialising in 20th century Britain.
Britain in the 1970s was marked by social tension, economic deflation and the gradual decline of British industry. But general living standards improved. The 1970s made fertile soil for the booming 1980s – so long as you were in the south of England.
What was good about the 1970s? Many things, but chief among them were that Parker Morris standard housing became more common, motorways and train lines were constructed with great pace and industry moved from heavy to light engineering, which helped to lower pollution levels in inner city areas.
Furthermore, while the GDP did not increase at the same pace as it had during the two previous post-war decades, people tended to have more disposable income during this decade. Thus, consumerism flourished: people had access to new purchases such as colour televisions, automatic domestic appliances helped to reduce the workload of women in the home, facilitating an ongoing social revolution in which women became increasingly accepted in the workplace, and offered a raft of new leisure facilities. The "complex" became a common feature of British towns and cities, offering shopping, cinemas and everything else the heart desired, all under one roof.
The Cultural Revolution, which had started in the 1960s, had gained so much momentum that it was now a prescient force in society. Subcultures developed as people found easier and greater access to a sense of individual identity. They could buy the clothes and partake in the leisure they wanted. The "teenager" became a social strata unto itself.
Unfortunately, this was set against a background of economic downtown. And yes, it was perhaps one of the worst economic crises Britain has faced to date. Interest rates hit highs of up to 15% leading to widespread mortgage defaults. This was, ironically, the decade in which right to buy was first floated, but uptake was incredibly low for the simple reason that most people considered owning a home to be a huge risk.
Industry declined quickly. Every historian has their opinions on why this happened. Some say it was to do with strike action, others put it down to the escalating costs of materials, some say it was outsourcing, some say it was increasing foreign competition. They are all right. The full picture is so complex that it is impossible to narrow down a single reason.
What we can talk about are the effects. Unemployment doubled throughout the decade as major industries such as shipbuilding and mining collapsed. Strike action, particularly that taken by miners facing redundancy, caused massive natural resource shortages which affected power production, which in turn caused regular blackouts. As a result, the government were forced to implement a three-day working week in order to conserve electricity.
The worst effects were felt in the north of England, particularly in places like Newcastle upon Tyne, which had historically relied on these industries; the south, which had tended to favour light engineering and the newly emerging technology industries, actually prospered.
I have to cut myself short here because I could go on all day about the many arguments for and against the British state in the 1970s, but as I've started to make clear already, it is a massively complex subject. Therefore I will point you in the direction of some recent historiography that will help you to continue your journey if you wish: