The 'Broken society' that David Cameron has focused on is the fault of the rising inequality that primarily took place under Margaret Thatcher.
The ‘Broken society’, which David Cameron and his party often refer to, is the fault of the rising inequality that primarily took place under Margaret Thatcher, according to two academics recently cited by the Conservative party leader.
In October, David Cameron told Conservative party conference:
“But in Britain today there is a dark side as well. After twelve years of big government, we still have those stubborn social problems. Poverty, crime, addiction. Failing schools. Sink estates. Broken homes.”
But last week, Richard Wilkinson and Katie Pickett wrote a British Medical Journal editorial which said:
“It is now clear that unequal societies have an increased prevalence of a host of social problems, including violence, bullying, teenage births, higher rates of imprisonment, low educational performance, reduced social mobility, low levels of trust, and longer working hours. Insofar as these are behavioural outcomes, they provide strong evidence that psychosocial processes are associated with inequality.
“The benefits of greater equality tend to be largest among the poor but seem to extend to almost everyone. A more equal society might improve most people’s quality of life. Rather than merely paying lip service to creating a “classless society,” it is a task for politicians and policy experts to repair our “broken society” by undoing the widening of inequalities that has taken place since the 1970s.
A chart on Wilkinson and Pickett’s Equality Trust website shows that the largest rise in inequality took place while Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister.
Wilkinson and Pickett are authors of the groundbreaking study on inequality ‘The Spirit Level’ and were cited by David Cameron in his Huge Young memorial lecture on the day the editoral was published. Cameron’s speech was challenged for making inaccurate claims about poverty and inequality.
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
24 Responses to “Thatcher to blame for ‘Broken society’”
Ross J Warren
Oh it makes such a nice change to be giving rather than receiving! I suppose hear I am the troll !
Its a bit more than rich to blame Thatcher for the mess today’s society is in, and I am pretty certain that in 12 years time, if Conservatives were still blaming Blair, everyone would rightly smell a big fat rat. However I would remind the Socialist faith-full that in fact Maggie inherited a massive mess from the outgoing Labour government that has bankrupted the nation and had to call in the IMF for a loan. Yes our economy did indeed collapse in the first year or so of her time in office, as old outdated and union hamstrung businesses went to the wall. Yes the recovery when it came did not reach everyone, but by the time John Majors government was finished the economy was in good shape, we handed on a golden legacy to Nu-Labour.
The sad part is that despite all the noise Nu-labour achieved nothing 12 years of waste ,under achievement, corruption and illegal wars, leading in to end to bankruptcy. So what is left for the Nu-labour faithful to do, I know blame Maggie that always goes down well with the left and if its not true, well at least it helps hide the fact that Blair was useless and Brown was hapless. The rot of course started long before Maggie with Wilson, but that has never been a popularist thing to say now has it?
Ross J Warren
“The Tories appear to be targeting young voters who may not even have been born prior to the Thatcher government and will not know how much damage has been done in the past 30 years.” The last 12 of which have been under a nu-labour government. If I am not mistaken, indeed the damage has been done over 45+ Years with much of the real damage done by Wilson and his near communist government.
willstraw
Ross,
I think the point that Wilkinson and Pickett are making is that the problems which Cameron refers to as ‘Broken Society’ are not a recent phenomenon and can be traced back to the rise in inequality. This started under Thatcher and not Wilson as this chart shows:
https://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/11/academics-criticise-camerons-approach-to-inequality/
Labour has not done enough on this front but the same chart shows that the rise in inequality has been abated since the party came to power.
Best wishes,
Will
timmymc
RT @leftfootfwd: Thatcher most to blame for 'broken society' say academics cited by Cameron http://bit.ly/3oB6sL
Lucy Chapman
RT @leftfootfwd: Thatcher most to blame for 'broken society' say academics cited by Cameron http://bit.ly/3oB6sL