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Britain Transformed, 1918–97

Rolling back state intervention and the public sector

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

Recall questions on what rolling back meant in practice, why spending did not fall, the curbing of local government, and the poll tax.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

How far was the state genuinely rolled back by 1997?

Who and when

What did 'rolling back the state' mean?

Who and when

How far did public spending actually fall under Thatcher?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did 'rolling back the state' mean?

    Model answer

    Reducing government intervention, public spending and public ownership.

  2. 2

    What were the Next Steps agencies?

    Model answer

    Executive agencies created from 1988 to deliver government services at arm's length from ministers, which by the late 1990s employed most civil servants.

  3. 3

    How far did public spending actually fall under Thatcher?

    Model answer

    Barely at all as a share of national income, because unemployment and pensions costs rose, so the composition of spending changed more than its total.

  4. 4

    What happened to the NHS in the 1980s?

    Model answer

    Spending continued to rise but more slowly than demand, general management was introduced, and services were put out to competitive tender.

  5. 5

    How was local government curtailed?

    Model answer

    By rate-capping, abolition of the Greater London Council and the metropolitan counties in 1986, and transfer of functions to appointed bodies.

  6. 6

    Why did the poll tax fail?

    Model answer

    A flat charge per adult regardless of means was widely seen as unjust, produced mass non-payment and riots, and contributed directly to Thatcher's fall in 1990.

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