The Legacy of Thatcherism: Assessing and Exploring Thatcherite Social and Economic Policies(British Academy Original Paperbacks)

Three decades after the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of 'Thatcherism' and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, there is much debate about what Thatcherism actually was or is. Some commentators argue that Thatcherism was more noteworthy for its rhetoric than for its achievements. The welfare state, for example, emerged little changed after eleven years of Thatcherism. Some historians additionally suggest that other social forces that existed prior to Thatcher will outlast her. Yet, whichever way one looks at it, the Thatcherite project of the 1980s brought about a fundamental reorganisation of much of the UK's social and economic life. Did Thatcherite policies dramatically alter the trajectory of the country's development? Can even long-term and seemingly enduring path dependencies be altered as dramatically as claimed?. Ought Thatcher's period in office be seen as a 'critical juncture' for the UK? This book brings together a range of experts in housing, economics, law and order, education, welfare, families, geography and politics to discuss the enduring legacy of those social and economic policies initiated by the first of the UK's New Right governments (1979-1990).

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: SETTING THE SCENE1: Colin Hay and Stephen Farrall: Interrogating and Conceptualising the Legacy of ThatcherismPART TWO: SPECIFIC POLICY DOMAINS2: Helen Thompson: The Thatcherite Economic LegacyPeter Jackson: Commentary: The Long Run Economic Consequences of Mrs Thatcher3: Michael Hill and Alan Walker: What were the lasting effects of Thatcher's Legacy for Social Security? The Burial of Beveridge?Peter Taylor-Gooby: Commentary: What were the lasting effects of Thatcher's legacy for social security? A Commentary4: Peter Dorey: The Legacy of Thatcherism for Education Policies: Markets, Managerialism and Malice (towards Teachers)Ken Jones: Commentary: English Passions: Thatcherism and Schooling5: Ken Murie: The Housing Legacy of ThatcherismPeter Jackson: Commentary: Thatcherism and housing policy: a commentary6: Miriam David: What were the lasting effects of Thatcher's Legacy for Families in the UK?Sarah Childs and Paul Webb: Commentary: Women, the Family and Contemporary Conservative Party Politics: From Thatcher to Cameron7: Stephen Farrall and Will Jennings: Thatcherism and Crime: The Beast that Never Roared?David Downes: Commentary: Thatcherism and Crime: The Beast that Never Roared?: A Commentary8: Danny Dorling: Mapping the Thatcherite Legacy: The human geography of social inequality in Britain since the 1970sChris Philo: Commentary: Mrs Thatcher's iniquitous geographies: why spatial dynamics matter9: Carol Walker: 'Don't cut down the tall poppies': Thatcherism and the Strategy of InequalityAdrian Sinfield: Commentary: Inequality, its persistence and its costsPART THREE: CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS10: Colin Hay and Stephen Farrall: Locating 'Thatcherism' in the 'here and now'

About the Author :
Colin Hay is Professor of Government and Comparative Public Policy at Sciences Po, Paris and an Affiliate Professor of Political Analysis at the University of Sheffield where he co-founded the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute. He is the author of a number of books including, most recently, The Failure of Anglo-Liberal Capitalism (Palgrave 2013) and The Political Economy of European Welfare Capitalism (Palgrave 2012, with Daniel Wincott). He is editor or co-editor of the journals New Political Economy, Comparative European Politics and British Politics.Contributors: Sarah Childs is Professor of Politics and Gender at the University of Bristol, UK. Miriam E. David, PhD., AcSS, FRSA is Professor Emerita of Sociology of Education and Professor (2005-2010) and Associate Director (Higher Education) of the ESRC's Teaching & Learning Research Programme (2004-2009) at the Institute of Education University of London. She is a visiting professor in the Centre for Higher Education & Equity Research (CHEER) in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex. Peter Dorey is Professor of British Politics at Cardiff University. In spring 2014, Peter Dorey will be Visiting Professor of Politics at the University of Bordeaux.Danny Dorling is a professor at the University of Oxford. David Downes is Professor Emeritus of Social Administration and a founder member of the Mannheim Centre for Criminology at the London School of Economics. He was a founding editor of the Clarendon Studies in Criminology series for the Oxford University Press. Stephen Farrall is Professor of Criminology and Director of the Centre for Criminological Research at the University of Sheffield. Andrew Gamble is Professor of Politics and a Fellow of Queens' College in the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the UK Academy of Social Sciences. Colin Hay is Professor of Government and Comparative Public Policy at Sciences Po, Paris and an Affiliate Professor of Political Analysis at the University of Sheffield.Michael Hill is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy of the University of Newcastle. In 2009 he was given the Social Policy Association's lifetime award.Professor Peter M. Jackson AcSS, is Research Director for the College of Social Science at the University of Leicester and Professor of Economics and Strategy in its School of Management. Will Jennings is Reader in Politics at the University of Southampton.Ken Jones is Professor of Education at Goldsmiths, University of London.Peter A. Kemp is a professor of public policy in the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and a member of the Oxford Institute of Social Policy. Chris Philo holds a Chair of Geography at the University of Glasgow.Alan Murie is Emeritus Professor of Urban and Regional Studies at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at Birmingham University. Adrian Sinfield isProfessor Emeritus of Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh.Peter Taylor-Gooby, OBE, FBA, AcSS, FRSA is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Kent, Chair of the British Academy programme on New Paradigms in Public Policy.Helen Thompson is a Reader in Politics at the University of Cambridge. Paul Webb is Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex and editor of the journal 'Party Politics'. Alan Walker (BA, DLitt, Hon. D.Soc.Sc. (HKBU), FBA, FRSA, AcSS) is Professor of Social Policy and Social Gerontology at the University of Sheffield, UK. He is currently Director of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme (http://www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk ) funded by five UK Research Councils and Social Innovations for an Ageing Population funded by the European Commission.Carol Walker is Professor of Social Policy in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Lincoln.

Review :
Among the wealth of literature on Thatcher and Thatcherism, this book deserves to be seen as a major contribution to the field. An accessible, well-written, informative and refreshing perspective, this text is an engaging must-read for British politics academics and students, as well as those with a general interest in the area. Leanne-Marie Cotter, Political Studies Review