The following extract from the Washington Post and IHT puts
widens the potential application of the concept of the death of
Thatcherism to the USA:
Chris Burford
>>>
William Hague's Demise Also Marks the Death of Thatcherism Stanley B.
Greenberg Saturday, June 9, 2001
.....
But the biggest reason for electing Labour, according to surveys I helped
to conduct as the party's polling adviser, was the pledge to improve
public services. In 1997, Labour committed to reduce hospital waiting
lists by 100,000 and to cut class size in schools to fewer than 30 for 5-
to 7-year-olds, while not raising taxes and maintaining Conservative
spending caps for two years.
In government, Labour maintained the public's confidence for more than
two years, but when the National Health Service seemed unable to handle
widespread winter flu and privatized trains began to crash, the public
questioned whether Labour was keeping its promises. Labour announced a
three-year program of accelerated public spending increases.
So when respondents were asked before this election whether they favored
Labour or the Conservatives, the Tories lost the argument by more than 48
points (71 percent to 23 percent).
Labour ran its final lap under the new banner, "schools and
hospitals first." Prime Minister Tony Blair stumped the country and
called on people to go vote and forever take the country "beyond
Thatcherism" - "to say clearly and unequivocally that no party
should ever again attempt to lead this country by proposing to cut
Britain's schools, Britain's hospitals and Britain's public
services."
The Conservative mantra on tax cuts and Lady Thatcher provided Mr. Hague
with little protection against the storm. Mr. Hague thought that at least
the winds blowing from across the Atlantic would give him greater
standing. But it turned out that Mr. Hague had misread the U.S. elections
and the U.S. mood. President George W. Bush had won no mandate on tax
cuts, just as he had won no popular majority. According to an
ABC-Washington Post poll, voters prefer by nearly 2 to 1 more spending on
education, health care and Social Security to Mr. Bush's $1.35 billion
tax cut.
For American and British voters, massive tax cuts are symbolic of social
irresponsibility at a time when people believe there is a need for
community and better public services. Mr. Hague's ignominious defeat was
an even bigger one for his ideas.
The writer is polling adviser to the Labour Party in Britain, and was
pollster for Bill Clinton's 1992 and Al Gore's 2000 presidential
campaigns. He contributed this comment to The Washington Post.
