Women and the Family in the British Welfare State: The Thatcher/Major Legacy

This paper reviews the moral agenda of Thatcherism, in terms of maintaining traditional family structures, family roles and family responsibilities for economic support and personal care of family members. It asks to what extent and in what ways this agenda was promoted during the eighteen years of Conservative rule; to what extent contradictory forces within Thatcherism and elsewhere undermined this agenda; and what have been the consequences for women in family and public life. The marketization of life, pursued under Thatcherism, contributed to undermining the family form which has traditionally underpinned the market. Deregulated labour markets and spreading owner-occupation in an unstable housing market have been important contributions to family breakdown, insecurity and women's access to—and need for—jobs. The idea of family responsibility was promulgated, but in practice family members have become less able to support each other.
Nevertheless, one consequence of these changes has been a stronger position for women as women by the end of this Conservative era. Access to paid work makes women less dependent within families and improves their access to public politics. Social policies geared to the Beveridge-type family had become increasingly threadbare and some changes—such as policies enabling lone mothers to do paid work—had been forced by the increasing mismatch between family realities and the Beveridge model. Many changes owed more to the women's movement than to Thatcherism, but Thatcherite policies played a (largely unintentional) part.