Comparison Of Thatcher's Downfall And Civil Disobedience

These taxes were passed from business to business and eventually to the consumer, ending with higher prices. Along with raised taxes for the working class, this effect happened because there was little encouragement to work if more was going to be taxed. Many people were also not willing to put money into savings accounts or stocks because the interest was highly taxed or had a higher interest rate.

The Thatcher Era negatively influenced the socioeconomic conditions of Scotland for eleven years, during which time Trainspotting is set, which illuminates the impact of Thatcherism on the morale and pride of the Scottish people. During her tenure as Prime Minister, from 1979 to 1990, Margret Thatcher hoped to restore a sense of British pride following the Winter of Discontent, but in doing so, she implemented taxes and limited the creations and power of labor unions. These changes were not received well and profoundly influenced the conditions of the Scottish social system and diminished both their British and national pride (Stewart 13). Although Thatcherism was intended

non-violent protests that caused the government to get into action as a result of failure of court

Civil disobedience, which is when a person or a group of people protest against laws, taxes, etc. in a peaceful manner, has been displayed many times in the past. One of these instances included a memorable American event: the Boston Tea Party. During the Revolutionary War (1770s), Britain had colonization of America, commonly referred to as the Thirteen Colonies. The British East India Company, who performed commerce with Asia, were having monetary issues, so they needed to find a way to get revenue. In May 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, which gave the BEIC a portion of the American tea trade. However, this act did not put colonists at ease, because even the cheapest sellers could have lost business to the company (who now had better

When Society does not agree with a new policy that the Government put into place, it normally results in protests near Governmental Buildings with signs criticising the work of Government. However, protests are both

Another problem with the voting system was the lack of a private vote. Employers could influence the way their employees voted by threatening to punish them if they failed to vote for their preffered candidate. This problem was fixed in 1872, when William Gladstone's government passed the Ballot Act which guaranteed a secret system of voting. Although the immediate results of the reform act were not earth shattering, the country had taken, as Lord Derby said, "a leap in the dark." Strikes, union advances, and labor organization were powerful forces for change in the final years of the century. William Gladstone was elected as Prime Minister of England for the second time in 1880 and the most important legislative action that took place during his second ministry was the Reform Act of 1884. The reform act was rejected the first time it was presented to the House of Lords, but accepted the second time because it was accompanied by a redistribution act, which had the following implications. "(i) seventy-nine towns with populations smaller than 15,000 lost their right to elect an MP; (ii) thirty-six with populations between 15,000 and 50,000 lost one of their MPs and became single member constituencies; (iii) towns with populations between 50,000 and 165,000 were given two seats; (iv) larger towns and the country constituencies were divided into single member constituencies" (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PR1885.htm). The actual Reform Act of 1884

James Otis mentions “No part of His Majesty’s dominions can be taxed without their consent… this would seem to [contradict] the theory of the constitution” which explains that the governed must have a say in what they will be taxed on and if not, the British Parliament is par taking in illegal actions. With no representation in Parliament, American colonists who felt the taxes to be a little excessive had no other option other than civil disobedience to rebel. It is safe to to say that the colonists had every right to rebel against the British.

Civil disobedience is a crucial part of any free society, especially a society that wishes to give its citizens the most liberty possible. Looking back on American history, one can see that the colonists originally protested the laws that Britain had imposed, and had done so peacefully. By not paying taxes and by assembling outside public offices, the colonists disobeyed British laws and the British crown. Their protests not only helped spark the American Revolution, but also made light of the fact that any free society relies on its citizens to disobey the government, especially when it's done peacefully.

It was the practice of presenting ideas as large crowds and overwhelming the subject with the support of a crowd. The crowds would flood into an area as they did with Andrew Oliver and make demands. Due to the overwhelming volume of people it was near impossible to discourage such gatherings and in many cases the one demanded folded to the requests of the masses. However, “crowd politics” can sometimes broadcast the thoughts of few individuals and not necessarily be for the best but because of the energy and excitement of the entire crowd with a singular focus the ideas move forward. This so called “crowd politics” gathered colonists together against movements such as the Stamp Act and led to the acts committed by the Sons of Liberty and eventually the American Revolution.

movement, it united the public for change in parliament which ultimately led to the government

What we learn from this excerpt about the protestors is that they were everyday blue collar workers that were provoked by the occupation of the British army in their colony and the crippling tax policies imposed on them. Most protestors were hardworking young men who demonstrated their aggression because of the crushing pressure of the British presence at the shipyard and ports. Another thing we learn is that the colonist on the following Friday before March 5 took their anger out and started a confrontation with British soldiers. The main reason for protest was the Stamp Act, which was a tax imposed on all paper documents and the Townshend Act, which imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. The protestors just wanted their

Rage from taxes leads many citizens to act out on tax workers with public humiliation. According to Document 5, most of the chaos came from the colonists from protesting and bring violence to the streets. Many protesters released their anger on tax workers by tarring and feathering them and destroy and burning British property. With this type of behavior, the king had his duty to enforce rules. Also in Document 3, it shows the little effects that tax has on these colonies. Most of the taxed good was useless because no one buys them anymore and the small tax acts should not have lead to immense protest by these colonists. Another example where the Americans were not justified was their resistance to their benefits. The colonists say that the taxes were unconstitutional because it was for revenue but the taxes were to pay off the debt of the French Indian War, a war that was for the colonist's defense. Britain had some right to tax them for their contribution to the protection. But even though it was for the colonist's protection, they did not ask for it. Therefore they didn't have to pay for a non-request

The left (the Labour Party) had already used a form of social compulsion through trade unions getting their supporters to the polls. Bring in compulsory voting would rectify this imbalance between the left and the right votes (Birch, 2009). Furthermore, voters would no longer be in a position to demand transportation to the polls producing lower party cost. Several other factors include: raising turnout, greatening the legitimacy of government, enhancing the public education on politics, and the fact that voting is considered a duty—not only a right (Birch, 2009). Since the adoption the system has widely been supported. At the highest point of support peaked at 73% in favor of compulsory voting

Not every member of the public will be interested in politics or in fact have a clear understanding of the political system in Britain and this could affect the voter’s outcome. For example, an individual might not understand the significance of their vote to a political question, and that it can have long term effects that they may not take into consideration whilst voting. Furthering this point, the public may be easily influenced by campaigns of newspapers, notable tabloids, or by wealthy vested interests who can afford to spend large amounts of money on a campaign. This suggests that referendums are not always a true representation of what the public wants an outcome to be.

When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister the first thing she wanted to do was limit union power. She felt that union power applied to nationalized industrial monopolies resulted in poor service at exorbitant cost to the taxpayers. She pointed to inefficient work practices, over employment and restrictive employment