and in those whom even the Financial Times recognis ed as being motivated by the low prices raised for fees earned by the City innaturally does SULUEJOIS not figure in the governcalculations. chief Tory need in politics is for a rapid tax cutting budget before the The urgency of Tory concern on this is reflected dicators - and in the Tory delcine in electora port.
_Ever since coming to office the Thatcher government has tratec on massively redistributing income not simply between classes but within the working The pattern is absolutely consistent The better off you were before Thatcher came to office the better off under her government. The worse off you were before Thatcher came to power the worse off you have become under this government. shows this pattern.
Real wages of the bottom ten per cent of male fallen marginally by 0.2 per cent - in the five years of the Thatcher government. The real wages of the top 10 per cent of male earners in contrast have risen by 19 per cent For women the pattern is the same. The bottom 10 per cent of women earners have increased their real wages by 5.8 per cent in five years. The top 10 per cent have increased them by 21.2 per cent.
These figures however, heard star. at every income level, actually redistribution of income because they ligure for those in work More than have been pushed out of work altogether and have therefore suffered far falls income than those in employment. This has particularly struck black people and youngsters. itical strate goa lis political strategy, exTop 10% Top 25% Average Bottom 25% Bottom 10% tremely clear. She bases herself within the ruling class on the largest and most powerful sections of British capital oil, banking, telecommunications, ioner industrial CORALI multinational companies — and has attempted to weld round electoral support among not simply the 'middle classes but the better paid, secure, sections of the working class. eutent dos government famous, growing, "North-South' electoral divide - with the 'North', including the core of the big cities, becoming more consolidated around while Thatcher Labour party real blows in the working the same process saw its expression in a sharp increase of votes for the Tory Party among skilled workers in 1979 and 1983.
TABLE 1 %o increase in real wages 1979-1984 Men Women % 19.0 21.2 13.6 18.3 8.1 12.6 3.4 8.6 -0.2 5.8 Source: Guardian 11 April 1985 The crisis the Party now faces is that the sections of the working class they targetted for their electoral strategy are being more crisis. The North Sea oil revenues, which fed the entire process, are likely to decline from next year onwards. The rise in real wages has greatly slowed down.
Perhaps worst of all for Tory strategy is that provide tax haven sharply hitting home the core group Thatcher had built her support among The Economist calculated in its 11 May issue that during the last two years interest rate inhave forced up mortgage interest repayments by 59 per cent.
effective retail price index Ilas i risen by 24 per cent l the last two years - compared to 12 per cent for the retail price index for the population as a whole A political reflection of this is to fuel a rapid collapse of support among the key groups on whom Thatcher based her electoral I victories in 1979 Unless some way can be found of makno new ecoramc conce sions to these sections of • the working class the result will be new Tory electoral disaster of the type suffered in the county counci elections Tax cuts are the only really sure way to attempt to achieve these concessions.
That is Peter Walker was so keen to get Bre sh oke so rapidly is market place. more than just a little crude asset stripping. It is part of some rather urgent footwork Whether it will work is et the Tories course, a very different question!
MAC It's called dire poverty
No