Thatcherism, Crime and the Legacy of the Social and Economic ‘Storms’ of the 1980s
| Author | WILL JENNINGS,COLIN HAY,STEPHEN FARRALL,EMILY GRAY |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12202 |
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
The Howard Journal Vol56 No 2. June 2017 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12202
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 220–243
Thatcherism, Crime and the Legacy
of the Social and Economic ‘Storms’
of the 1980s
STEPHEN FARRALL, WILL JENNINGS, EMILY GRAY
and COLIN HAY
Stephen Farrall is Professor of Criminology, Centre for Criminological
Research, University of Sheffield; Will Jennings is Professor of Political
Science and Public Policy, Department of Politics and International Relations,
University of Southampton; Emily Gray is Research Associate, Centre for
Criminological Research, University of Sheffield; Colin Hay is Professor of
Political Science, Sciences Po, Centre d’etudes europeenes (CEE), CNRS,
Par is , Fra nc e
Abstract: Using insights from the classical sociology of deviance and social structure
(notably Durkheim and Merton) we explore the enduring impact of the social and economic
changes which started in the UK in the early 1980s. In the two subsequent decades
the UK went through a period of radical economic restructuring, leading to lasting social
change. Weseek to gauge the effect of these combined social and economic processes, which
we label social and economic ‘storms’, at the national level. In so doing we assess, and
ultimately defend, the heuristic utility of this conceptualisation, considering the extent to
which such social and economic storms (individually and collectively) weakened bonds
between individuals, within and between families, and across communities. We use proxy
measures of economic and social changes in combination with recorded crime statistics to
explore the degree to which such processes might be associated with victimisation rates.
We find that crime was relatedto these macro-level ‘storms’, although ultimately they were
driven by economic variables. Our analyses show how political decision making can shape
long-term trends in crime rates.
Keywords: Thatcherism; crime trends; the New Right; anomie theory; politics
and crime
Few would disagree that Margaret Thatcher’s period as Prime Minister
(from May 1979 to November 1990) was one of considerable social and
economic turbulence for the UK; more contentious is the enduring char-
acter of the social and economic change to which this period gave rise
(Farrall and Hay 2014). The ‘Thatcher governments’ as they are com-
monly referred to, sought, in their own terms, to ‘roll back’ the frontiers of
the post-war welfare state, reducing its range, reach and influence within,
and control over, large sections of British social and economic life. Above
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2017 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
The Howard Journal Vol56 No 2. June 2017
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 220–243
all, New Right thinking in the 1980s, of which ‘Thatcherism’ was one ex-
pression, emphasised free markets, restrained government spending and
endorsed deep tax cuts, transforming modes of local and national gover-
nance. Certainly deindustrialisation, which can be traced back to the 1960s,
accelerated during this period, vast parts of the British economy were com-
prehensively restructured (manufacturing declined by about a half, putting
many out of work, decimating whole communities and leading to a rise in
economic inequality, Dorling (2014a), Walker (2014)) while new sectors of
the economy (especially banking, insurance, and the service sector) be-
came core to domestic economic output (Crafts 1991; Glennerster 1994).
In addition, council houses were sold off, local government’s control of
schooling and other public services was challenged, and trade union pow-
ers were significantly contracted (Walker and Walker 1997). Rules relating
to who could claim (and what could be claimed) from the social security
system were also modified (Walker 1993). However, as this process of State
retrenchment advanced, it generated its own contradictions and conflicts
that later required containment and redirection.
During the same time period, officially-recorded crime rates, and self-
reported rates of victimisation increased substantially (Jennings, Farrall
and Bevan 2012; Morgan 2014), mirroring rises in crime rates in other
democracies (Rosenfeld and Messner 2009). Studies have shown that, as
levels of unemployment and inequality increased, so, too, did rates of prop-
erty crime (Pyle and Deadman 1994; Hale 1998; Jennings, Farrall and
Bevan 2012; Farrall and Jennings 2012; Morgan 2014). While Thatcher
and some of her key ministers spoke out about ‘law and order’,1the govern-
ment did not pass the draconian acts one might have expected given her
electoral rhetoric and that of successive British governments since 1979,
despite rising crime rates (Farrall, Burke and Hay 2016a).
While social science research has gone some way to broadening our un-
derstanding of the long-term impacts of Thatcherite public policy, other
crucial questions remain unanswered. What happened to those parts of
England, Wales and Scotland in which deindustrialisation had been most
acute? Were rises in crime higher in certain areas of Britain than others?
Was fear of crime linkedto the incidence of crime? We know relatively little
beyond the national picture in terms of the economy-crime link. But what
is the picture when one explores violent crime or other forms of social
harm (such as non-accidental deaths and alcoholism)? Notably, scholars
from related branches of social policy have also begun to conduct allied
longitudinal investigations in housing policy (Dorling 2014b; Farrall et al.
2016b), opiate drug-use (Morgan 2014), education policy (Berridge et al.
2001) and social attitudes (Duffy et al. 2013; Natcen 2014), highlighting
the need to build an integrated model of analysis. Moreover, research has
demonstrated that how individuals relate to their environment and com-
munity can impact their feelings about crime (Farrall, Jackson and Gray
2009) as well as the rate of reporting crimes (Goudriaan, Wiiterbrood and
Nieuwbeerta 2006) and perception of neighbourhood disorder (Sampson
and Raudenbush 2004). Put simply,the analyses undertaken so far provide
us with few answers to these key questions.
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