Economic and political situation of United Kingdom

The new century hits the calm on the United Kingdom and some issues occures during the start of the 2000s, we colect a brief selection of the most important situations that happens from 2000 to 2005 in the UK and impact in general the public opinion Britain decides not to join the European Single Currency Widespread British unease about the European single currency obliged Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was keen on the project, to stay out. The ' euro ' was launched as an electronic currency used by banks, foreign exchange dealers, big firms and stock markets in 1999. Euro coins first hit the streets of the 12 ' eurozone ' countries on 1 January 2002. Global stock markets tumble as the 'dotcom bubble' bursts The late 1990s saw a profusion of start-up companies selling products or services either using or related to the internet . At this moment UK was a most influential State in the field of internet and technology, the boom of this bubble cause a

New Labour From May 1997, Tony Blair 's newly elected Labour government stuck with the Conservatives' spending plans. The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, obtain a surname by some as the "prudent Chancellor" and helped to inspire renewed confidence in Labour's ability to manage the economy following the economic failures of earlier Labour governments. One of the first acts that the new Labour government embarked on was to give the power to set interest rates to the Bank of England, effectively ending the use of interest rates as a political tool. Control of the banks was given to the Financial Services Agency.    Labour also introduced the minimum wage to the United Kingdom, which has been raised every year since its introduction in April 1999. The Blair government also introduced a number of strategies to cut unemployment, including an expansion of the public sector. Unemployment was constantly below 1.5 million during the first half of the 2000s, this data wa

Major years (1990s) Starting the 90s, after losing the confidence and support of their party in the Parliament, Margaret Thatcher was substituted by John Major. The government also lost the previous popularity of their politics because a set of laws that introduce poll tax and the rise in the unemployment, the situation was close to a recession, so the population start to be nervous. The new government need to work into a hard recession, but a t the end of 1992, the inflation was reduced below 3%.  Economic growth was not re-established until starts of 1993, but the Conservative government which had been in power continuously since 1979 managed to achieve re-election in April 1992, fending off a strong challenge from Neil Kinnock and Labour, although with a significantly reduced majority. The early 1990s recession was officially the longest in Britain since the Great Depression some 60 years earlier, though the fall in output was not as sharp as that of the downturn of t

"The Iron Lady" , a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. She belonged to the Conservative Party. Margaret Thatcher In 1979 she was elected as Prime Minister of United Kingdom after the Winter of Discontent. She reverted de UK situation through: The previous events led to that drastic changes , a positive one, in the UK economy. But not all was good and she was very criticized: -- Increased inequality . -- Low innovation. -- Productivity remains below France and Germany. -- She fought against Germany unification. -- Sceptical about giving competences to Europe . The Miners Strike of 1984 This bad reputation between workers led to The Miners Strike of 1984 . This time the enemy was the high priest of the Union movement - Marxist and firebrand Arthur Scargill . Thatcher prepared for war and after a bitter, bloody and damaging strike, the miners finally trudged back to work, outmanoeuvred and defeated af

ECONOMY IN 70s It was a traumatic economic decade of stagflation and the return of unemployment. In the other hand, it was also a decade of rising living standards, the growth of credit... Barber Boom 1970-73 The early years of the 1970s were a period of rapid economic growth due to: -- The Bank of England d eregulated the mortgage market -- Large tax cuts -- Growth of Credit . This helped create a consumer bubble. Recession since 1973 In 1973 all changed and can be studied through this graphs: I nflation crisis By 1973, inflation in the UK was accelerating to over 20%. This was due to: -- Rising wages , partly due to strength of unions.        -- The inflationary budge t of 1972. -- Oil price shock of 1973 (70% oil prices rise)            -- Growth in credit and consumption               2. Crisis of oil Suddenly the price of petrol more than doubled and the UK faced an energy crisis       3. Current Account deficit High UK inflation was ma

Rising standards levels (1960s) UK economic growth in the 1960s. There were short dips in output, but these were not sustained. The economic growth translated into rising living standards, with households able to purchase 'white goods' or cars. There were new markets emerging, for example, teenagers had greater disposable income to spend on leisure. There was also a revolution in transport. At the start of the 1960s the households didn’t have a private car, only can use public transport. But at the end of the 1960s, car ownership rates had risen. The first motorway was built in 1958, and into the 1960s there was a higher number of roads, later the government create a road building program. Also the families want to own their own house, so in the post war were a boom in house building occurs, the price drop and almost the majority of families can purchase a house.       Declining competitiveness However, despite higher economic growth, the UK performed

Ages of austerity and rise of Britain economy In 1945, Britain was triumphant in defeating the axis powers. After war the States meted in conferences like Yalta, where Britain were one of the Big Three powers. But, the reality was that Britain were completely breaking. The war had exhausted the financial reserves. The debt of the State was the double of the GDP, so in certain way, Britain were in crisis. In 1946, the government sent the great economist, Keynes to Washington to argue for an £8bn loan. The American's politely listened, but only to refuse. It was only the heightening of cold war tensions that America became motivated to bailout Britain and the rest of Europe. All European States need the America loans, they were vital to keep the UK economy afloat, was at this time a period of mass starving, so government need cash in their budgets. Yalta conference: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin Other relevant point was the intro