The aim of this independent study is to provide a conceptual and exploratory view of the influence and importance of the Conservative Party’s response, whilst in opposition, to industrial unrest in the 1970s, and assessing the impact this response had on their governing strategy after the 1979 general election. Through secondary, desk-based research methods, a broad knowledgebase of the political landscape of the time was produced via reading academics’ accounts of relevant political and historical information and ideas in books and academic journals, this was then used to answer this central research question and the focus of the independent study. The answer to the research question drawn was that the Conservative Party’s response to industrial unrest, whilst in opposition, did have a great impact on the focus and goals of the Conservative Party in government under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. This conclusion is illustrated via investigating the internal strategies and plans produced within the Conservative Party whilst in opposition that addressed overcoming the issues posed by trade unions and industrial action, and the exploration of the importance of the ‘Winter of Discontent’ on providing the Party with a platform for trade-union controlling legislation to be passed in government, after the 1979 General Election. Finally, the influence of these responses to industrial unrest on the governing style of the Conservative Party are assessed by looking at the impact they had on the government’s major industrial dispute, the miners’ strike 1984-85.
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