Continuities: Past and Present

Abstract

The 1980s in Britain were years of crisis. The post-war consensus which had largely been adhered to by the major political parties and public opinion came under severe attack. Institutions and practices that previously seemed safe from challenge were now subject to ruthless ideological and political assault. The provisions of the welfare state, the free health service and the state education system were all faced with fundamental alteration by perhaps the most radical and confident Tory government of the century. Across many fields the onslaught took place and it was accompanied by a marked shift in political discourse. The ground shifted so fast that at times it appeared bewildering: competition, efficiency, profit and individualism became buzz-words in the revision and reversal of values, opinions and practices which has occurred in the ideology of the new Toryism. Given that this was the historical context in Britain in the 1980s, the aim in this chapter will be to see whether the general drift of our argument can fit this period of cultural and political crisis. The argument has been, in short, that language becomes a crucial focus of tension and debate at critical historical moments, serving as the site upon which political positions are contested. This chapter then will attempt to demonstrate that the argument in this book does fit the 1980s in Britain as the English language was again placed on the agenda for right-wing ideologists.

A band of efficient schoolmasters is kept up at much less expense than a body of police or soldiery.

(Nineteenth-century MP, quoted in Leith, 1983, p.167)