ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to explain the nature of the politics of public expenditure during the years of the first Thatcher Government. During previous studies of the Thatcher Governments (Mullard 1987, 1990) the author was concerned with explaining the nature of Thatcherism and with what seemed to be a paradox concerning the central issue of public expenditure. During the period 1979 to 1983, despite the various commitments by Mrs Thatcher to reduce public expenditure, either in real terms or as a ratio of national income, public expenditure resumed an expansionary path, so that by 1983 the ratio of public expenditure to GDP was higher than in 1979 and control of the rate of growth was achieved only after 1985.
