ABSTRACT
Under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher the Conservative Party returned to Government for a third time, on 11 June 1987, albeit with a reduced Parliamentary majority. The Party gained 42.2 per cent of the vote and a majority of 102 seats. The Election success was assisted by a “feel good” factor. The economic expansion of the mid-1980s owed much to the easing of monetary policy after 1985. Interest rates fell and along with financial deregulation, which amongst other things allowed building societies to transact personal loans for non-home purchases, by 1987 there was a credit boom. Net lending to households by banks and other financial institutions trebled between 1983 and 1987, and real personal disposable incomes rose by an average of 14 per cent. 1
