Regional divisions

• Apart from her impact on the Conservative and Labour party, Thatcher had some important effects on the nature of British politics more generally
• In most cases these are far from what she would have liked and must be considered as unintended consequences of her time in power
• The first division that she helped accelerate was regional; the Conservatives did far better in the south and east of England and lost support in the north of England, Scotland and Wales
• While the Conservatives had won 21 out of 71 available Scottish seats in 1979, this had fallen to 10 by 1987; in 1997, the party was wiped out in Scotland
• Scottish and Welsh nationalism gained a boost from the local reaction against the decline of their traditional industries
• This movement accelerated with devolution under New Labour, something to which Thatcher was opposed