No Such Thing as Society: A History of Britain in the 1980s

by Andy McSmith

The 1980s was the revolutionary decade of the twentieth century. To look back in 1990 at the Britain of ten years earlier was to look into another country. The changes were not superficial, like the revolution in fashion and music that enlivened the 1960s; nor were they quite as unsettling and joyless as the troubles of the 1970s. And yet they were irreversible. By the end of the decade, society as a whole was wealthier, money was easier to borrow, there was less social upheaval, less uncertainty about the future. Perhaps the greatest transformation of the decade was that by 1990, the British lived in a new ideological universe where the defining conflict of the twentieth century, between capitalism and socialism, was over. Thatcherism took the politics out of politics and created vast differences between rich and poor, but no expectation that the existence of such gross inequalities was a problem that society or government could solve - because as Mrs Thatcher said, 'There is no such thing as society ...people must look to themselves first'. From the Falklands war and the miners' strike to Bobby Sands and the Guildford Four, from Diana and the New Romantics to Live Aid and the 'big bang', from the Rubik's cube to the ZX Spectrum, McSmith's brilliant narrative account uncovers the truth behind the decade that changed Britain forever.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, British Literature, Audiobook, Cultural

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[F.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Dominic Sandbrook’s various histories of Britain from 1956 to 1979, throughout which Margaret Thatcher plays an increasingly prominent role, I wanted to finish off the story (if history ever can reach an end) with a look at the 80s – her decade. Since Sandbrook hasn’t yet written this book (and I don’t know if he actually will), this seemed a good alternative. Andy McSmith has produced a highly entertaining whizz through Britain in the 80s – taking in culture and sport (amongst other things), but predominantly focused on politics. Margaret Thatcher is the star here and, as the title suggests, the author wants to look at her impact on society.

A photo included shows the author walking in the 1980s with Tony Benn and Billy Bragg, which does indicate he’s a man of the left. However this book doesn’t come to bury Thatcher, indeed it aims to be a more nuanced assessment of her failings and successes. His thesis is that we have now – with our current crisis of capitalism – reached a point where Thatcherism is coming to an end. All that trust in the free-market, in individualism, in greed is good, has evaporated into thin air. I’m not entirely sure that’s true though. One of the interesting things about this world where success is privatised and failure is nationalised, is that there hasn’t been a rise of old school socialism. Yes banker bashing is now a national sport, but even the Labour party remains rooted to the centre. The default position is unaltered: capitalism is still the way forward. And that hard-wired belief in the free market – no matter what happens – may be Margaret Thatcher’s most potent legacy.

The fact that an entire decade is crammed into about three hundred and fifty pages means that this is a whistle-stop tour of the decade, which perhaps doesn’t go into the depth that would be afforded in a bigger tome, but for those of us who can remember Britain in the 80s this is a nostalgic ride.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Andy McSmith's No Such Thing as Society: A History of Britain in the 1980s one is struck by how alarmingly similar our current climate is to that of the 1980s presented here: high unemployment, stock market crash, riots in the streets, economic downturn, conservative politics, fraught inner-party politics, an unpopular war, a changing media culture, a royal wedding. This is, however, not a conclusion that McSmith encourages readers to take, but is something that seemed apparent to me.

This is a broad, and maybe sometimes too general, history of Britain during the 1980s - covering everything from the Miners' Strike to Live Aid, from the Royal Wedding to television comedy, from the Falklands War to the Yorkshire Ripper. It works as an interesting introduction to many historical events and figures that are probably best understood and appreciated when looked at in more detail, but No Such Thing as Society provides a sound starting point for anyone wanting to gain a general perspective of the era. It's a bleak, dismal picture presented here, but fascinating nonetheless thanks to McSmith's easily digested writing style.

McSmith covers a wide range of topics in No Such Thing as Society but his strength lies in outlining and analyzing, in enough detail even for those without much previous knowledge to comprehend, the political dramas of the day. Thatcher's government policies and ideologies - and the social and cultural impact of them - aren't exactly lauded here, but the opposition doesn't come off lightly either. Be sure to read through the end notes as well, McSmith drops in some more personal anecdotes about the various politicians mentioned from his time as a political correspondent.

[Andrew Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a series of journalistic pieces than an in-depth historical study, but enjoyable for all that. My 'coming of age' decade so a lot of these events remain crystal clear in my memory: how can it possibly be 30 years since I was putting my shrapnel into the 'Coal Not Dole' buckets in Rotherham town centre ? I'd also forgotten just how much Thatcher dominated the decade - and boy are we still reaping the whirlwind.

[Joe O'Donnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointingly slight and shallow account of British political life during the 1980s. “No Such Thing as Society” purports to uncover the battles and divisions - Thatcherism, the Miners’ strike, the Falklands war, the Northern Ireland Troubles – that convulsed the U.K. during that decade. The book flits about between the major political and cultural trends of the 80s, with chapters taking in the titanic battles between the Tories and the Trade Unions, race relations, the women’s movement, the deregulation of the financial sector, the Aids epidemic, and so on.

The author (and veteran political correspondent) Andy McSmith skims across these threads and topics in a fairly readable, accessible manner. But, the big problem with “No Such Thing as Society” is there is not a huge amount of depth to it. Seeing as Thatcherism was by far the dominant political force of the decade, I would have expected McSmith to delve much deeper into the intellectual roots of this almost-revolutionary ideology, and to provide an analysis of why Thatcherism provided so popular amongst a significant chunk of the British electorate. It is also puzzling that a book named after one of Margaret Thatcher’s most infamous quotes – “there’s no such thing as society” – should have so scant an analysis of the effect that Thatcherism had on the social fabric of the U.K. (the after effects of which, especially post-Brexit referendum, are still reverberating across Britain).

There is a curious lack of heft to Andy McSmith’s analysis of the political undercurrents that marked the 1980s, and this is especially perplexing given his background in political journalism. Indeed, his digressions into popular culture (whether on the New Romantics, Acid House, or Football Hooliganism) are unoriginal and unnecessary. For anybody interested in this fascinating era, I would far more readily recommend Andy Beckett’s “Promised You A Miracle” which, despite only covering the first three years of the decade, gives a far greater insight than “No Such Thing as Society” as to why the eighties unfolded the way they did in Britain.

[Karlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine, but if you lived in Britain in the 80’s and watched the news or got a newspaper then there is nothing new here.

The interpretation of events is straightforward reportage only slightly cynical of the Tories who - in this decade (imho) - laid the foundation for today’s grossly unequal society.

And I could definitely do without pages arbitrarily devoted to cricket.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

when i think of the 80s, the early 80s feels like prehistory, and the late 80s feels like only a few years ago. so much happened in that decade in the UK, it’s incredible that so few lessons have been learned even though it’s by far still in living memory for the majority of the population. full review to come

[Ipswichblade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that has been sat on my Kindle for a long time and one I really enjoyed. I do love books about the eighties and this one concentrates on a few events but gives more background information and facts that I had not come across before.

[Dylan Vieites Glennon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly comprehensive account of the 1980s covering Thatcherism and other matters affecting the era such as: the IRA bombings, Hilsborough, Labour policy, Falklands, and many more...

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really enjoyable tour around the decade that musical taste forgot. The author touches on everything from Fun Boy Three to the miner's strike. Refreshingly, he doesn't have a political axe to grind; he doesn't try to demonise any of the political figures, and doesn't wander into maconie-esque nostalgia either.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me I found this written in too much of a dry, masculine style. It seemed like a lot of unnecessary names, name-dropping and confusing talk about politics. I found the least political chapters more engaging. I'm not sure what style of 80s history book I'd get on better with. (Also it had some typos, which always irritates me.)

[Nick Harriss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice distilled history of Britain in the 1980s, bringing back many memories of growing up. While focussed on a series of major incidents issues rather than comprehensive and chronological, but very good none the less.. I'd recommend it for fans of modern British history.

[Sarah Clement · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a lot like I thought it would be. A sad account of what Britain was like, socially and politically, in the 1980s. There are all the characters you would expect - Thatcher, Princess Di, etc. - and generally there wasn't a lot that was surprising to me, even as an immigrant. I was hoping that this book would help me understand a bit better why Britain is the way it is now from a new perspective (i.e. tracing the origins of some of our current conditions to those several decades ago), but it doesn't really do that, at least not in a new way. The book is also really dry, and it does not recount the events of the 80s as a coherent narrative that is engaging and, well, makes you feel like you are listening to a story. The author's bias does shine through in several places, which doesn't really bother me because it was obvious, but I would have preferred the book started with some commentary on that. At times the book was just painfully boring, and also sometimes just plain weird. For example, at one point there was a discussion of Di's virginity and he even, if I recall correctly, referred to "de-flowering" her and mentioned how her inexperience was matched by Charles' indifference. As some other reviewers have pointed out, it doesn't quite strike the balance between breadth and depth, either. Not just with events, but with movements. The coverage of feminism, for example, was fairly strange and superficial, almost pitting the stereotype of a loud feminist against the stoic dismissal of people like Thatcher and some bland statistics about police activity in relation to the Yorkshire ripper. It's just a fairly strange mix of historical account and social commentary that, at least for me, didn't really work.

[Anthony Frobisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 80's Exposed

As a 12 year old boy in 1980, my teenage and formative years were fully immersed in this tumultuous decade. From the political landscape, the establishment of the seemingly immovable Thatcher, the power struggle between Thatcher and the unions, the miners strike, the infighting and ineptitude of Labour, the ill fated SDP, Andy McSmith has written a superb treatise on the 1980's. But he has cleverly woven in socio-economic and cultural change, reflecting how society in the UK changed over these 10 years. Live Aid, The Falklands War, Lady Diana and the Royals, football hooliganism, the tragedies of Bradford, Heysel and Hillsborough, Article 28 and the attitudes towards homosexuality plus the fear of HIV/AIDS and race riots in Brixton, Toxteth etc. All receive a detailed examination in this excellent book. I grew up in the 80's and it was fascinating to read more in-depth and learn much that I didn't know or understand at the time.

[MichaelK · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of things that happened in Britain in the 80s, but more of a collection of reflective essays on certain topics rather than a proper history: for that, I expect we'll just have to wait until Dominic Sandbrook covers these years in his series of massive tomes.

As I was reading, it felt like the events described were in dialogue with the news, giving them extra resonance.

Learning about Princess Diana's travails while the Harry and Meghan interview was breaking news was a weird experience. As was learning about the Yorkshire Ripper - and the misogyny of the police and the press response - in the aftermath of the Sarah Everard vigil.

Events all have a incomprehensible mass of historical context behind them.

"History isn’t just something that happened in the past, but a juggernaut with faulty brakes which is intent on mowing you down.” - Nicola Barker

[Kate Parr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was torn between 3 and 4 because it was a very comprehensive review of the decade but it was also very difficult to read in places, Smith displaying almost no empathy as an author to his audience. The section particularly on Hillsborough was rough. He tried to keep each chapter to a specific topic, but this made it difficult to get a sense of progression through time, it just kept bouncing back to the beginning and starting again. I lost track of all the politicians, except the ones I would recognise from my teens and later and I realise that almost all of the Tory politicians have been locked in my brain as 'elderly grey-haired guy with NHS glasses'...apart form Michael Heseltine. All in all I feel like I have a better general sense of what happened in the 1980s, but I want to go to more specific books to fill in the gaps.

[James Bellorini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a teenager in the UK for most of this decade and the thing that has struck me reading about that part of my history and the country’s is that very little has fundamentally changed in the UK to date. Though we have left the EU, the same structural and societal arguments and issues are as present today as they were then: the divide between North and South, the huge discrepancies between rich and poor, the same prejudices rising up etc. It seems to me that the seeds of what were sown societally and culturally in the 80s are still germinating and pervading our culture and not for the better sadly. The book itself is an excellent, accessible overview of the important themes and events of the decade. Highly recommended.

[Matthew Gault · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, a pretty good history of the 1980s. It is weaker on some of the NI stuff, which is limited to a chapter and has a number of very GB centric errors - for example the "Ulster Defence Force" doesn't exist, not even as a front, and, most significantly, neither Bobby Sands nor Owen Carron originally ran as Sinn Fein candidates, they were Anti-H Block candidates. That distinction is important to the overall story of Sinn Fein's transition from pure militarism to political strategy and the dissent within the movement. The broad strokes are correct, but there's a sloppiness and lack of care for detail in it that I've just come to expect any time a GB journalist or popular historian writes about Northern Ireland.

[Jason Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every history of a decade always thinks it’s a big change zone - a radio series is saying the same thing about the 70s. But thus us a solid history of an era for better or worse things did change. Every aspect of politics and culture is here , though the Cold War and its reflection in tv theatre and pop music gets surprisingly brief time. but here is the miners strike, live aid, AIDS, etc. A good chronicle.

[Jesse Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

McSmith is my favorite writer on British politics in the 80s. He's dry, incisive, and deeply knowledgeable. These essays, on topics ranging from Thatcher to high finance to sports, are deft and insightful -- indeed, the book's only shortcoming is that it jumps around a lot and can feel a bit disjointed. Even the chapter on British football and cricket -- often bewildering for an American -- was engaging.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very good, but it's quite shallow in terms of its analysis, probably because he had chosen to put so much in. It's a bit of an 80s bingo card..
Live Aid ✅
Falklands ✅
Royal Wedding ✅
Poll Tax ✅

And so on. I would have liked it to be longer and to reflect more on the long lasting impact of these events and policies.

[John W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not without some decent analysis in places this is on the whole a fairly flat, cut and pate job that brings no real credit to the genre.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable spree through a well-defined decade. Light in touch, even across some of the darker episodes, and broadly comprehensive.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Charlotta · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent re-cap and a reminder of events in the 1980s that have shaped this country.

[Jonathan Mccombie · Rating 4 out of 5]

well crafted and an interesting read, that appeals to both casual political observer and the more serious political observer. Both entertaining and an engaging read.

[Mr. A Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone interested in the events triggered by Mrs Thatcher ..its worth reading.

[Paddy McKeating · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed and somewhat gripping narrative history of the 80s. It’s written from an unashamedly left wing perspective so I would advise balancing with with ‘Bang!’ to create a complete picture.

[Svenja K. Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

fine

[Matthew Huggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this on audio book. So much of how we live today should be owed or blamed on the 80s, particularly individualism which are all responsible for.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really about Thatcher in the eighties.