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| Basildon still has some fondness for the Iron Lady, but aspiration has gone | Basildon still has some fondness for the Iron Lady, but aspiration has gone |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Peter Biddulph vividly remembers Basildon Man – or Men. In the mid to late 1980s, he says, they were the scourge of his local pub. "There were loads of them back then, boasting about how much money they were making and judging themselves and each other entirely by the amount of cash in their pockets," says the unemployed carer who has lived all his life in the Essex town. | Peter Biddulph vividly remembers Basildon Man – or Men. In the mid to late 1980s, he says, they were the scourge of his local pub. "There were loads of them back then, boasting about how much money they were making and judging themselves and each other entirely by the amount of cash in their pockets," says the unemployed carer who has lived all his life in the Essex town. |
| Sipping his pint in the bar of the Towngate Theatre, recently regenerated as part of an ongoing £1m investment in the arts, he adds – and not without obvious pleasure – "It all came crashing down for them. | Sipping his pint in the bar of the Towngate Theatre, recently regenerated as part of an ongoing £1m investment in the arts, he adds – and not without obvious pleasure – "It all came crashing down for them. |
| The few who looked after their cash moved into the posh villages around Basildon, but most of them spent it all. You don't see any of them in the pubs now. | The few who looked after their cash moved into the posh villages around Basildon, but most of them spent it all. You don't see any of them in the pubs now. |
| "Mind you, you don't see many people in the pubs at all nowadays. No one can afford it. Basildon's a very different place to how it was in the 1980s." | "Mind you, you don't see many people in the pubs at all nowadays. No one can afford it. Basildon's a very different place to how it was in the 1980s." |
| Basildon, the largest and last of Britain's seven post-war new towns, was created in 1949 for the expanding population from east London: working-class families who were largely lifelong Labour voters. | Basildon, the largest and last of Britain's seven post-war new towns, was created in 1949 for the expanding population from east London: working-class families who were largely lifelong Labour voters. |
| Yet when Thatcher's boom years came, the new town's voters shed previous convictions and backed her with enthusiasm. | Yet when Thatcher's boom years came, the new town's voters shed previous convictions and backed her with enthusiasm. |
| It was a political volte face to which social commentators responded by creating the caricature of Basildon Man: an image that summed up how the lure of Thatcherite ideals won out over the old, working class mores. | It was a political volte face to which social commentators responded by creating the caricature of Basildon Man: an image that summed up how the lure of Thatcherite ideals won out over the old, working class mores. |
| It got nasty – with his shellsuited and tasteless Loadsmoney creation, the Labour-supporting comedian, Harry Enfield made Basildon Man a national laughing stock. But even Tony Ball, the Conservative leader of Basildon district council, admits the caricature wasn't entirely unfounded. | It got nasty – with his shellsuited and tasteless Loadsmoney creation, the Labour-supporting comedian, Harry Enfield made Basildon Man a national laughing stock. But even Tony Ball, the Conservative leader of Basildon district council, admits the caricature wasn't entirely unfounded. |
| "I'm not saying there wasn't an element of truth in the stereotype," he said. "That's why there were people who were embarrassed to be associated with it." The image embedded itself in the national psyche, outliving Thatcher's reign: in 1992, the then Conservative minister Stephen Norris characterised Essex as having "a great deal of money and very little taste". | "I'm not saying there wasn't an element of truth in the stereotype," he said. "That's why there were people who were embarrassed to be associated with it." The image embedded itself in the national psyche, outliving Thatcher's reign: in 1992, the then Conservative minister Stephen Norris characterised Essex as having "a great deal of money and very little taste". |
| But Biddulph says that after the town's swing back to the left in 1997 – when Labour won with a 13,000 majority – all but the most outspoken of the Basildon Men who populated in his local pub moved swiftly to dissociate themselves from the image that, in good times, they had been so eager to embrace. | But Biddulph says that after the town's swing back to the left in 1997 – when Labour won with a 13,000 majority – all but the most outspoken of the Basildon Men who populated in his local pub moved swiftly to dissociate themselves from the image that, in good times, they had been so eager to embrace. |
| His friend, Peter Whybrow, agrees, adding that nowadays, among his friends and neighbours, it's hard to find people who identify themselves as Tories. | His friend, Peter Whybrow, agrees, adding that nowadays, among his friends and neighbours, it's hard to find people who identify themselves as Tories. |
| "People became Tory voters overnight in the 1980s, no matter that they had been Labour voters their entire lives, because they said Thatcher had created the opportunities for them to earn all this money and buy their own properties," says Whybrow, a building worker who moved to Basildon in 1979 as a young man of 18. | "People became Tory voters overnight in the 1980s, no matter that they had been Labour voters their entire lives, because they said Thatcher had created the opportunities for them to earn all this money and buy their own properties," says Whybrow, a building worker who moved to Basildon in 1979 as a young man of 18. |
| "People moved with the same speed and hypocrisy when the Tory government hit the rails in '97," added Whybrow, who has been out of work for six months. "As soon as the Conservatives were out of office, people moved quickly to distance themselves, claiming they had never voted Tory." | "People moved with the same speed and hypocrisy when the Tory government hit the rails in '97," added Whybrow, who has been out of work for six months. "As soon as the Conservatives were out of office, people moved quickly to distance themselves, claiming they had never voted Tory." |
| In Basildon town centre, the lingering stigma associated with outspoken Conservative support seemed to have faded. In the town centre's Marks & Spencer's cafe, Mary Swinney, who has lived in Basildon District for more than 50 years, couldn't speak highly enough of Margaret Thatcher. | In Basildon town centre, the lingering stigma associated with outspoken Conservative support seemed to have faded. In the town centre's Marks & Spencer's cafe, Mary Swinney, who has lived in Basildon District for more than 50 years, couldn't speak highly enough of Margaret Thatcher. |
| "She was a wonderful woman who fought for her country. Everyone was better off under her, everyone," Swinney said. She straightened her teacup in its saucer, pursed her lips and added. "Except the miners. But you can never make everyone happy, can you?" | "She was a wonderful woman who fought for her country. Everyone was better off under her, everyone," Swinney said. She straightened her teacup in its saucer, pursed her lips and added. "Except the miners. But you can never make everyone happy, can you?" |
| Others were eager to admit they had moved "to the right of Margaret Thatcher" in recent years. Alan, a retired docker who preferred not to give his real name, came to Basildon in 1987 when the Royal Docks in East London transferred to Tilbury in Thurrock. | Others were eager to admit they had moved "to the right of Margaret Thatcher" in recent years. Alan, a retired docker who preferred not to give his real name, came to Basildon in 1987 when the Royal Docks in East London transferred to Tilbury in Thurrock. |
| "I worked on the docks and I was glad to see Thatcher sort out the unions and shop stewards, but I remained a lifelong Labour supporter nevertheless," he said. "I never voted for Thatcher and I never voted for the Tories until the country had endured five years of Tony Blair. It was then I said 'Never again'. I'm to the right of Margaret Thatcher now. I'm a Ukip voter. They've got the right idea about Europe; Thatcher's idea. She was saying all that time ago what they're saying now. She was a wise woman." His wife, sitting opposite, poured him another cup of coffee, nodding in agreement. | "I worked on the docks and I was glad to see Thatcher sort out the unions and shop stewards, but I remained a lifelong Labour supporter nevertheless," he said. "I never voted for Thatcher and I never voted for the Tories until the country had endured five years of Tony Blair. It was then I said 'Never again'. I'm to the right of Margaret Thatcher now. I'm a Ukip voter. They've got the right idea about Europe; Thatcher's idea. She was saying all that time ago what they're saying now. She was a wise woman." His wife, sitting opposite, poured him another cup of coffee, nodding in agreement. |
| After Thatcher's downfall, the feeling of possibility and opportunity in Basildon – as in the rest of the country – began to erode. Academics Denis Hayes and Alan Hudson conducted large surveys of Basildon in 1992 and 1997. Their book, Basildon: The Mood of the Nation, was based on the results and published by Demos. | After Thatcher's downfall, the feeling of possibility and opportunity in Basildon – as in the rest of the country – began to erode. Academics Denis Hayes and Alan Hudson conducted large surveys of Basildon in 1992 and 1997. Their book, Basildon: The Mood of the Nation, was based on the results and published by Demos. |
| In it, they talk of how the town's pioneer history has moulded the character of its inhabitants. | In it, they talk of how the town's pioneer history has moulded the character of its inhabitants. |
| "Basildon's first wave of residents may have been moved there in a pragmatic wave of slum clearance, but mostly they made the choice to move: they got on their bikes long before Chingford skinhead Norman Tebbit coined the phrase," said Hayes. | "Basildon's first wave of residents may have been moved there in a pragmatic wave of slum clearance, but mostly they made the choice to move: they got on their bikes long before Chingford skinhead Norman Tebbit coined the phrase," said Hayes. |
| The Basildon's desire for self-improvement coincided, by chance, with Thatcherite notions of possessive individualism: the first Basildonians regarded themselves as pioneers, Hayes points out, choosing a settler's covered wagon as the first tenants' logo. | The Basildon's desire for self-improvement coincided, by chance, with Thatcherite notions of possessive individualism: the first Basildonians regarded themselves as pioneers, Hayes points out, choosing a settler's covered wagon as the first tenants' logo. |
| The Thatcher years have left their mark on the town, for good and bad: more Basildonians are homeowners than not: 30.6% own outright and 32.8% with mortgages. On the other hand, in 2011, the town was in the top third of UK local authorities with the highest levels of multiple deprivation, according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. | The Thatcher years have left their mark on the town, for good and bad: more Basildonians are homeowners than not: 30.6% own outright and 32.8% with mortgages. On the other hand, in 2011, the town was in the top third of UK local authorities with the highest levels of multiple deprivation, according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. |
| "The challenging characteristic of Basildon Man that has always been missed is his aspiration and the way that, given half a chance, he can do it for himself," said Hayes. | "The challenging characteristic of Basildon Man that has always been missed is his aspiration and the way that, given half a chance, he can do it for himself," said Hayes. |
| Biddulph finishes his pint. "I love Basildon, I really do," he says. "But I've been unemployed for two years and I don't expect to work again, although I'd love to. There just isn't the opportunity here any more. Am I aspirational? I was once but now? No, I don't think I could claim that." | Biddulph finishes his pint. "I love Basildon, I really do," he says. "But I've been unemployed for two years and I don't expect to work again, although I'd love to. There just isn't the opportunity here any more. Am I aspirational? I was once but now? No, I don't think I could claim that." |
| Additional reporting by Judith Welikala | Additional reporting by Judith Welikala |
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