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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1979 Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Spokesman for a New Conservatism: a Rhetorical Analysis of the Party Conference Speeches (1975-1978) (Volumes I and II). Teresa Hicks Bunetta Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Bunetta, Teresa Hicks, "Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Spokesman for a New Conservatism: a Rhetorical Analysis of the Party Conference Speeches (1975-1978) (Volumes I and II)." (1979). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3381. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3381 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. 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Requests can be made to our Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases we have filmed the best available copy. Universify Micrœlms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Bu n e t t a , T er esa H icks MARGARET THATCHER, BRITAIN’S SPOKESMAN FOR A NEW CONSERVATISM: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PARTY' CONFERENCE SPEECHES (1975-1978) (Volumes I and II) The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical PH.D. Col. 1979 University Microfilms I nternâtional300 N. Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. MI 48106 18 Bedford Row, London WC1R4EJ. England Copyright 1979 by Bunetta, Teresa Hicks All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MARGARET THATCHER, BRITAIN'S SPOKESMAN FOR A NEW CONSERVATISM: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PARTY CONFERENCE SPEECHES (1975-1978) A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The Department of Speech Teresa Hicks Bunetta B.A., Stephens College, 1973 M.A., West Virginia University, 1976 August, 1979 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION IN MEMORY OF MY LATE HUSBAND, FRANK BUNETTA. With gratitude to our wonderful Lord for the blessing of our marriage and for giving me in Frank a friend and counselor who encouraged me in every possible way to follow my dreams and to fulfill my goals and without whom I would not have had the emotional, spiritual, and financial support essential for me in completing a project of this magnitude. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer is grateful for the guidance and encourage­ ment given by Owen Peterson, her major professor. His integrity as a scholar and a teacher truly directed the course of this study. Other members of the graduate committee offered their time, valuable insights and most of all, their enthusiasm: Frederic Youngs, Jr., John D. Pennybacker, Mary Frances HopKins, and Harold Mixon. Special thanks to Richard Ryder, Margaret Thatcher's personal spokesman, for his advice and willingness to provide every possible assistance with the project and to the many people at the Conservative Central Office who greatly facili­ tated research by giving the writer access to essential data. Stella Burge, head of the press cutting department, generously offered her time and experience. John Lindsay at Conservative Central Office made available the audio and video cassettes of Margaret Thatcher's party conference speeches and party political broadcasts. Throughout the research for this project Margaret Thatcher's private office and the Conser­ vative Central Office gave the writer complete access to the data essential for research and demonstrated an interest in furthering scholarship in every way possible. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Gratitude to Lord Blake for sharing his time, interest, and his unique perspective. Appreciation to Professor Robert Rhodes James for the assistance he gave the writer during an extraordinarily busy week at the House of Commons. Many thanks to the journalists, academicians, colleagues friends, and family who contributed to this study. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I Page DEDICATION ............................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................. vii ABSTRACT ................................................... viii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .................................... 1 Purpose of the Study Contributing Studies Plan of the Study Institutions and Sources Important Terms II. THE AUDIENCE AND THE OCCASION .................... 10 Great Britain in the Post War Years Political Events Since 1974 Issues in the 1979 Election The Tory Party and the New Conservatism The Immediate Audience and Occasion III. THE SPEAKER'S BACKGROUND AND DELIVERY ........... 80 The Speaker's Background The Speaker’s Delivery IV. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPEECHES ....................... 104 Thematic Emergence Rhetorical Order Method of Division and Arrangement The Proportioning of the lîaterial The Devices Used to Achieve Unity Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page V. THE LOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL M O D E S .....................134 Logical Appeals Emotional Appeals VI. THE SPEAKER'S IMAGE .................................. 168 The Audience's Prior Knowledge of the Speaker Press Coverage of Mrs. Thatcher Intrinsic Ethical Appeals VII. MEASURES OF E FFECTIVENESS ........................... 224 The Response of the Immediate Audience The Reactions of the Press VIII. C O N C L U S I O N ............. 236 Significance of the Study Suggestions for Further Study VOLUME II BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................. 242 APPENDIX ..................................................... 405 VITA ......................................................... 456 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. L IST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Taxes as % of the Gross National P r o d u c t ......... 52 2. How the Tax Threshold F e l l ........................ 53 3. The Chancellor's Tax Haul 1976-77 54 4. Redistributive Effort Tax and Benefits in 1971 and 1976 ................................ 55 5. Voting for the Restoration of the Death Penalty .................................. 59 6-13. The Marplan P o l l ............................. 180-185 14. Gallup P o l l .................................... 199 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT In February, 1975, Great Britain's Conservative and Unionist Party elected the Right Honorable Margaret Thatcher, M.P. to the position of Leader of the Party. The Conservative Party was at that time a minority party; thus Mrs. Thatcher became the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition. Mrs. Thatcher became the first woman in Britain ever to head a major poli­ tical party. She emerged after an intense ideological struggle within the Conservative Party. In the battle for the party leadership she defeated Edward Heath, then leader of the Party and former Prime Minister. From the time of her elec­ tion in February, 1975, until the defeat of the Government in April,

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