Politics & polling
Key statistics by government
The published value of each headline series on the day a government took office and the day it left, straight from the Office for National Statistics. Where a series is not published for a date, the nearest published period on or before it is shown and labelled — nothing is interpolated.
Conservative government · 1979–1997
Conservative · Margaret Thatcher, John Major · 04 May 1979 to 02 May 1997
| Measure | At start | At end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI inflation (annual rate) Office for National Statistics CPI is published from January 1989 onwards | Not published — | 1.6% 1997 MAY | — |
| GDP growth (quarter on quarter) Office for National Statistics | 4.4% 1979 Q2 | 1.1% 1997 Q2 | -3.3 pp |
| Public sector net debt (% of GDP) Office for National Statistics This ONS series is published from March 1993 onwards | Not published — | 37.4% 1997 MAY | — |
| Total public sector current receipts Office for National Statistics Calendar year totals; the year containing the change of government is shown | £80.66bn 1979 | £320.00bn 1997 | +£239.34bn |
| Net social benefits (welfare) Office for National Statistics Calendar year totals; the year containing the change of government is shown | £19.66bn 1979 | £101.12bn 1997 | +£81.46bn |
| CSEW crime incidents (excluding fraud and computer misuse) Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics Not published on a comparable basis before the survey began in 1981 | Not published — | 19.79m incidents Jan 1995 to Dec 1995 | — |
Dates of each administration follow the House of Commons Library record of prime ministers and governments. CPI is published only from January 1989, so earlier boundaries show no CPI value rather than a substitute measure. Crime figures come from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which began in 1981 and was not run every year before 2001; the published survey period used is shown next to each value.
Read 03 Sept 2026