English

Noun

wets

1. Plural of wet

Verb form

1. third person singular of wet

Anagrams

• stew
• west

In the United States, "wet" was also a slang term for opponents of Prohibition.

A Wet was a political term much in use in the 1980s, describing Conservative Party members in Margaret Thatcher's government who were outside her inner circle. Wets typically opposed her strict monetarist policies and supported increasing public spending.

The term was originally applied to supporters of Thatcher's predecessor, Edward Heath, as well as Heath associates such as James Prior and Peter Walker. It came into common use after being used by so-called Thatcherites as a way to label opponents of her policies. Post-Thatcher, it has commonly been used as a disparaging term for liberal or left-wing ideas.

Origin of the term

Historically, the term "wet" was English public school slang for someone judged to be weak, feeble or "soppy". Within the political context it was used both as a noun and an adjective: "wets" espoused "wet" policies.

The term's adoption was followed by creation of the "dries" – those who opposed the "wets", and supported "dry" policies. These dry policies included: reducing public spending, cutting taxes, especially for the wealthy; keeping down inflation; lowering interest rates; tightly controlling the money supply; and reducing the regulatory power of the state – all policies associated with Margaret Thatcher.

Notable Wets

• Ian Gilmour
• Francis Pym
• Nicholas Scott
• George Young

Outside the United Kingdom

Australia

In Australia, the term "wets" usually is used towards members of the Liberal Party of Australia who have espoused small-l liberal ideals in opposition to the dominant socially and economic conservative faction, many preferring the term Moderate. Liberal MPs and Senators who clashed with former Prime Minister John Howard's stance on refugees and gay rights such as Petro Georgiou, Bruce Baird, Warren Entsch, Russell Broadbent, Judith Troeth and Judi Moylan have been labelled as wets.

Canada

In Canada, the domestic equivalent to the "Wets" are called Red Tories.

References