The Politics of the Thatcher Revolution : An Interpretation of British Politics 1979 - 1990

By the end of the 1960s, it seemed to me that the Keynesian order had broken down irreparably, and that, in the coming contest for the succession, economic liberalism rather than socialism would eventually become the ruling ideology in British politics. Almost everybody in university life and in higher journalism thought otherwise, even after Margaret Thatcher became the Leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, and, thus, according to those who thought like me, the next Prime Minister. The conventional wisdom was that there was not going to be a Thatcher era, and then when there was a Thatcher Government the argument ran that it was going to be doomed to suffer the same fate as the wretched Heath Government, with an explicit U-turn into supposed political and economic reality after about two years, and, of course, nobody was supposed to be able to break the unions and render Britain 'governable' once more, and capable of an economic renaissance. There seems no reason to set out the thesis of this book beyond stating that those who followed 'respectable' opinion in these matters got it wrong, and, for whatever reasons, which the present writer would concede included much in the way of luck, those who took the opposing line got it right, though inevitably not in detail. Many who argued against me were later more generous in defeat than I fear that I would have been in similar circumstances, especially as they tended to be political animals in the Aristotelian sense, whereas, aside from patriotism, my own interest was one of professionalism. I am not and never have been an economic liberal, and, unlike many who write about politics, I have never belonged to any of the political tribes. In relation to the Thatcher revolution itself, I would describe myself as an untrue believer. What did happen was that I thought would happen, though, inevitably, only in broad terms.As with my previous eight books, I am indebted to many people for their help with The Politics of the Thatcher Revolution, not least Lynne Thompson, Lindsay Scutchings, Susan Grayson, and Amanda Willis of the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds, and all the Inter-Library Loan staff too. Many of my serving and former academic colleagues at the University of Leeds have encouraged me in the writing of this book, led by Heather Fry and family, Front Matter....Pages i-x What Kind of Revolution?....Pages 1-18 The Conservative Ascendancy: The Pattern of British Politics, 1979–90....Pages 19-42 The Thatcher Cabinets and Governments, Her Court, and ‘an Old Whore’ of a Party....Pages 43-70 The Economic Liberal Crusades I: The Quest for an Economic Renaissance....Pages 71-104 The Economic Liberal Crusades II: The Recasting of the Welfare State....Pages 105-136 The Economic Liberal Crusades III: The Reconstruction of the Civil Service....Pages 137-158 The Economic Liberal Crusades IV: The Confrontation with Local Government....Pages 159-179 The Governments of the ‘Iron Lady’ and the Defence of the National Interest....Pages 180-221 The Unfinished Revolution....Pages 222-237 Back Matter....Pages 238-293 The Politics of the Thatcher Revolution is about the most dramatic period in modern British politics, the era of the Thatcher revolution of 1979 - 1990. The Conservatives inherited a country that many feared had been rendered ungovernable by trade union power, those exercising which desired a socialist future for Britain. Margaret Thatcher's Governments of the 1980s broke union power and led Britain firmly down the economic liberal road of Western consumerism, radically changing public policy and administration in the process. Being neither one of the defeated nor an economic liberal, but an untrue believer in the Revolution in the sense of largely predicting it, the author is well placed to produce a dispassionate analysis of this fascinating era What kind of revolution? The conservative ascendancy : the pattern of British politics 1979-1990 The Thatcher cabinets and governments, her court, and 'an old whore of a party' The economic liberal crusades I : the quest for an economic renaissance The economic liberal crusades II : the recasting of the welfare state The economic liberal crusades III : the reconstruction of the civil service The economic liberal crusades IV : the confrontation with local government The governments of the Iron Lady and the defence of the national interest The unfinished revolution.

The Thatcher era was the most dramatic period in British politics since the 1940s. The Keynesian order established then was falling apart thirty years later and the time had come for radical change. As Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher proved to be the "Iron Lady" at home and abroad. Trade union power was crushed as her Governments strove to bring about an economic renaissance and to reshape the Welfare State, the Civil Service, and local government. This book analyses the politics of the Thatcher era in an incisive and challenging manner.

The Thatcher era was the most dramatic period in British politics since the 1940s. As Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher proved to be the 'Iron Lady' at home and abroad. This book analyzes the politics of the Thatcher era in an incisive and challenging manner.