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Margaret Thatcher, prime minister between 1979 and 1990, was and continues to be a hugely divisive figure in Britain. Her influence on British politics has long outlived her, with the Conservative Party becoming steadily more Thatcherite than it was under her leadership, especially on economic issues. Policies that support privatization, curbs on trade unions and employment rights (to promote further labour market flexibility), reduction in welfare provision, the replacement of collectivism with individualism, and the marketization of public services, including the NHS and education, are all Thatcherism in practice, and still continue today.
Peter Dorey offers a lively analysis of how Thatcherism became an ideology for politics to conjure with, its relationship with its eponymous leader and with the Conservative Party, as well as the long-term implications for the British people. He argues that the radical modernization of Britain that started under Thatcher’s leadership in the 1980s has created the conditions that have led to the polarization of British society today; a process that was profoundly unconservative in its values and approach, destabilizing institutions which Conservatives once deemed sacrosanct, and replacing continuity and solidity with constant change and competition.
Dorey’s superbly researched account is a concise, full 360-degree study of the inexorable rise of Thatcherism and its erosion of traditional Conservatism. He shows clearly and crisply why her ideological legacy remains so important to the Conservative Party and to anyone who studies it.
— Louise Thompson, University of Manchester
An outstanding book that deserves to be widely read. Pete Dorey has expertly combined historical and political analysis to provide a definitive and highly engaging account of the complexities and contradictions of the Thatcher project. His analysis is consistently sharp and insightful and helps us make better sense of the character and legacy of one of the most important and enduring political projects of our time.
— Peter Kerr, University of Birmingham
Peter Dorey is Professor of British Politics at Cardiff University. He has published widely on British Conservatism and the Conservative Party. His recent co-authored books include Exploring British Politics 5th Edition (2021), Choosing Party Leaders: Britain's Conservatives and Labour Compared (2020), The British Coalition Government, 2010–2015: A Marriage of Inconvenience (2016) and The Political Rhetoric and Oratory of Margaret Thatcher (2016).
1. Why Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and prime minister
2. The development of Thatcherism: intellectual origins and ideological framework
3. The key policies
4. Thatcher’s management and domination of the parliamentary Conservative Party
5. The Thatcherization of the Conservative Party since 1990
6. The contradictions and consequences of Thatcherism
Concluding comments
Chronology