Thatcher's Britain: The Politics and Social Upheaval of the Thatcher Era

A non-partisan and well researched analysis of the challenges faced by (and sometimes created by) Margaret Thatcher. Having worked throughout the eighties and having been a keen observer of 'current affairs' I thought I was fully aware of the politics of the era. This book contained surprising information. It is very well written and eminently readable.

I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Vinen some many years ago. Well known for some excellent work on French and European modern history. This move into the recent UK is most welcome. Readers should do one thing and ignore the title - I fully agree with the Sunday Times review (well worth reading) of some months ago - a badly chosen title - the book is about Lady Thatcher and the political environment she was in, much more so than the social or economic that might be guessed from the title. Some lovely stories add a richness to the narrative - I was struck by the analysis of Enoch Powell, for instance.I think this is an excellent analysis, one of the few on the topic, by a high quality professional historian, without the usual political bias of the contemporay. It would be interesting to get Professor Vinen's insights on our current dilemas.

(1) “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run OUT of other people's money.” margaret thatcher.(2) "The problem with thatcherism is that eventually the "casino" bankers run AWAY with other people's money." Anon.(3) “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Winston Churchill

This is a comprehensive study of the policies pursued by Margaret Thatcher, a figure so powerful in 1980's Britain that she became an -ism that lived on long after the politician had gone.I particularly liked the comparative analysis of Thatcherism and Powellism. While both Thatcher and Enoch Powell strove to reverse Britain's post-war decline through monetarism, Thatcher was an Atlanticist seeking closer cooperation with the US whereas Powell, who never got over the loss of Empire, was a fierce critic of the Atlantic Alliance, deeming anything non-English to be uncultured. Powell was also scathing in his criticism of Thatcher's approach to education bent on educating citizens in such a way as to maximize their return on the capital invested. In that regard, the notions of conservatism and nationalism are adequately addressed and put in perspective.The author also pinpoints the contradictions within Thatcherism: cultural chauvinism and 'Englishness' versus a free market rhetoric coupled with state asset sell-offs to overseas interests; the plea to roll back the frontiers of the state versus the extension of central governmental powers; economic liberalism versus social conservatism, thus echoing the often heard criticism that Thatcherism was just a minority interest of global elites, tarted up with some English populism. Because of these contradictions and the purported lack of policy consistency in favour of political pragmatism, he argues that Thatcher's legacy has been flawed by the law of unintended consequences.The conclusion is that Britain came out of the Thatcher years a lively, less inefficient, relatively lean, union-cowed, reasonably performing, not-quite-so bureaucratized, still hopelessly subsidized and benefit-demanding, class-ridden society facing the uncertain realities of freed Communist states, most of whom quickly adopted Thatcherite practice.

well written and factual a really good read

Gift for Daughter...she loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. As a Thatcher loather I thought it was about time I took a more objective view of her place in our lives and this book has helped me do just that in a broad and intelligent way (a biography would still be too much to stomach). I was in my twenties in the eighties, politically despairing and never really thought about the wider context or cared about how she had got to be where she was. This book has helped me understand the phenomena and made me more objectively alert to the impact that she is still having. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be made to reflect on Thatcher in an accessible and highly readable way.

Richard Vinen's book is an entertaining enough canter through the Thatcher myth. Early on he makes some pertinent revisions to the conventional views of the post-war consensus and reminds us that Thatcherism was a pragmatic as well as an ideological project which did not coalesce until sometime after May 1979. The early part of the book contains two factual errors over the authorship of the influential "Closing of the American mind" and Peter Walker's schooling which whilst not hugely significant in themselves do not encourage confidence. More serious is a lack of feel for the times. Given away by such sentences as "There was never a clear division between scabs and strikers" He also at one point suggests Howe and Lawson were wets; he goes on to qualify both of these but it gives the impression that he hasn't quite absorbed the clear polarisations of the eighties. This strange inability to take the register of British politics is evident again when he writes "saying that Tony Blair was more right-wing than James Callaghan is a trickier proposition" However the benefit of this unusual perspective is that he does at times come up with new and arresting points about the lady and her statecraft.Overall this book is a partial analysis that is annoyingly reluctant to come to any judgement and therefore underestimates both Thatcher's radicalism and her significance. It is however enough of a novel perspective to make it a worthwhile addition to the scholarship if not a major contribution to it.