The Thatcher Years

This is particularly interesting in the week of Margaret Thatcher’s death. As has been made clear by the comments from the more thoughtful of her political opponents, she changed the political landscape.

Whether or not you admire, regret she was ever in power, or perhaps even despise her, it is a fact that she did indeed change not only the Conservative Party but the Labour Party as well and her influence is still being felt across the political spectrum.

The politicians who I most admire are those who achieve real change; to do so at any level is extremely difficult; not only is the “system” against you but, more often than not, a large part of your own party will be opposed.

Generally speaking, despite always critical of those who hold power, we don’t like change and one of the important functions of the political process is to do just that – manage change.

The world is much more complex than ever before and change is coming ever faster.

But returning to my opening theme of “class and politics” what Lady Thatcher achieved above all else was to broaden even further the Conservative Party’s appeal to include more of the aspiring working classes.

After 18 years of Tory Government, many transferred their loyalty to Tony Blair’s Labour Party and, remember, he even had to change the party’s name to show how it had broken with its past and was prepared to take forward the “Thatcher Revolution”.

It is undeniable that the Thatcher governments presided over a period of massive change, much of which was particularly painful for those parts of the country that were reliant on heavy industry such as steel, shipbuilding, car production and, of course, mining.

The problem was that what could and should have been a period of more gradual change had to be compressed into a much shorter time. That’s because a series of weak governments had ducked the issues making the whole process more painful.

What is undoubtedly true is not just that she showed such determination to restore Britain’s place in the world but that the great majority of the British people recognised that it was necessary and stuck with successive Tory governments.

It’s equally noticeable today that the vast majority recognise that, though the medicine is horrible, we have to fight once again to balance the nation’s books.