Thatcherism – Part Two – Imperial phase

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Apr 9, 2025

Margaret Thatcher's journey through her tumultuous second term reveals a leader shaped by both triumphs and failures. Exploring the harsh realities of her neoliberal policies, the podcast dives into rising homelessness and the miners' strike. It critiques her centralization of power and strained relations with Europe, culminating in her controversial resignation. The complexities of her legacy, marked by contradictions and increasing societal divisions, provoke critical questions about the lasting impact of her ideology on today's political landscape.

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INSIGHT

Thatcher's Defiance and Self-Belief

Thatcher's story, like Elon Musk's or Kanye West's, shows how consistent defiance can lead to warped self-belief.
Success reinforces the idea that one's instincts are always right, which can be detrimental.

INSIGHT

Falklands Victory and Thatcher's Conviction

Thatcher's Falklands victory solidified her conviction, making her resistant to criticism and compromise.
Despite her triumph, high unemployment led many to still expect a hung parliament.

ANECDOTE

Thatcher's Royal Progress

Following the Falklands War, Thatcher held a victory parade in London and a royal-like progress in the Falklands.
Conor Cruise O'Brien observed her evolving into an "elective executive monarch."

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Thatcherism

Personality and Politics

Kenneth R. Minogue

Michael D. Biddiss

The right approach

Conservative Central Office.

Margaret Thatcher : The Authorized Biography, Volume One

Charles Moore

Letter from London

None

Mollie Panter-Downes

Yes to Europe!

Robert Saunders

Interview with Margaret Thatcher after Nigel Lawson’s resignation

Brian Walden

The Origin Story Books

Ian Dunt

Dorian Lynskey

Speech to Conservative Party Conference

None

Margaret Thatcher

The lasting achievement of Thatcherism as a political project is that Britain now has three political parties of the right, instead of one

null

Patrick Dunleavy

Margaret Thatcher on History, Economics & Political Consensus

D.R. Valentine

Zhao Vale Dalmida’s new book

Zhao Vale Dalmida

The sacrifice of the mother

Matthew Parris

Speech to Conservative Rally in Bolton

None

Margaret Thatcher

Interview with Margaret Thatcher

null

Ronald Butt

Britannia Unchained

Global Lessons for Growth and Prosperity

Priti Patel

Dominic Raab

Kwasi Kwarteng

Elizabeth Truss

Chris Skidmore

This book, written by five Conservative MPs, presents a vision for the UK's future as a leading global economy. It advocates for a radical shift towards free market economics, suggesting fewer employment laws and drawing lessons from countries like Canada, Australia, and East Asian economies. The authors argue that Britain must adopt these measures to avoid economic mediocrity, criticizing the current state of high taxes, excessive regulation, and perceived laziness among British workers. The book has been controversial, with critics pointing out factual errors and slipshod research, and it has been linked to the economic policies of the Johnson and Truss governments[1][4][5].

Ipsos polling on the Falklands War

null

Ipsos

When the Lights Go Out

From Survivor to Champion

David Nino Rodriguez

When the Lights Go Out chronicles David Nino Rodriguez's life, from his early days as a boxer to his near-death experience and subsequent recovery. The book offers a candid look at his struggles with addiction, PTSD, and his path to redemption as an advocate for bullied children. It highlights the importance of transparency and resilience in overcoming life's challenges.

Brian and Maggie

null

Stephen Frears

James Graham

Spare a thought for the late unlamented one nation Tory

null

John Harris

The Iron Lady

null

Phyllida Lloyd

Abi Morgan

Pinochet in Piccadilly

Britain and Chile’s Hidden History

Andy Beckett

Stepping Stones

Naomi Levine

Notes Towards the Definition of Policy

null

Sir Keith Joseph

Dancing with dogma

Britain Under Thatcherism

Ian Gilmour

The Path to Power

The Years of Lyndon Johnson I

Robert A. Caro

This book retraces Lyndon Johnson's early life, from his childhood in the impoverished Texas Hill Country to his early years in Washington, D.C., first as a congressional aide and then as a congressman. It explores Johnson's relentless ambition, his ability to mesmerize and manipulate powerful figures, and his complex relationships with family, contemporaries, and influential politicians like Sam Rayburn and FDR. The book also delves into Johnson's secret love affairs and his strategic cultivation of wealthy and powerful allies. Caro's exhaustive research and immersive writing style provide a vivid portrait of Johnson's formative years and the environment that shaped his political career.

The Death of Consensus

100 Years of British Political Nightmares

Phil Tinline

The Death of Consensus by Phil Tinline explores the history of British politics over the past century, highlighting periods when the ruling consensus collapsed, leading to significant political shifts. The book examines how crises like the Great Depression and Thatcher's rise to power reshaped British politics, offering insights into how such moments of upheaval can pave the way for new political eras.

Conflict of Loyalty

null

Geoffrey Howe

Everything Must Go

Dorian Lynskey

The Downing Street years

Margaret Thatcher

Promised You a Miracle

Why 1980-82 Made Modern Britain

Andy Beckett

Memories of Margaret Thatcher

Iain Dale

In part two of Thatcherism, Margaret Thatcher has survived a grim first term and her political and economic bets have paid off. She’s ready to wage war on everything she considers socialism: trade unions, local councils, nationalised industries, the BBC, you name it. The Britain she leads is wealthier and more dynamic yet more divided and unequal — a land bisected into winners and losers, where her beloved free-market economics rips through the families and communities she claims to value.

Success has turned Thatcher into a harsh, unbending autocrat, hated by half the country and increasingly alienated from her own ministers. Her stubborn belief in her own instincts leads to catastrophic hubris over Europe and the poll tax, turning allies into assassins. On 22 November 1990, she is forced to resign as prime minister. We wrap up by discussing Thatcher’s record and legacy, both of which are far messier than her acolytes claim.

Where did Thatcher succeed and fail in fundamentally changing Britain? Why did her strengths become fatal flaws? How did she sow the seeds of Brexit and Tory civil war? And what were Thatcherism’s unacknowledged contradictions? Is it just another world for neoliberalism or a far more eccentric bundle of beliefs, prejudices and mannerisms? Are her disciples in today’s Tory Party learning all the wrong lessons? Join us as we explode some myths and tell the real story of Thatcherism.

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Reading list

• Andy Beckett, Pinochet in Piccadilly: Britain and Chile’s Hidden History (2002)

• Andy Beckett, When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies (2009)

• Andy Beckett, Promised You a Miracle: Why 1980-82 Made Modern Britain (2015)

• Brian and Maggie, written by James Graham and directed by Stephen Frears (2025)

• Ronald Butt, Interview with Margaret Thatcher, Sunday Times (1981)

• Conservative Central Office, ‘The Right Approach’ (1976)

• Iain Dale (ed.), Memories of Margaret Thatcher (2013)

• Patrick Dunleavy, ‘The lasting achievement of Thatcherism as a political project is that Britain now has three political parties of the right, instead of one’, LSE (2013)

• Ian Gilmour, Dancing with Dogma: Britain Under Thatcherism (1992)

• Ipsos polling on the Falklands War, Ipsos (1982)

• John Harris, ‘Spare a thought for the late unlamented one nation Tory’, The Guardian (2013)

• John Hoskyns and Norman Strauss, ‘Stepping Stones’ (1977)

• Geoffrey Howe’s resignation speech (1990)

• Geoffrey Howe, Conflict of Loyalty (1994)

• The Iron Lady, written by Abi Morgan and directed by Phyllida Lloyd (2011)

• Sir Keith Joseph, ‘Notes Towards the Definition of Policy’, Conservative Research Department (1975)

• Kwasi Kwarteng et al, Britannia Unchained: Global Lessons for Growth and Posterity (2012)

• Kenneth Minogue and Michael Biddiss (eds.), Thatcherism: Personality and Politics (1987)

• Charles Moore, Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography: Volume One (2013)

• Mollie Panter-Downes, ‘Letter from London’, New Yorker (1982)

• Robert Saunders, Yes! To Europe: The 1975 Referendum and Seventies Britain (2018)

• Margaret Thatcher, ‘Speech to Conservative Party Conference’ (1975)

• Margaret Thatcher, ‘Speech to Conservative Rally in Bolton’ (1979)

• Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (1993)

• Margaret Thatcher, The Path to Power (1995)

• Phil Tinline, The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of Political Nightmares (2022)

• D.R. Valentine, ‘Margaret Thatcher on History, Economics & Political Consensus’, University of Oxford (2013)

• Brian Walden, Interview with Margaret Thatcher after Nigel Lawson’s resignation (1989)

... reading list continues on Patreon

Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt. Produced by Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production

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