
OppositionCast 71 - Thatcher at 100 - with David Willetts, Dr Emily Hickey and Sir Adam Ridley
Oct 16, 2025
00:00
This week marks the 100th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's birth, and her legacy was much in evidence at last week's Conservative Party Conference, with Kemi Badenoch's speech taking place 50 years after the Iron Lady's own first speech to the conference as leader.
In this special episode, we delve back into our own archives to revisit an interview with Dr Emily Hickey, whose PhD thesis focused on Mrs Thatcher's time in Opposition, and with Sir Adam Ridley, who was an adviser to the future Prime Minister and helped draft that first party conference speech.
We also hear extracts from a discussion Nigel took part in on Matt Chorley's radio show featuring Conservative peer David Willetts talking about how Thatcher was more pragmatic than she is now given credit for.
Presented by Nigel Fletcher
Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies
Theme Music by Tom Hector
