Thatcher as Leader (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Thatcher as Leader

Character and leadership style

Margaret Thatcher brought a distinctive approach to Conservative politics that broke with many traditional party conventions. Her leadership was characterised by strong personal convictions and a willingness to challenge established norms within her own party.

Thatcher explicitly rejected the post-war political consensus, which she viewed as responsible for Britain's economic difficulties by the late 1970s. Her policies emerged from her personal beliefs and experiences, which were rooted in her middle-class upbringing. As the daughter of Alf Roberts, a grocer and local councillor who was also a Methodist lay preacher, she absorbed values of self-reliance and self-improvement from an early age. These principles formed the foundation of her political philosophy.

Unlike many leading Conservatives of her era, Thatcher was not from a traditional Tory background. She was suburban rather than aristocratic, came from trade rather than landed wealth, and was a woman in a male-dominated party. This outsider status shaped her approach. John Ranelagh, who worked for the Conservative Research Department during the 1970s, observed that the party's relationship with political theory was often pragmatic rather than intellectual. Willie Whitelaw once remarked that "The Tory Party does not like brains," whilst Enoch Powell noted that when Conservatives needed theoretical justification, they would seek someone to supply it: "Here you! Give me a thought! There must be a theory behind this. Kindly explain to me what it is."

In a January 1983 television interview, she explained:

Compassion isn't determined by how much you get together demonstrations in the street to protest to government that government, which is other tax-payers, must do more. It's determined by how much you are prepared to do yourself. Of course we have basic services, we will continue to have those, but equally compassion depends upon what you and I, as an individual, are prepared to do. I remember my father telling me that at a very early age. Compassion doesn't depend upon whether you get up and make a speech in the market-place about what governments should do. It depends upon how you're prepared to conduct your own life, and how much you're prepared to give of what you have to others.

This emphasis on individual responsibility and action, rather than state provision, reflected her broader political outlook.

Her conviction politics reached its most memorable expression at the 1981 Conservative Party conference when, responding to calls for policy reversal, she declared: "You turn if you want to – the lady's not for turning." This statement not only created her image as an unwavering leader but also criticised the Heathites who had reversed course (made a U-turn) in 1972 when faced with economic difficulties.

Thatcherism as ideology

Whilst Thatcher was not herself an intellectual theorist, her approach was influenced by various thinkers within the Conservative Party and broader right-wing academic circles. Thatcherism drew on traditional Conservative thinking from figures such as Enoch Powell, but also incorporated ideas from the 'New Right' think tanks and academics that emerged in the 1970s.

The New Right

The New Right comprised various academic and theoretical organisations that challenged the Keynesian economic orthodoxy dominant since 1945. These groups drew heavily on the work of economists Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek, both associated with the Chicago School of Economics.

Key institutions included the Centre for Policy Studies, established by Keith Joseph following the Conservative election defeat in 1974, and the Adam Smith Institute, formed in 1977 to promote free-market policies. These organisations attracted several notable converts from left-wing positions, including Peter Jay (an economist and James Callaghan's son-in-law) and Paul Johnson (a previous editor of the left-wing New Statesman magazine).

The New Right's analysis of Britain's economic decline led them to reject Keynesian economics in favour of monetarism and free-market approaches. However, their critique extended beyond economics. Thatcherites viewed Britain's economic problems as stemming from failures of successive post-war governments, but they also identified what they perceived as moral decline linked to this consensus. For them, the free market represented more than an economic system; it embodied a moral framework because it encouraged individuals to take responsibility for their own actions. This principle applied equally to personal decisions and economic choices.

Social conservatism and order

Thatcherites placed considerable emphasis on traditional social order and family structures. Rhodes Boyson, a former headteacher who became a junior minister in the Thatcher government, exemplified the social conservative wing. He argued that schools should use corporal punishment to maintain discipline and that capital punishment should be reinstated. His critique of post-war society was uncompromising:

Some people look with amusement or even horror at the self-help of the Victorian age, but its virtues of duty, order and efficiency have been replaced in the muddled thinking of our age by a belief in individual irresponsibility. The predictable outcome is seen in disorder, crime and lack of civic duty and in the palsied inefficiency so often visible in the public service.

This sentiment was reinforced by Norman Tebbit, an outspoken Essex MP who served as Trade Secretary in Thatcher's first cabinet before becoming party chairman. His forthright style made him popular with Thatcherites, though Michael Foot described him as "a semi-house-trained polecat." In a 1985 lecture to the Disraeli Society, Tebbit argued:

The trigger of today's outburst of crime and violence lies in the era and attitudes of post-war funk which gave birth to the "Permissive Society" which in turn generated today's violent society.

This commitment to order extended to support for police and tough law-and-order policies. These themes featured prominently in the Conservative manifesto for the 1979 election and remained consistent throughout Thatcher's premiership. However, by the mid-1980s, critics accused the police of becoming politicised, particularly during industrial disputes.

Ministers: support and opposition

Despite winning the 1979 election, the Conservative Party was far from united behind Thatcher's approach. Many senior Conservatives represented traditional one-nation views and harboured reservations about her policies.

When the Conservatives won the 1979 election, Thatcherism had not yet fully emerged as a defined political programme. It remained contested within the party, and its practical application would only become clear as policies were implemented throughout the 1980s. The term itself was tied closely to Margaret Thatcher's personality, to the specific challenges facing Britain in the 1970s, and to the solutions developed during the 1980s. Whether Thatcherism could transfer to other times, places, or leaders remained uncertain. Its practical meaning would be explored and debated throughout the following years.