By Paul Goodman
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Earlier this month, after the news was announced of Rohan Silva's depature from Downing Street, I listed some of those who had left previously:
By Paul Goodman
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As the coffin was carried out of St Paul's - the great west door having been flung open - a sound made its way inside, faint but persistent: the noise of applause. The effect in the immense spaces of the cathedral was haunting. For those of us who campaigned for the Conservative Party during the momentous years of the 1980s, many of whom turned out yesterday, it was as though the whole country had gathered to honour her life and work - not only the millions of voters who returned her to office three times, but millions of others: "the people of England, who never have spoken yet".
The moment was an illusion. But just as dreams can yield insights into our lives, so it suggests a question about our country: whose is it? Whose is the majority? Did the tiny minority of protestors, who gained media attention out of all proportion to their size, speak for Britain? Or is its true voice, rather, that of the outnumbering mass of dignified, restrained mourners, who packed the Strand and Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill in numbers far greater that commentary in advance of the service suggested? Opinion polls and yesterday's service come together to give an answer.
By Paul Goodman
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The Conservative Party is itself in poor health as it gathers to bury Margaret Thatcher. It hasn't won an election in over 20 years. The effects of vote distribution and out-of-date boundaries conspire against it breaking the habit next time. It has lost Scotland altogether, and is the third party in much of the urban north. It won 16% of the ethnic minority vote in 2010: by 2050, ethnic minority members will make up one in five of the total. It has a serious political competitor on the right, UKIP, for the first time in living memory.
Labour's rout on welfare earlier this month, and its squabbles over leadership and policy last week, have cheered up some Tory MPs - unduly so, all considered. A doctor's diagnosis of their party's condition would find serious illness, perhaps terminal decline. And the structural obstacles to a Conservative majority would remain even were this not a Government of which the whole is much less than the sum of the parts. So what can the Conservatives learn from the most potent election-winner in their history - the woman who they will honour today?
Continue reading "Margaret Thatcher's legacy should be a Conservatism For Bolton West" »
By Andrew Gimson
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The idiotic idea that Margaret Thatcher’s leadership represented a complete break with the Tory past can only be entertained by those who know nothing of, or choose to ignore, the admiring reception given to her by many Tories of highly traditional outlook. She was not, as some of her more gormless admirers and detractors suppose, a mysterious being who descended from the heavens, or from Grantham, and created a new doctrine called Thatcherism.
Her genius was to see that ideas which had been around for a long time could, if pursued with sufficient courage, industry and judgment, offer our nation a way out of the humiliations heaped on it during the 1970s.
If I had to offer one example of a traditional Tory who welcomed Thatcher, and supported what she was trying to do, I would name T.E.Utley. This is in a sense unfair to the many other journalists, on the Daily Telegraph and on other papers, who saw that she could be the leader to reinvigorate British conservatism.
By Harry Phibbs
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The arguments taking place this week have not only been about Margaret Thatcher, but also about Thatcherism. This prompts the question as to whether Thatcher was a Thatcherite. Not all policies pursued by her Government were Thatcherite. Not all of those that were Thatcherite were pushed by Thatcher. For instance, Nigel Lawson, in his excellent memoirs, The View from No 11, says she took quite a bit of persuading before approving the abolition of exchange controls.
Thatcherism existed before her - there are references to "pre Thatcher Thatcherites." Obviously there are many areas in this country and internationally where Thatcherite policies were applied after she ceased to be Prime Minister.
No wonder young people sometimes find it a bit confusing.
By Paul Goodman
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To help prove the point, we had extracts from the 1983 manifesto yesterday. Here are some extracts from the 1987 manifesto.
By Paul Goodman
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We've postponed our Compassionate Conservatism series until next week, on the ground that Margaret Thatcher merits this site's full attention. Which doesn't suggest that it was swept aside by her governments. Indeed, it played an impactful, though now sometimes forgotten, role in what she did. Left-wing enemies and libertarian admirers alike unite in either ignoring her full record, or pretending that it was other than it was. Don't take my word for it. Have a look back at what happened. Here are some reminders from the 1983 general election manifesto:
By Paul Goodman
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The link to the book can be found here.
By Paul Goodman
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The only political event in town today is the Commons's special session for tributes to Margaret Thatcher. It presents a tricky challenge for Ed Miliband, in terms of both of what he says and how his party behaves - though I suspect that a lot of Labour MPs, like John Healey, will simply boycott the proceedings.
Whatever happens, this is a good moment to reflect on Thatcher as a Parliamentarian. First as a teenager, and then later as a Conservative student activist, I grew up in the age before Parliament was televised - and, unlike William Hague, I didn't read Hansard. So how am I in a position to make an assessment at all?
For two reasons. First, because MPs voted that Parliament should be televised during her Premiership, and she sung one or two of her greatest hits in the Chamber. One of them is in the video above: No, No, No! (Other great Thatcher songs were: The Lady's Not For Turning, Rejoice At That News, The Enemy Within, and Treachery With A Smile On Its Face.)
Continue reading "Margaret Thatcher, Parliamentarian - a lesson in the power of argument" »
By Harry Phibbs
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Downing Street have announced that the funeral of Baroness Thatcher will take place on Wednesday, April 17th.
The funeral ceremony, with full military honours, will take place at London's St Paul's Cathedral, following a procession from Westminster. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will attend the service, Buckingham Palace said.
Downing Street have a section of their website for messages of condolence a selection of which will be passed on to the Thatcher family.