David Brandon

Margaret Thatcher: the Myths Exposed David Brandon

Even after her death, Margaret Thatcher has continued to excite bitter controversy. Her supporters felt that she could do no wrong. Many others condemned her policies as divisive and destructive. Here it is argued that she was a pragmatic rather than a principled politician, that she in fact performed innumerable u-turns, and that she had more luck than she merited. Despite how some choose to portray her now, opinion polls during her time indicated she was one of the twentieth-century's most unpopular Prime Ministers and in each election she fought as leader, more people voted against the Tories, than for them. Eventually she was ditched by her own Conservative Party, when they realised she had become an electoral liability. Much that was wrong with the "broken Britain" that the Con-Dem coalition talked about can be traced back to policies that were initiated during the time that Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. This book is an attempt to put the record straight.