Margaret Thatcher
Blue Label for the blue lady
Sir David Tang and friends packed out the Dorchester Hotel last night to taste Johnnie Walker Blue Label. I last tasted Blue Label in an airport departure lounge, where the… Continue reading
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After leaving office, Margaret Thatcher believed Britain should leave the EU
On Tuesday night, at a Spectator readers’ evening, Andrew Neil interviewed me about my biography of Margaret Thatcher. He asked me if, after leaving office, Lady Thatcher had come to… Continue reading
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Maggie Maggie Maggie, wanted out out out
To Chelsea to hear Charles Moore lift the lid on his Thatcher biography. While the crowd at the Cadogan Hall loved the anecdotes and insight, it was Moore’s revelation that,… Continue reading
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When Michael Heseltine turned up at a Thatcher book signing
At the launch of my biography of Margaret Thatcher, I was flattered to see Michael and Anne Heseltine joining the signing queue. It was very sporting of him. When they… Continue reading
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Mind your language, Mr Rawnsley
The weekend press offered some rave reviews of Charles Moore’s Thatcher biography. Craig Brown, who is not given to hyperbole, compared Moore’s book to a work of art, while the… Continue reading
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‘Please don’t mention Margaret Thatcher when you write to me’
‘Arthur Negus’ — Tony Bray — is the only one of Margaret Thatcher’s early loves still alive, though sadly he is now in poor health. Once I had tracked him… Continue reading
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Margaret Thatcher and the missing votes
There was a startling late entry for the first volume of my biography of Margaret Thatcher. On the day after she died, I received an email from Haden Blatch. Mr Blatch’s… Continue reading
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The Ize Have It
She divided us in life, she’s dividing us in death. Baroness Thatcher was so controversial that a single letter in a single word in the subtitle of a book that… Continue reading
3 Comments How Michael Heseltine won his first showdown with Margaret Thatcher in government
The extracts in the Telegraph of Charles Moore’s biography of Margaret Thatcher have confirmed that this will be one of the most important political books of recent times. One of… Continue reading
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Thatcher didn’t really save Britain. She allowed Britain to save itself.
Thatchermania has died down now, and I’ve personally stayed out of it. The quality of commentary from people around at the time has been outstanding, not least The Spectator’s own… Continue reading
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Margaret Thatcher’s funeral unites the political class
Where there has been discord, Mrs Thatcher’s funeral brought harmony. From my seat in the gods at St. Paul’s, I watched as Westminster’s lesser mortals gathered in front of the… Continue reading
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Lion-hearted crowds cheer the Iron Lady
When I arrived at St Paul’s at 6 o’clock this morning, a line of people, around 40-strong, had already set up camp with union flags (and one Canadian flag, too)… Continue reading
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The Myths of Margaret Thatcher, Sermon on the Mound Edition
Like Iain Martin, I was not sure a full ceremonial funeral was quite appropriate for Margaret Thatcher. That is not to dismiss her achievements or her significance, merely to wonder… Continue reading
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Sir John Hoskyns: the Margaret Thatcher I knew
Sir John Hoskyns was head of Margaret Thatcher’s Policy Unit from 1979 to 1982. In a Q&A with The Spectator, he describes what it was really like to work with… Continue reading
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David Cameron: We’re all Thatcherites now
David Cameron is giving a reading at Margaret Thatcher’s funeral later today, but this morning he gave his eulogy on the Today programme. He made the quite striking observation that… Continue reading
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US Senate strangely silent over Margaret Thatcher
In deference to Lady Thatcher’s immense popularity across the Pond, the US House of Representatives paid tribute to her. But the US Senate has been oddly reluctant to follow suit.… Continue reading
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Once civil servants have praised one Prime Minister, they must praise them all
Sir Jeremy Heywood and Sir Bob Kerslake have penned a civil service tribute to Margaret Thatcher in today’s Telegraph. They laud her as the ‘best kind of boss.’ They are… Continue reading
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Grant Shapps on the Tories and Thatcher
It is one of the paradoxes of modern British politics that in the post-war era the power and hold of political parties have declined and our system has become more… Continue reading
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No battle at Trafalgar in the name of Margaret Thatcher
Ever since the Poll Tax riots and Margaret Thatcher’s exit from Downing Street, the Iron Lady’s most fervent opponents have been talking about how they’d descend on Trafalgar Square the… Continue reading
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Where are today’s titanic Cabinet battles?
Reading Norman Fowler’s recollections of the Thatcher years in the Telegraph, whose coverage this week has been simply superb, is to be reminded of how much debate there was in… Continue reading
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