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Historian responds to Thatcher’s legacy


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"Of the two main parties that fought the 1979 general election, one took a tough line with the unions in a bid to keep down inflation, and the other promised inflationary public sector wage increases in an attempt to buy social peace. It was Callaghan's Labour Party that was tough and divisive, and Thatcher's Tories that reached out in an effort to build national consensus. In 1979, Thatcher presented herself - against her instincts - as a unifier in the 'One Nation' tradition, and this was the key to her victory. Later, the Thatcher government created a myth about its own origins, helping to justify the genuinely tough action it took after being elected."

"Today, David Cameron and Gordon Brown both subscribe to that myth. Cameron wants to claim that problems under Labour today are a reversion to the 'bad old days' of Callaghan. For Brown, the 1970s crisis provided a key justification for the birth of New Labour, of which he was joint architect. His faulty understanding of the past has contributed to our present troubles. If Cameron is to avoid similar mistakes in the future, he must jettison historical clichés and learn the true lessons of Thatcher's rise."

Please note: Views expressed are those of the author.

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