The Thatcher Era

In 1989, in The Thatcher Decade, Peter Riddell provided the most wide-ranging and accessible analysis to date of the impact of Thatcherism on the British economy and society in the 1980s. Now, following Margaret Thatcher's sudden and dramatic departure from office in November 1990, he extends his classic account of the Thatcher years to include an assessment of her legacy and its consequences for Britain in the next decade. One of the most remarkable of all British prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher presided over a period of far-reaching change in Britain's economy, industrial structure, labour market, society, and place in the world. Looking beyond the personality of Mrs Thatcher herself, Peter Riddell discusses how far these changes reflected the actions of the government, intended or unintended, rather than the influence of broader, longer-term trends common to other industrialized countries. Was there, in short, a Thatcher revolution? And what are the consequences of her legacy?.