Much has changed in Britain since Margaret Thatcher came to power in May 1979 and consolidated her position with election victories in 1983 and 1987. But how much is attributable to her and how much would have happened anyway? This book provides an analytic view of the social and political climate under Thatcherism. It addresses broad areas of concern - the economy, industrial decline, the public sector, privatization and popular capitalism, law and order, foreign policy, the machinery of government - and assesses what Mrs Thatcher has sought to do and what she has achieved.
This book offers a compelling defense of the political process, addressing the challenges and criticisms it faces in contemporary society. It explores the importance of political engagement and the mechanisms that uphold democratic values, emphasizing the necessity of a robust political system in fostering societal progress. Through thoughtful analysis, it aims to reaffirm the significance of political participation and the role it plays in shaping a just and equitable society.
Aside for the secretaries of state, those lofty roles at the Home Office, MOD, Exchequer, and Foreign office, the ministers of the UK are a cast of roles that expand, and contract based on the whims and political needs of the Prime Minister. Within their portfolios those MPs and Lords are immensely powerful - able to reshape whole sectors of British society, grant or refuse government contracts and planning permission, and intervene in matters throughout the country. And yet, few members of the British Public could name every single minister and fewer still could say the extent of each minister's responsibilities. We like to imagine that they are competent, prepared, and entirely in control, and we hold them to standards as though they are. But they are often none of those things. These men and women serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. Any misstep or scandal can invite media attention, public outcry, and their swift departure. At the same time, their resignations can shatter political alliances and bring down Prime Ministers and even governments. Their positions are, therefore, both immensely powerful and precarious. In Fifteen Minutes of Power , Peter Riddell draws on interviews with former ministers, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Government, to reveal the fraught existence of these powerful men and women.
Peter Riddell turns his attention to the curious relationship between Tony Blair and George W. Bush in what is certain to be one of the best-selling political books of 2003. Placing Blair and Bush in the context of Anglo-American relations throughout history, Riddell traces their relationship from its early tensions, through 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan and onto Blair's apparent subservience to Bush over Iraq. He discovers a complex and often bizarre relationship rooted in a failed British foreign policy that will soon be forced to choose between America and Europe.
On that sunny Friday morning back in May 1997 Tony Blair promised so much, but seven years later his premiership seems a huge disappointment. Why and how has he failed to deliver on the optimism of his early months? Peter Riddell goes behind the jibes about a presidential prime minister, control-freakery, the Third Way and 'phoney Tony' to anatomise why in the public services performance has signally failed to live up to expectations and the war against Iraq has left the premier embattled and mistrusted, even by many on his own side. An incisive and informed analysis of political unfulfilment
