A Tale of two Tories: Comparing Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905818796571 |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| Author | Graham Goodlad |
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
12 POLITICAL INSIGHT • SEPTEMBER 2018
When Theresa May took
office as Britain’s second
female Prime Minister,
comparisons with
Margaret Thatcher were too tempting
for commentators to ignore. The two
leaders shared a number of common
characteristics beyond their gender. Both
were hard-working, fundamentally serious
individuals, from an aspirational, provincial
grammar school background. Both came
across as determined and business-like.
During the July 2016 party leadership
contest, Kenneth Clarke recalled having
worked for a “bloody difficult woman” once
before.
Nonetheless we need to beware
of drawing over-simplistic parallels
between leaders operating in different
circumstances, three decades apart. How
do the two compare in terms of their style
of leadership? And how far is Theresa May’s
A Tale of two Tories:
Comparing Theresa May
and Margaret Thatcher
How does the leadership style of the only two female prime
ministers in British history compare? And how far is Theresa May’s
brand of Conservatism ‘Thatcherite’? Graham Goodlad examines
the two Tory leaders and finds important differences beneath the
superficial similarities.
brand of Conservatism in any meaningful
sense ‘Thatcherite’? May herself once
warned against ‘lazy’ comparisons with her
predecessor. “I’ve never thought of myself
like anybody else,” she said in a December
2016 interview,”‘or as doing the job like
anybody else.”
Differing contexts
The Thatcher era had a very different
feel from the second decade of the 21st
century. The internet, social media and the
process of globalisation have transformed
politics. Britain now is much less
dominated by two tribal parties. There is
a fluidity about present day politics which
was not in evidence four decades ago.
Thatcher came to power against a
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