Government During the Thatcher Years

Abstract

The election of a Conservative government in 1979 with Mrs Thatcher at its head meant that for the first time since 1945 Britain had a government which seriously questioned the post-war consensus. However, the arrival of a ‘radical’ government signalled not only changes in policy but also changes in the institutions/organisations which governed Britain. Mrs Thatcher, like many of her supporters, was strongly opposed to the growth of government which had taken place during the thirty years preceding her election.