Conclusion

Abstract

The conclusion argues that in Parliament, at Party Conference and in set-piece speeches, and in interviews and press conferences, Thatcher’s persona, rhetoric and oratory were integral to the policy agenda of Thatcherism. Through her communicative style she sought to persuade the Conservative Party internally, and externally the electorate, that there was no alternative to Thatcherism. Depending on the arena that she was operating in she would utilise different rhetorical devices and oratorical styles to suit the expectations of her audience. Moreover, she used her own self-assured belief in the values of neoliberal economics, the failure of her opponents to challenge her arguments in an equally compelling manner, and the combination of her conviction and the political circumstances of the time vis-à-vis the politics of crisis during the 1970s and into the 1980s to consolidate her justification for Thatcherism as the sole cure to the ‘British disease’. In so doing she has left an undeniable impact upon British party politics and transformed the communicative style of political debate.