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November 22, 2021 - 1:48pm
Today is the anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s resignation, one of the most engrossing moments of high politics in the twentieth century. After Thatcher announced the UK would veto an EU treaty for monetary union, Geoffrey Howe realised she would make Europe an issue at the next election, “unless she is resisted.” In those days, the leadership could only be contested annually, in November. Howe had to move fast.
His resignation speech is famous. His departure was huge news. He was the last survivor of her first cabinet. Mutiny rumbled. MPs stopped going to divisions. Heseltine stalked her openly, quickly standing as a candidate. Europe was the trigger, but electability was the issue. As early as February, Ian Gow (fearful of persistent inflation, depressed poll numbers, and an expected election in 1991) had warned the diarist MP Alan Clark that Thatcher would be opposed. She had been challenged the year before, by Anthony Meyer, who failed to interest many colleagues in deposing her. This year, said Gow, many more were interested. Clark recorded rumours of 100 MPs prepared to vote against her in April.
More concerned with historic events than domestic affairs, Thatcher went to a summit in Paris during the first ballot. While she was busy ending the Cold War, her leadership campaign was being fumbled by Peter Morrison, who sent a secretary out to buy vodka in the middle of meetings where he was supposed to be tallying which MPs had been approached to vote for the Lady.
She won that vote — but her margin was too small to avoid a second ballot. She was four votes short. Clark despaired about finding Morrison asleep mid-afternoon the day before. “For want of a nail the kingdom was lost.” Thatcher was due at the ballet that night in Paris: Mitterrand delayed the performance by an hour while she spoke to the press. A cabal met the next evening, including five cabinet ministers, to debate supporting Hurd or Major in the second ballot. Clark was the only one who thought she should stay. He warned Thatcher about her position (via Charles Powell: Peter Morrison wouldn’t put his call through) but it was no good.
Thatcher realised too late her campaign had been mismanaged. By the time of her first visit to the Commons tea room, Heseltine had schmoozed everyone two or three times. Tebbit thought one-to-one meetings with the cabinet would win them round. They didn’t. John Major had paused when she asked him to renominate her for the second round. Kenneth Clarke threatened to resign if she went through to the second ballot. The tide was running out. She resigned the next morning.
Ever since Thatcher, Tory leaders have been picked up like found pennies and dropped like hot bricks. Boris was chosen as an election winner. But now his poll numbers are down, his future is up for speculation. He’d better watch out. It’s much easier to challenge a Tory leader these days. And it can happen year round.
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SubscribeI think we’ve seen the fifth column of Europhiles (or ‘Federasts’?) for what they are now. In 1990, I didn’t understand what drove men like Major, Howe and Clarke, beyond a desire to stay in power. Maastricht finally revealed them – and began the descent to bickering interventions today, having missed the great tide of their adult lives.
In the end, Margaret was right about Europe – and petty little men like Howe and Major were wrong. I only wish she’d lived to see us leave.
I admire Thatcher, but as a powerful Prime Minister she has to take a great deal of the blame. She was blind-sided by the Single Market Act, and naïve to say the least by the use of all EU legislation to push through and ever-centralising agenda. And, before that she was not on the side of the angels in 1975. Whatever the undoubted faults of the EEC may be, the real crime was the British establishment’s pushing through a defeatist European policy contrary to hundreds of years of Great Britain’s independent existence. The arguments in that referendum were uncannily like those in the 2016 one, the British people were effectively deceived on an epic scale about the supposedly non-political nature of the EEC.
On a purely personal basis, I don’t think it is possible to compare Margaret Thatcher to Boris Johnson.
Maggie would not have given Bojo the upstart the time of day. Polar opposites – a statesperson of serious stature and substance vs a narcissistic pretender.
Even her worst enemies respected her
Mrs Thatcher was removed largely because she refused to move from what she believed in.
Boris by contrast will change his position to suit what he thinks is most popular/successful.
To that end there are no similarities. If Boris is ousted it will be because he got it wrong, not because he refused to change.
Johnson is more like a party mascot than a leader. He’s great to wheel out to give rousing speech’s (most the time), bluster his way though Prime minister’s questions, constantly leaving Keir Starmer baffled as to how to penetrate the wall of rhetoric he throws up and has a certain likeableness that endears him to the public. He also has had the knack in the past of knowing which way the political winds are blowing and is quick to take advantage. If the Tories can restrict him to those functions he excels at, allowing those with a more genuine talent for governing to get on with the important stuff, he might make a successful Prime minister in the end.
It is a shame Dominic Cummings went. I suspect he was a nightmare to work with but they did seem to play to each other’s strengths.
It looks like Boris is on his way out. He’s served his purpose, Brexit, and can be blamed for the Covid response, unfairly in my view, which is a big bonus for his Tory enemies. Classic Tory suicide – they have no one credible to replace him and Starmer will win the next election as a consequence.
Welcome to Prime Minister Starmer and his woke hordes telling us on pain of prosecution what pronouns to use and to accept men as women regardless of biology.
You have been warned.
Johnson has outlived his usefulness. Time for him to go.