Worship of Blessed Margaret echoes Tory hopes for a 1970s-style revival

Visitors to the Conservative Party conference have been struck by the ubiquity of one former leader – Margaret Thatcher.

The party is celebrating two significant anniversaries: the centennial of her birth, and 50 years since she was elected party leader. They are going all out to revel in their last truly successful leader and prime minister, and the Thatcher memorabilia (Thatcherbilia?) is everywhere. Present leader Kemi Badenoch, who welcomes comparisons to Thatcher, has declared that she is currently reading an admiring biography of the Iron Lady. Some wonder if this ancestor worship is good for the party...

It feels that way. At this conference in Manchester there is a display of what might be termed holy relics – historical documents, even her clothes – so that the faithful might perhaps pray to the Blessed Margaret that their One Nation apostasy be forgiven and they can be guided by market forces and shown the Eurosceptic light.

There’s even a Thatcher Theatre showing a film in which she vanquishes Edward Heath, the man who took Britain into Europe in 1973 (a sort of original sin), plus Maggie mugs, Toby jugs, T-shirts, portraits and posters. Glass cases displaying three nice Aquascutum creations she wore on famous occasions are a particular highlight. She has long since overshadowed Churchill and Disraeli, let alone Baldwin and Macmillan, in the pantheon of Conservative icons.

open image in gallery

That’s the idea: three election victories, the Falklands war, and the transformation of Britain should surely remind the Tories they are capable of greatness. A narrative the present leadership would welcome is comparison to events 50 years ago. In 1974, a disastrous election defeat (two, actually) under a centrist leader was followed by a new, more radical female leader who took them on to victory against a failing Labour government in 1979 and to dominance during the following decade. Parallels with the 2020s and the prospect of uninterrupted power in the 2030s are supposedly compelling. Badenoch’s leadership campaign last year was even called “Project 2030”.

Not on the evidence so far. The Conservative loss in 2024 was far more grievous than either of the 1974 defeats; the party is far smaller now and less part of the “waft and weave” of the nation, leaving weaker and narrower foundations for rebuilding than Thatcher had.

And aside from some minor incursions by the National Front, Mrs T didn’t need to worry about the far right. Badenoch, by contrast, must contend with Nigel Farage.

open image in gallery

It can be exaggerated, but she turned the pragmatic, infinitely flexible Tory party of old into a more ideological machine and, later in her career, an anti-European one. She laid some of the foundations, especially post-premiership in the 1990s, for what eventually became Brexit; that badly sundered the party and the country (her central role in creating the EU single market is conveniently forgotten). To the extent that Brexit eventually led to the Boris Johnson era that broke the Conservative Party, Mrs Thatcher played her part in its downfall.

open image in gallery

The further British society and its economy travels from the 1970s, the less relevant and applicable Thatcherite remedies are.

Of course not, and it’s the wrong question. That is asked of every new female leader, including Theresa May and Liz Truss, whose periods in charge ended in chaos. Sometimes, flattered, they live up to the hype – Truss indulged in Thatcher cosplay with her smart blue suits and pussycat bow blouses.

But every leader has to be their own person, not some reincarnation of a better yesterday. And grown men and women aspiring to lead Britain into the second quarter of the 21st century shouldn’t be worshipping a 1989 wool crepe suit in royal blue with gilt buttons and white pique modesty panel, reverently on display in a glass case.

Always one for looking forward rather than back, Margaret would surely disapprove.