The headline above comes from a leader in tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph.
I know where the SunTel is coming from but let's never forget that Maggie was as much a tactical genius as a conviction politician…
- She wasn't averse to putting politics first: She accepted Callaghan's pay deals with the public sector that delayed fiscal retrenchment until 1979.
- She picked the timing of battles: Arthur Scargill sought confrontation with her in her first term but she knew she wasn't ready to win and gave the NUM what it wanted. She delayed confrontation until 1984/85 when she could win.
- She left some things largely untouched: Think of the NHS, the BBC and the welfare state.
Tim Montgomerie