Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography, Volume One: Not For Turning

"It’s beautifully written, obviously. Charles is a very fine writer. And he had complete access, not just to everything—all the papers—but to everyone who ever met her. I wonder whether he’ll do a second edition in a few years’ time. I think there were some cabinet papers he was unable to access under the 30-year rule . That’s the only thing that’s missing from the book, simply because when he was writing the first volumes not everything was out. Everything’s out now. It’s certainly one of those rare books that, if more information arises, it should be updated. “Charles has covered everything and he has done it in an incredibly readable and interesting way” It’s very thoroughly researched. And I can’t imagine that there’s very much anyone would want to know about Mrs Thatcher that’s not in it. These days, to have a monumental three-volume life like that is pretty unusual. But, unlike a lot of those multi-volume politicians’ lives, it isn’t boring. For example, Martin Gilbert’s life of Churchill in eight volumes is unutterably tedious. It’s the sort of thing I’d like to see used as an alternative to custody for young offenders. I’d make them read all eight volumes, rather than going to chokey—that would teach them a lesson they wouldn’t forget. But Charles’s book isn’t boring. If you’re not interested in certain questions, such as foreign policy, he does go on a bit about that. But he has to; she was an international figure. No one is ever going to need to write another book about Margaret Thatcher. It’s as simple as that. Charles has covered everything and he has done it in an incredibly readable and interesting way. I knew her for 27 years and she comes out of the book absolutely accurately. He has given a true and faithful account of her character, her personality, her views, her dynamism and her absolute refusal to be kicked around by anybody. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter Mrs Thatcher had a real understanding of her massive responsibilities towards this country. This is something that her present successor does not have. She really understood how crucial it was that this country function properly. And she understood that, as a stateswoman, she had the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that everything went well here. You see that in things such as her reaction to the invasion of the Falkland Islands—‘I’m not going to let some jumped-up fascist from Argentina go in there and oppress our people, even if we have to strain every possible sinew to prevent it.’ I went to the Falkland Islands six or seven years ago and she is regarded as a god-like figure there because of what she did. They know they wouldn’t be living there in those circumstances if she hadn’t acted as she did. That was something that came up out of the blue, but she also understood that this country had become profoundly anti-democratic in that it was run largely by trade union leaders. I was 18 or 19 during the Winter of Discontent and I remember the despair I felt as a young adult, that a lot of men were coming in and out of Downing Street from their trade unions telling me exactly how my country should be run and what they were prepared to put up with when, not only did I not vote for them, but most of their members hadn’t either. She understood this, the wrongness of unelected over-mighty subjects running the country and she was determined to face them down. She was also determined to deal with what she saw as the illogicality of a nationalised industry. Nationalised industries just ensured that the people in charge had no experience of industry whatsoever and also ensured that it had to be funded by the taxpayer. She understood that when you privatise something you tend to call people in who know what they’re doing, and you can also raise money from the private sector, from private individuals, to run and expand these companies. I know it’s not perfect, but the idea that British Telecom would have developed in the way that it has in this technological age, if it had stayed in the public sector, is inconceivable. “She brought that totally un-hypocritical sense of virtue, energy and hard work into her view of political life” She understood these things. People say that she had to take orders from Keith Joseph , who in turn took them from Enoch Powell. Well, up to a point. But she had all the right instincts. I saw her being parodied in The Crown the other day as this little provincial woman, who was trying to follow her father’s example. Well, frankly if more people in this country had followed Alderman Alfred Roberts’ example, we’d be a damn sight better country now. She brought that totally un-hypocritical sense of virtue, energy and hard work into her view of political life and that, to my mind, was her ultimate achievement. But, anyway, Charles brings all that out in the books and if you read them you will—slightly dangerous thing to say—know everything you need to know about her. Above all, Charles has presented to the world a completely honest and accurate account of Margaret Thatcher. Yes. She knew what she was doing. I often wonder whether she or Enoch Powell was the greatest person I’ve ever met and knew well. It’s a toss-up. Of course, people would say that it has to be Mrs Thatcher because she became prime minister. That’s true, but the weather was changed by Enoch. It was he who gave her a revelation about how an economy is run and she would not have been what she was without him. He was described as being John the Baptist to her, which I think is probably fair. Anyway, we’ll come on to that later."