Margaret Thatcher was not your typical Prime Minister. Most notably the first, and only, female PM to take power in the United Kingdom, she drew a new blueprint for the British party political system and it’s political consensus. In this essay I plan to unearth the ways in which Mrs. Thatcher changed the consensus and used her individual thinking and flare to alter the way politics in Britain continues to the present day. Mrs. Thatcher’s own personal theory on the consensus can be almost wholly summed up in the following quote;

“To me consensus seems to be: the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner "I stand for consensus"?”(1)

In order to have a stable government it is important to have consensus. Consensus is a

The Labour government of 1945, led by Clement Atlee introduced policies in six key areas, which became the foundation for the post-war consensus. These were - the commitment to full employment, using Keynesian economic ideas to achieve it, to have a mixed economy, including both publicly and privately owned industries, the introduction of a ‘Welfare State’, with the establishment of the NHS and benefits for those in need, the formalisation of links with Trade Unions, involving them in policy making, the commitment to reducing the gap between the rich and poor and to help regions with economic problems. The commitment to NATO and to make Britain a “nuclear” power, maintaining close ties to America.

In conclusion, the most memorable and some would say brilliant aspect of Thatcher was not the policies she put in practice but the sheer force of her personality. She controlled her cabinet absolutely and pursued vendettas in a quasi-immature fashion against people who she believed might stand in her way. She was the archetypal conviction politician who pushed through unpopular policies with the sheer force of her personality. It is not however, in my view, a matter of Thatcher creating a new political consensus, but simply a matter of her tearing up the old one and doing her own thing, as the other political parties’ manifestos and consensus simply were the opposite of her ideas and plans.

general understanding and agreement on fundamental principles. In politics there are three main types of consensus, Societal Consensus, Political Consensus and consensus in policy making. Main political parties all have policies that are similar, as they all want to appeal to the public. This is Political Consensus. The parties may still disagree over certain policies or issues, but on key issues their policies are very similar. If a party was to introduce policies that were outside the consensus, they would lose popularity and would not be elected. This means that governments often continue the policies of their predecessor.

Some topics in this essay:
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