"The Right's Sacred Decade"

"More quietly, generational shifts are eroding the 80s' electoral influence. Thatcher and the changes that occurred under her were rarely overwhelmingly popular. The British Social Attitudes survey showed leftward as well as rightward trends during the 80s; her share of the vote at general elections was middling by postwar standards; and her iron majorities were in large part the products of splits and weaknesses among her opponents. Nowadays, the beneficiaries of her booms, such pivotal interest groups in the Britain of the 90s and 00s, are beginning to be rivalled politically by those too young to have taken part. To some of this economically stressed generation, the postwar world she replaced–of state paternalism and strong unions, of municipal housing and more workplace protections–looks quite appealing, which is one of the reasons the 70s are beginning to be rehabilitated. Meanwhile, pessimists of all ages look at Britain now and wonder if we are back where we were in 1979: economically vulnerable, unsure of our place in the world. Was all that 80s turbulence and toughening-up really worth it?"


Andy Beckett in a 2012 Guardian article looks back at Margaret Thatcher and the 1980s.