the downing street years review

10 in a landslide. [This section under construction: More to come soon…]. This political and economic journey has been captured by its two principal and supremely self-confident navigators. On the matter of taxes, the Thatcher-Lawson record, though not unblemished, must be commended for its fundamental achievements. By the late 1980s, she had become convinced that Britain should never join, but she knew that hers was a minority position within her own government, and that she couldn’t hold off the pressure forever. By the very natures of their positions in government, one would expect greater emphasis by Lawson on economic and fiscal issues, and a more comprehensive tome—covering not only economic and budget issues, but foreign affairs, terrorism, social and cultural policies, defense issues, etc.-by Thatcher. (The zero rate on food and other basics would be unchanged.) Both, however, falter occasionally as will be the habit of politicians. All my reading and experience has taught me that once the state plays fast and loose with economic freedom, political freedom risks being the next casualty. The aggressive record of privatization is almost mind boggling, and on this score it’s difficult to find fault. You saw Regan as a person. To that end, she was aided in her much lauded friendship with Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, neither Thatcher nor Lawson considered gold as a viable monetary standard. Elected Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979, an office she continuously held for 11 years, Thatcher, not always affectionately known as “The Iron Lady,” exerted tremendous influence not only upon her nation but upon the world at large. The historian Kenneth O. Morgan has written that the spectacular fall of Labour (cursed not to regain power for 18 years) and the rise of Mrs. Thatcher “meant the end of an ancien régime, a system of corporatism, Keynesian spending programmes, subsidised welfare, and trade union power.” By 1979, the United Kingdom, like much of Western Europe, had acquiesced to what seemed the inevitable advance toward comprehensive socialism. Mrs. Thatcher resigned before the second ballot and Major was elected Leader, thus becoming her successor as Prime Minister. Bearing in mind that memoir writers usually make lousy historians, I can only recommend this book with reservations. Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2015. Downing Street Years As this book now shows, rarely has such a sense of anticipation been so amply justified. I could have resisted the opposition of opponents and potential rivals and even respected them for it; but what grieved me was the desertion of those I had always considered friends and allies and the weasel words whereby they had transmuted their betrayal into frank advice and concern for my fate. Raymond J. Keating is an author and serves as Chief Economist with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

Go Transit Schedule, Review Response Examples, Sharklato Runtz Strain, Paint Brush Clipart Png, Watertown Ct Corona, Belongings Meaning In Tamil, St John High School,