Margaret Thatcher: The Autobiography

by Margaret Thatcher

  Private Eye (magazine), 259

  Private Members’ Bills, 73–4

  Private Office, 257

  privatization, 405, 417, 619–26

  Privy Councillors, 263

  Programme Analysis and Review (PAR) system, 117 & n, 120

  proportional representation, 202

  Provisional IRA, 480

  public expenditure: cuts under Heath, 126, 144; and counter-inflation, 186; cuts under Labour, 192; Keith Joseph on, 193–4; reduced under MT, 270, 276, 317–18, 321–2, 329, 618; White Paper on (1980–81), 277; Conservative dispute over, 316; growth in, 320–1; long term implications examined, 401–2

  public sector: workers’ pay, 264, 268, 273; growth, 273

  Public Sector Borrowing Requirement: reduced under MT, 276, 316–18; increases, 320–1

  Public Sector Debt Repayment (PSDR), 616

  Pym, Francis (later Baron): on death of Iain Macleod, 123; and devolution question, 238; requests increase in defence spending, 316; leaves Defence, 319; as Leader of House of Commons, 320; responsibility for disseminating government information, 320, 329; criticizes economic strategy, 329; as Foreign Secretary in Falklands crisis, 348–9, 352, 355, 358, 361, 363, 365, 369, 372, 418; in War Cabinet on Falklands, 349; visits to Washington, 361–3, 368; differences with MT over proposed Falklands settlement, 362–4; announces US supply of Trident to Britain, 385; in 1983 election campaign, 411; on landslide majorities, 411; questioned about Argentina negotiations, 411; retires to backbenches, 418

  Quayle, Dan, 700

  Queen Elizabeth II (ship), 375

  Queen’s Speech, (1979), 268

  Question Time (TV programme), 411

  Rabin, Yitzhak, 533

  race: and ‘negro problem’, 24; legislation, 93; MT on, 222; and riots, 326, 328

  Race Relations Bill (1968), 93

  Raison, Timothy, 164

  Rakowski, Mieczyslaw, 677

  Ramat Gan, Israel, 533

  Ramphal, Sir Sonny, 288, 537

  Rantzen, Esther, 92

  Rapier Air Defence system, 386

  rates (property), 152, 155, 597; capping, 417, 597; replacement by community charge, 599; revaluation, 599; reforms, 603

  Ravenscraig, 449

  Reagan, Ronald: bids for Republican presidential nomination, 209, 213–14; relations with MT, 213–14, 335–6, 423–5, 430–1, 514, 518; presidency, 295, 334–5, 423; qualities, 335, 415; and Argentine threat to Falklands, 344, 349, 365, 366; communicates with MT in Falklands dispute, 359–60, 365–6, 369–71, 376; attends G7 meeting at Versailles, 377, 389; and supply of Trident to Britain, 385–6; European mistrust of defence and arms control, 386; on repression in Poland, 387; anti-communism, 389; speechmaking, 389; and control of missiles, 396–7, 673; and Williamsburg G7 meeting (1983), 414–15; and intervention in Grenada, 427–30; on US involvement in Lebanon, 432; and US air attack on Libya, 500–2; Strategic Defence Initiative, 504, 511–12, 514–15, 517; on nuclear weapon-free world, 511, 514, 519; Soviet mistrust of, 511; meets and negotiates with Gorbachev, 516–17, 674; proposals at Reykjavik meeting, 517–18; MT discusses defence strategy with, 518; and Western liberty, 523; sanctions on South Africa, 536; and exchange rates, 630; MT meets after Irangate affair, 672; signs INF Treaty, 672–3, 675; and missile deployment, 673; and NATO summit (Brussels 1988), 675; visits Moscow, 675–6; address in City of London, 676

  rearmament, 21, 36

  Red Star (Soviet newspaper), 210

  Redmayne, Martin, Baron, 167

  Reece, Gordon: MT first meets, 158; supports MT in leadership election, 166; joins MT’s full-time staff, 182–3; and MT’s 1975 visit to USA, 207–8; and Red Star’s description of MT as ‘Iron Lady’, 210; as Director of Publicity, 225; and Conservative advertising campaign, 226; and MT’s policy on trade uions, 233; and 1979 election campaign, 244–5, 252; and Argentine claims to Falklands, 340; advises on television in 1983 election, 406; amd 1990 leadership campaign, 719

  Reed, Douglas: Insanity Fair, 23

  Rees, Merlyn (later Baron Merlyn-Rees), 224

  Rees, Peter, 600

  Rees-Mogg, William (later Baron), 35

  Renton, Tim (later Baron), 713, 723, 725

  Renwick, Robin, 541

  Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 422

  Retail Price Index (RPI), 271, 606, 710

  Retail Price Maintenance, 85

  Reykjavik summit (1986), 513, 517–18

  Reynolds, Quentin, 18

  Rhodes: European Council meeting (1988), 481, 681

  Rhodesia, 212, 230, 286–9; see also Zimbabwe, Republic of

  Ridley, (Sir) Adam, 156, 181

  Ridley, Nicholas (later Baron): and industrial development, 137; promoted, 140; MT joins Economic Group, 164; appointed to Foreign Office, 262; as Transport Secretary, 422; moves to Environment Department, 558, 569, 601–2; and 1987 election campaign, 560, 564; housing reforms, 569, 576–8; and countryside planning, 592; promotes community charge, 601–4; and water privatization, 623; on monetary union in EC, 646; MT considers for Chancellor, 647; disregarded as Party leader, 660; moves to Trade and Industry, 661–2; leaves Trade and Industry, 724; supports MT in 1990 leadership election, 728

  Rifkind, Sir Malcolm: resigns over Scottish devolution, 197–8; as Scottish Secretary, 494; meets Gorbachevs, 509; meets P.W. Botha at Chequers, 535; and community charge in Scotland, 602; disavows MT in 1990 leadership contest, 729

  Right Approach, The (Conservative document), 193, 221

  Right Approach to the Economy, The (Conservative document), 221

  Rimington, Dame Stella, 92

  riots (domestic), 325–8

  Rippon, Geoffrey (later Baron), 125, 129, 179

  Robbins Report (on higher education), 118

  Roberts family, 1

  Roberts, Alfred (MT’s father): background and shopkeeping career, 1–2; courtship and marriage, 2; character and principles, 3; as mayor of Grantham, 10, 13, 55; interests and activities, 12–13; reading, 15, 17, 22–4; civic appointments, 16–17; wartime duties, 26; supports MT as Dartford candidate, 47, 50; interest in law, 55; death, 104

  Roberts, Beatrice (née Stephenson; MT’s mother): courtship and marriage, 2; household management, 9–10; death, 71

  Roberts, Cissie (MT’s stepmother), 104

  Roberts, Edward (MT’s uncle), 2

  Roberts, Grandmother, 12

  Roberts, John (MT’s great uncle), 6

  Roberts, Muriel (MT’s sister), see Cullen, Muriel

  Robilliard, Joy, 258, 734

  Robinson, Derek, 311–12

  Rolls-Royce: aerospace division, 128; MT’s policy on, 311; privatization, 620

  Romania, 684

  Romanov, Grigory, 506

  Romberg, Sigmund: The Desert Song, 7

  Rome: airport terror attack, 499; European Council meeting (1990), 666, 668–9, 711

  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 42

  Rossi, Hugh, 151

  Rotary Club, Grantham, 9, 13

  Rothschild, Victor, 3rd Baron, 119–20, 558, 598–9

  Rover Group, 621

  Royal Society: MT’s speech to (1988), 593

  Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), 472–3, 478

  Russia see Soviet Union

  Ryan, Patrick, 480–1

  Ryder, Caroline (later Lady; née Stephens), 260

  Ryder, Richard (later Baron Ryder of Wensum): as head of MT’s private office, 182; in Downing Street, 260; Plan (1975), 310 & n; discussions on 1990 budget, 618; campaigns for MT in 1990 leadership contest, 709, 727; withdraws support from MT in 1990 leadership election, 730; and Major’s succession to Party leadership, 736

  Ryzhkov, Nikolai, 521–2

  Saatchi & Saatchi (advertising agency), 225, 252, 411–12, 560

  Sadat, Anwar, 530

  Saddam Hussein: and Iran-Iraq war, 296; aggression against Kuwait, 671, 698–9, 703–5; threat to Saudi Arabia, 698, 700; defeated, 702; Western actions against, 702, 710; and Allied war aims, 706; survives First Gulf War, 707


  Sakharov, Andrei, 211

  Salisbury, Robert Cecil, 5th Marquess of, 84

  Salote, Queen of Tonga, 55

  SALT II (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), 211, 384

  Saltley Coke Depot, Birmingham, 309, 437

  Sands, Bobby, 467–8

  Saudi Arabia: Iraqi threat to, 698, 700, 702; and blocking of Iraqi oil exports, 700; US forces in, 701–2; British support for, 702

  Scargill, Arthur: and 1972 miners’ strike, 135; as successor to Gormley, 323, 325; militancy, 325, 436–7, 440; dealings with MacGregor, 438; opposes pit closures, 439, 444, 450; in 1984–5 miners’ strike, 442–3, 452, 454; dominance, 444; served with writ, 453; intransigence, 455

  Scarman, Leslie George, Baron, 219, 326–7

  Schlesinger, James, 208

  Schlüter, Poul, 653, 659

  Schmidt, Gerhard, 32

  Schmidt, Helmut: official visit to London, 264–5; and MT’s determination to reduce British EC budget contributions, 281, 291–2; at Tokyo G7 meeting, 284–5; supports Britain in Falklands War, 351; and Trident programme, 384; and deployment of missiles, 672

  Scholey, Bob, 309

  schools: secondary, 100, 106–7, 109–10, 117; direct grant, 106; leaving age, 106; free milk and provision of meals, 111–13; primary, 113–14, 118; in Conservative 1987 election manifesto and campaign, 560–1, 564–5; grant-maintained, 565, 571–2, 575; and reforms (1988), 570–1; see also education; grammar schools

  Schools Examination and Assessment Council, 573

  science: government funding and support, 592–4

  Scoon, Sir Paul, 429

  Scotland: MT visits, 183; devolution question, 196–8, 237–8, 265; in 1979 election campaign, 249–50; rate revaluation, 599; community charge introduced, 602–3, 607

  Scotland and Wales Bill (1977), 196–8, 237

  Scotney Castle, Lamberhurst, Kent, 226 & n, 232

  Scott, Nicholas, 164, 179–80

  Scottish Conservative Conferences: (1979), 265; (1983), 408

  Scottish National Union of Mineworkers, 440

  Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), 196, 237–8

  Scowcroft, Brent, 683, 700

  Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles (SLCMs), 675

  Seccombe, Dame Joan, 567

  Seldon, Arthur, 157

  Selective Employment Tax (SET), 90

  ‘Selsdon Man’, 76, 102

  Selsdon Park weekend (1970), 101–2, 121

  Shackleton, Edward Arthur Alexander, Baron, 340

  Shah, Eddie, 442

  Shah of Iran (Muhammed Reza Pahlavi), 334

  Shamir, Yitzhak, 532–3

  Sheffield, HMS, 369

  Shelepin, Alexander, 204

  Shelton, Sir William, 167–9, 171–2, 174, 709

  Sherbourne, Stephen, 409, 559, 561, 568

  Sherman, Sir Alfred: supports Keith Joseph’s Centre for Policy Studies, 156–7; and Milovan Djilas, 213; and John Hoskyns’ strategic plan, 231; and trade unions, 233; recommends Niehans as adviser, 320

  Shevardnadze, Eduard, 674

  Shore, Peter (later Baron), 129

  Short, Edward (later Baron Glenamara), 108

  Short-Range Nuclear Forces (SNF), 673, 675, 681–3, 694–5

  Shotton steel works, North Wales, 306–7

  Shultz, George, 389, 431, 516, 518

  Sikorsky helicopter company: and Westland affair, 488–92

  Silkin, John, 413

  Silverman, Sydney, 97

  Simon, Bill, 208

  single currency: Conservative resistance to, 711–12, 719

  Single European Act (1985–6), 554–5, 653–4

  Sinn Fein, 473

  Sir Galahad (landing ship), 378

  Sir Tristram (landing ship), 378

  Sirs, Bill, 304, 307–9

  Skegness, 12

  Skinner, Dennis, 735

  Skinner, Rev., 7–8, 54

  SLADE printing union, 241, 302–3

  Smith, Ian, 212

  Smith, Paddi Victor, 72

  Soames, Christopher, Baron, 262, 289, 331

  Soames, Mary, Lady (née Churchill), 289

  Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP, Northern Ireland), 465, 467, 469–70, 472, 476, 479

  Social Democratic Party (SDP): alliance with Liberals, 332, 393; policies, 394; on trade union control, 399

  Social Security: and benefits, 79–81; and case work, 80

  Social Security, Department of: Moore heads, 584

  socialism: established in Britain, 40–1; MT’s hostility to, 417, 586, 619; and EC’s Social Charter, 659

  society: moral values, 96–8, 586–7; MT’s view of, 402–3, 587–90; and state intervention, 586–7

  SOGAT, 309

  Solidarity (Poland), 334, 387, 676–80, 683

  Solzhenitsyn, Alexander, 211

  Somerville College see Oxford University

  South Africa: arms embargo, 123; USA proposes and imposes sanctions, 212, 536; conditions and system, 525, 534–5; rioting and unrest (1985), 535–6; rule in Namibia, 535; discussed by Commonwealth heads at Nassau (Bahamas) meeting, 536–8; and ‘eminent persons group’, 538–9; attacks ANC bases, 539; Special Commonwealth Conference on, 539; EC proposes sanctions, 540–1; reforms and changes, 541, 543–5; under de Klerk, 541; violence between blacks, 543; MT visits, 543; sanctions relaxed, 544

  South Georgia, 340, 342–3, 356, 359, 361–2, 364–5, 371

  South Korea: airliner shot down by USSR, 504

  South Sandwich Islands, 340–1

  Southall: riots, 326

  Southern Thule, 341

  Soviet Union: pact with Nazis (1939), 24; Hitler invades, 26–7; hostility to West, 42; MT visits, 99, 507–8, 516, 519–22; China separated from, 203; Kissinger’s policy on, 203; and Helsinki Summit, 204–7; MT criticizes, 204–5, 210; and nuclear arms control, 204, 211, 382, 397, 424, 517–19; as threat, 211–13; invades Afghanistan, 213, 284, 293–5, 297, 338, 384, 521; and Third World, 334, 338; and Falklands War, 346, 352–3; defence expenditure, 381; seeks to split NATO powers, 381–2; and Polish martial law, 387; US sanctions against, 387–9; and West’s Cruise missiles, 395–6; Reagan’s policy on, 424; gives support to striking NUM, 453; MT’s policy on, 504–6; proposes nuclear-free zone in Europe, 504; shoots down South Korean airliner, 504; and anti-ballistic missiles, 513; and Strategic Defence Initiative, 515, 519; expulsions from Britain, 516; Gorbachev assumes leadership, 516; aspiration to world communism, 520; dissidents and refuseniks in, 522; decline, 666; borders, 668; West’s relations with after communist collapse, 670; political crisis and control of nuclear weapons, 671; arms control negotiations and agreement with USA, 673, 675; and Gorbachev’s reforms, 673–4, 684, 691–2; withdrawal from Afghanistan, 674–5; Reagan visits, 675–6; and collapse of communism, 684; opposes German reunification, 685–6

  Soward, Mr & Mrs Stanley, 48

  Spain: supports Argentina in Falklands dispute, 352, 377; and US air attack on Libya, 501; admitted to EC, 549–50

  Special advisers, 405

  Special Air Service (SAS), 296

  Special Commonwealth Conference on South Africa, 539

  Spicer, Michael, 406

  Sri Lanka, 537

  SS-20 missiles (Soviet), 672

  Stalin, Joseph, 42

  Stalingrad, 27

  Stalker-Simpson Report (on shoot-to-kill in Northern Ireland), 478 & n

  Standard Spending Assessment (SSA), 606

  Stanley, John, 151, 195

  Stansgate, William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount, 35

  START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks: US-Soviet), 674–6

  state, the: and moral values, 96; in operation of economy, 298

  States of Emergency: (1970), 122; and 1972 miners’ strike, 135

  Steel, David (later Baron), 96, 198, 223, 564

  Stephenson, Grandmother, 12

  ‘Stepping Stones’ operation, 231–2

  Stevas, Norman St John (later Baron St John of Fawsley), 319

  Stock Exchan
ge (London), 422; and Black Monday, 634

  Stowe, Ken, 256, 261

  Strachey, John: The Coming Struggle for Power, 23

  Strasbourg: European Council meeting (1989), 663, 689

  Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), 504, 511–15, 517, 519, 521, 676

  Strauss, Norman, 231

  Streator, Ed, 352

  strikes: restricted under Heath, 127, 141; and imprisonment of strikers, 138; in winter of 1978–9, 215, 227–8, 231, 236, 241; steel (1980), 306–9; at British Leyland, 313; civil service (1981), 323; prevention, 399–400; and essential services, 400, 406; reduced, 613; see also dock strikes; miners’ strikes

  student loans, 575

  student protest, 114–15

  student unions: financing, 114–15

  Stuttgart: European Council meeting (1983), 470

  Suez crisis (1956), 60–1

  Sumner, Donald, 69

  Sun (newspaper), 111–12, 201

  Sunday Graphic, 55

  Sunday Times, 453

  Sununu, John, 700

  supply side (of economy), 612

  Suzuki, Zenko, 377–8

  Switzerland: MT holidays in, 423

  Syria, 426, 703

  Taiwan, 528

  Talleyrand, Charles-Maurice de, 7

  Tamworth manifesto (1835), 404

  Tanzania, 337

  Taraki, Nur Muhammed, 293

  TASM (nuclear weapons), 694

  Tax and Price Index (TPI), 171n

  taxation: Labour policy on, 102; Heath cuts, 126; and mortgage interest relief, 151–2, 615, 617; MT’s proposals on, 155; basic rate increased (1975), 185–6; basic rate reduced (1978, 1979), 225, 300; and Conservative budgets, 271–2, 616; indirect, 271; in Howe’s 1981 budget, 321–2; reforms under Conservatives, 560, 615; property, 597; Lawson’s reforms, 616

  Taylor, Teddy, 198, 253

  Tbilisi, Georgia, 522–3

  teachers: salaries, 154; training and qualifications, 575

  Tebbit, Margaret: injured in Brighton bombing, 461, 567

  Tebbit, Norman (later Baron): in Department of Industry, 320; as Employment Secretary, 331, 398; proposes limiting trade unions’ immunities, 398; in 1983 election campaign, 407, 411; moved to Department of Trade and Industry, 422; and miners’ strike (1984), 442; injured in Brighton bombing, 460–1; as Party Chairman, 485, 559; and Westland affair, 487, 490; differences with MT over British Leyland, 497; press criticisms of, 559; and strategy for 1987 election, 559–60, 562, 567; attacks Kinnock in 1987 election, 566; leaves government to care for wife, 567, 569; opposes single currency, 712; MT proposes for Education Secretary, 713; supports MT in 1990 leadership contest, 718, 723–7, 731–2