Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography

by Charles Moore

  * Bernard Donoughue, head of Callaghan’s Policy Unit, noted Mrs Thatcher’s first broadcast Prime Minister’s Questions with satisfaction from a Labour point of view: ‘She looked very pale and tense and sounded harsh. This was in some ways a trial run for the election, and we came away feeling very confident.’ (Bernard Donoughue, Downing Street Diary, 2 vols, Jonathan Cape, 2005, 2008, vol. ii: With James Callaghan in No. 10, 4 April 1978, p. 305.)

  * Laurence Olivier (1907–89), actor and director; co-founder of the National Theatre, and its associate director, 1973–4; knighted, 1947; created Lord Olivier, 1970.

  * Mrs Thatcher always had to have double entendres explained, and she came to dread uttering them by mistake. She saw them as a specifically male thing which would always remain a mystery to her. Once she wanted to use the word ‘blackball’ in a speech, and her advisers tried to prevent her without quite having the courage to tell her why. Eventually, Adam Butler solved the problem by saying, ‘Doesn’t it sound a bit too clubby, Margaret?’ (Interview with Lord Dobbs.) Perhaps the best-known example was her statement in a 1983 television interview that she was ‘always on the job’ (Aspel & Company, LWT).

  * In fact, Patten did not normally take the minutes either. They were taken by David Nicholson.

  * The word, meaning moderates of all parties, was created by amalgamating the surnames of R. A. Butler and Hugh Gaitskell.

  * Tom McNally (1943–), educated College of St Joseph, Blackpool and University College London; Labour MP for Stockport South, 1979–81; SDP MP for Stockport South, 1981–3; created Lord McNally, 1995; Leader of Liberal Democrats in House of Lords, from 2004.

  * Michael Dobbs (1948–), educated Christ Church, Oxford and Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; government special adviser, 1981–7; chief of staff, Conservative Party, 1986–7; deputy chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi, 1983–6, 1988–91; Joint Deputy Chairman, Conservative Party, 1994–5; author of House of Cards and other political novels; created Lord Dobbs, 2010.

  † Michael Portillo, who was also present, was impressed with how quickly Patten scooped up the proofs of the manifesto and locked them away, as soon as it became clear that they would not be needed immediately (interview with Michael Portillo).

  ‡ In this era, the union leaderships could cast the votes of all their members without consulting them. Motions were often passed at Labour conferences by extraordinary margins, such as 6 million votes.

  * Mrs Thatcher was aware of this tendency in herself. She told the Observer in an interview conducted nine days later, ‘This animal, if attacked, defends itself’ (Observer, 18 February 1979).

  * Tom McCaffrey (1922–), head of News Department, FCO, 1974–6; chief press officer to the Prime Minister, 1976–9; knighted, 1979.

  † ‘Action’ at that time, in the parlance of industrial disputes, always meant striking, never working.

  * Gerry Fitt (1926–2005), educated Christian Brothers’ School, Belfast; Leader, SDLP, 1970–79; Irish Labour MP for Dock Division of Belfast, Parliament of Northern Ireland, 1962–72; MP for West Belfast: Republican Labour, 1966–70; SDLP, 1970–79; Independent Socialist, 1979–83; created Lord Fitt, 1983.

  * Not Fortnum’s, as Mrs Thatcher erroneously states in her memoirs.

  † Audrey was Callaghan’s immensely supportive wife. He liked to have her near him on all difficult occasions, and when she died in 2005 he survived her by only eleven days.

  * Sinn Fein–IRA had turned against the Labour government because of the very strong security stand taken by Roy Mason.

  † The general election was not due by law until October, but Callaghan could not continue any longer than six weeks, the maximum permitted notice period for a poll, without a working majority in Parliament.

  * Ian Bancroft (1922–96), educated Coatham School and Balliol College, Oxford; head of the Home Civil Service and Permanent Secretary to the Civil Service Department, 1978–81; knighted, 1975; created Lord Bancroft, 1982.

  † Kenneth Stowe (1927–), educated County High School, Dagenham and Exeter College, Oxford; principal private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1975–9; Permanent Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office, 1979–81; Permanent Secretary, DHSS, 1981–7; knighted, 1980.

  ‡ Matthew Parris (1949–), educated Waterford School, Swaziland and Clare College, Cambridge; Conservative MP for West Derbyshire, 1979–86; author, columnist for The Times, from 1987.

  * Neave’s widow, Diana, was made Baroness Airey of Abingdon.

  * James Hanson (1922–2004), educated Elland Grammar School and Merlegh; chairman, Hanson PLC, 1965–97; knighted, 1976; created Lord Hanson of Edgerton, 1983.

  † Mrs Thatcher found it hard to keep her weight down, and for two weeks of the campaign she subjected herself to a diet, aimed at losing 20 lb, which she checked against a daily sheet of instructions. This began: ‘Abstain from everything not included in the diet and be sure to eat what is assigned rather than do without. NO EATING BETWEEN MEALS.’ (Minute, 1 January 1979, THCR 6/1/1/31.) The diet involved eating twenty-eight eggs per week, grapefruit for breakfast (with ‘black coffee or clear tea’), steak and salad. By the time she entered No. 10, she did look more slender.

  * Mrs Thatcher, however, was a little slow in realizing Reece’s full importance. That was certainly his opinion. In 1981, she offered him the CBE. He wrote back, with icy anger: ‘It is my view that with the exception of yourself, no member of the Conservative Party contributed more effectively to the result of the 1979 election than I did … Not that such services demand a knighthood … But I respectfully suggest that that or nothing were the alternatives … I am conscious of the honourable estate of the CBE. In the circumstances I would prefer not to accept it.’ (Letter from Gordon Reece to Margaret Thatcher, 25 May 1981, THCR 1/3/6.)

  * Evidence of the lack of dynamism in Callaghan’s camp is provided by the fact that there were no typists at weekends during the campaign to type the Prime Minister’s speeches: such weekend working was against union rules.

  * Agreement about the near-doubling of VAT if the Conservatives came into office had been secretly reached by Geoffrey Howe, Lord Cockfield and Nigel Lawson, the main people concerned with the policy. Mrs Thatcher herself was not privy to this at this stage. As a result of her distance from this process, she could say in an election broadcast that the VAT increase would be ‘Not a lot, but a little’ (27 April) without actually lying. (Interview with Lord Lawson.)

  † Janet Young (1926–2002), née Baker, married Geoffrey Young, 1950; educated Headington School, Oxford, in America and St Anne’s College, Oxford; Leader of House of Lords, 1981–3; Lord Privy Seal, 1982–3; Minister of State, FCO, 1983–7; Vice-Chairman, Conservative Party, 1975–83; Deputy Chairman, 1977–9; created Baroness Young, 1971. Lady Young was the only woman Mrs Thatcher ever chose to serve in her Cabinet.

  * Gavyn Davies (1950–), educated St John’s College, Cambridge and Balliol College, Oxford; economic adviser, Prime Minister’s Policy Unit, 1974–9; chief UK economist, Goldman Sachs, 1986–93; chairman, BBC, 2001–4.

  * Nicholas Scott (1933–99), educated Clapham College; Conservative MP for Paddington South, 1966–February 1974; for Chelsea, October 1974–99; held various junior ministerial posts, notably Minister of State, DHSS, later DSS, 1987–94; knighted, 1995.

  * Hands are not actually kissed.

  * Michael Pattison (1946–), educated Sedbergh and University of Sussex; private secretary to successive Prime Ministers, 1979–82; director, Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, 1995–2006.

  † Bryan Cartledge (1931–), educated Hurstpierpoint and St John’s College, Cambridge; head of East European and Soviet Department, FCO, 1975–7; diplomatic private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1977–9; Ambassador to Hungary, 1980–83; to the Soviet Union, 1985–8; Principal of Linacre College, Oxford, 1988–96; knighted, 1985.

  ‡ Caroline Stephens, later Lady Ryder of Wensum, who was present, remembers sandwiches, not cottage pie. Others mention
shepherd’s pie.

  * The officials were less enamoured of Mark Thatcher, who accompanied his mother as she entered No. 10 that day. Turning to one, he asked how many people were employed there. ‘About seventy,’ he was told. ‘Hmm, would make a nice little business,’ he said. (Private information.)

  † Nicholas Sanders (1946–), educated King Edward’s School, Birmingham and Magdalene College, Cambridge; principal private secretary to Secretary of State for Education, 1974–5 (also worked at the Department of Education when Mrs Thatcher was Secretary of State); private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1978–81; higher education adviser, Department for Education and Skills, 2004–5.

  ‡ Clive Whitmore (1935–), educated Sutton Grammar School, Surrey and Christ’s College, Cambridge; principal private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1979–82; Permanent Under-Secretary, MOD, 1983–8; Home Office, 1988–94; director, N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd from 1994; knighted, 1983.

  * William Rickett (1953–), educated Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge; private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1981–3; Director-General, Energy, Department of Trade and Industry, 2006–10.

  * George Cardona (1951–), educated King’s School, Canterbury and Trinity College, Oxford; Conservative Research Department, 1974–9; special adviser to the Treasury, 1979–81; HSBC, 1985–2000.

  * Tim Lankester (1942–), educated Monkton Combe School, St John’s College, Cambridge and Yale University; private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1979–81; Deputy Secretary, Treasury, 1988–9; Permanent Secretary, Overseas Development Administration, 1989–94; Permanent Secretary, Department for Education, 1994–5; President, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 2001–10; knighted, 1994.

  * Kenneth Berrill (1920–2009), educated LSE and Trinity College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser to the Treasury, 1973–4; head of Central Policy Review Staff, 1974–80; knighted, 1971.

  † John Ashworth (1938–), educated West Buckland School, Devon and Exeter College, Oxford; chief scientist, Central Policy Review Staff, 1976–81; vice-chancellor, University of Salford, 1981–90; director, London School of Economics, 1990–96; knighted, 2008.

  ‡ Much later in her time as prime minister, however, Mrs Thatcher was the first head of government to make a major speech on the subject of climate change.

  * Hector Laing (1923–2010), educated Loretto and Jesus College, Cambridge; chairman, United Biscuits, 1972–90; created Lord Laing of Dunphail, 1991.

  † Michael Jopling (1930–), educated Cheltenham and King’s College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Conservative MP for Westmorland, 1964–83; for Westmorland and Lonsdale, 1983–97; Government Chief Whip, 1979–83; Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1983–7; created Lord Jopling, 1997.

  * Towards the end of 1980, Mrs Thatcher tried again, hoping to nominate Heath to replace Joseph Luns as NATO secretary-general. Feelers went out from No. 10, but once again were firmly rebuffed. (Interviews with Sir Clive Whitmore and Lord Armstrong of Ilminster.)

  * Next door, in No. 11, where Geoffrey Howe was installed as Chancellor, Elspeth Howe spent £4,000 modernizing the kitchen. This annoyed Mrs Thatcher, who was always easily irritated by Lady Howe: ‘I can make do. Why should No. 11 have a bigger kitchen?’ (Interview with Amanda Ponsonby.)

  † In practice, there were problems. Mark had to leave for the United States in 1984 when press criticism of him for exploiting his relationship with his mother for commercial gain became too great. Carol liked bringing friends to the flat at the weekend. One boyfriend, a journalist without security clearance, was brought along, after which the rules were tightened. (Interview with Derek Howe.)

  * If an occasion did clash with rugby matters, Denis was not pleased. In November, after Caroline Stephens had written to him to enlist him for the state banquet for the President of Indonesia, Denis replied, reluctantly agreeing to go: ‘J.C. [Jesus Christ] What I do for the Party! … The same evening I was going to probably the best Rugby Football Dinner this year … All the chums will be there.’ (Denis Thatcher to Caroline Stephens, undated, in response to her note of 17 October 1979, THCR 6/2/2/6.)

  † The Downing Street switchboard was legendary for its ability to find anyone, anywhere in the world. The telephone system was very old fashioned, however. When Mrs Thatcher arrived in 1979, no one could make a direct call from his or her desk, but had to ask the switchboard to get the number and ring back. (Interview with Lady Ryder of Wensum.)

  ‡ Stephen Wall (1947–), educated Douai and Selwyn College, Cambridge; private secretary to the Prime Minister, 1991–3; Ambassador and UK Permanent Representative to EU, 1995–2000; head of European Secretariat, Cabinet Office, 2000–2004; knighted, 2004.

  * Mrs Thatcher’s ears were never pierced. In her generation, it was often considered gypsyish to have pierced ears. According to John Ashworth, if she became excited while wearing earrings, her lobes would become engorged; occasionally, under the pressure, an earring would pop off.

  * A significant factor in Mrs Thatcher’s political success was that quite large numbers of men fell for her. The Scottish genealogist Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk was the only man known to have made an indecent suggestion to her while she was Prime Minister, but many harboured a romantic devotion which teetered on the edge of the sexual. Sir Hector (later Lord) Laing, the chairman of United Biscuits, would send her notes which he requested be placed under her pillow. Kingsley Amis, the novelist, described Mrs Thatcher as ‘one of the best-looking women I had ever met … The fact that it is not a sensual or sexy beauty does not make it a less sexual beauty, and that sexuality is still, I think, an underrated factor in her appeal (or repellence)’ (Kingsley Amis, Memoirs, Hutchinson, 1991, p. 316). Brian Walden reported David Owen as saying to him: ‘The whiff of that perfume, the sweet smell of whisky. By God, Brian, she’s appealing beyond belief’ (interview with Brian Walden). Alan Clark, when asked by the present author about the nature of his love for Mrs Thatcher, said: ‘I don’t want actual penetration – just a massive snog.’

  * Charles Anson (1944–), educated Lancing and Jesus College, Cambridge; seconded from FCO to No. 10 Press Office, 1979–81; press secretary to the Queen, 1990–97.

  * Bernard Ingham (1932–), educated Hebden Bridge Grammar School; reporter, Yorkshire Post, 1952–61; Guardian, 1961–5; director of information, Department of Employment, 1973; Department of Energy, 1973–7; chief press secretary to the Prime Minister, 1979–90; knighted, 1990.

  * A report from the Embassy in Washington in April conceded that Reagan was currently the front-runner for the 1980 Republican nomination, but noted a number of liabilities including ‘his age … a rather passé image … and a reputation for laziness’. ‘Although some astute political observers tell us that they feel in their bones that his campaign is beyond redemption, it is probably too soon to write him off’ (Jonathan Davidson to Nicholas Jarrold, ‘Republican Contenders for President’, 19 Apr. 1979, TNA: PRO FCO 82/973).

  * Jack Lynch, the Irish Taoiseach, however, slipped in an unscheduled meeting just before Schmidt; see Chapter 21.

  * Further discussion of this meeting appears in Chapter 20.

  * Carter cites this diary entry in Keeping Faith, his memoirs, published in 1982. However, in the fuller version of his diary, White House Diary, that appeared twenty-eight years later, he deleted the final sentence (suggesting that Mrs Thatcher would ‘be a good prime minister’) from the published text. Carter’s refusal to admit that he had once harboured positive thoughts about her prospects indicates his own attitude to Mrs Thatcher in later life.

  * The significance of this implication was not lost on Ian Smith, who was delighted by her election. ‘All Rhodesians thank God for your magnificent victory,’ he wrote to congratulate her (Ian Smith, Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal and the Dreadful Aftermath, Blake Publishing, 2001, p. 298). Smith’s enthusiasm would prove short lived.

  † Raymond Seitz (1940–), executive assistant to Secretary George Shultz, Washington DC, 1982–4; Minister and
Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, London, 1984–9; Ambassador to the UK, 1991–4.

  * Robin Renwick (1937–), educated St Paul’s and Jesus College, Cambridge; Rhodesia Department, FCO, 1978–80; Assistant Under-Secretary, FCO, 1984–7; Ambassador to South Africa, 1987–91; to the United States, 1991–5; created Lord Renwick of Clifton, 1997.

  * At that time, roughly 500 people per week were being killed in the Rhodesian civil war; 1,000 whites per week were leaving the country.

  * As for Carrington, he had a genuine respect and affection for Mrs Thatcher, but he was also driven mad by what he saw as her stubbornness and lack of realism. One day, climbing the stairs to her study, he turned to Clive Whitmore and said: ‘Clive, if I have any more trouble from this f***ing stupid, petit-bourgeois woman, I’m going to go.’ (Interview with Sir Clive Whitmore.)