Not everyone gets to be a transformational prime minister. This is, in fact, a good thing. ‘Permanent revolution’ is a neat phrase but sounds exhausting, and more to the point: how could you tell which lurch, if any, was the one that worked?
It is generally agreed that since 1945, Britain has had only two such leaders: Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher. The former introduced the modern welfare state, the latter secured the triumph of free markets over state planning.
