In 2015, Kwasi Kwarteng, now Britain’s chancellor, published his little-known history, Thatcher’s Trial: 180 Days That Created a Conservative Icon. It’s the work of a critical admirer, and it helps us decode today’s British political turmoil. Kwarteng focuses on six months in 1981 when Thatcher “redefined modern conservatism in one of the greatest feats of modern political leadership”. In doing so, he emphasises, she ignored criticism. “Don’t worry what people think now,” was her mantra. “Don’t ever work for popularity. Above all, don’t care what the newspapers say. What is important is that your decisions should be clear, and stand up to history.”
Kwarteng imagined himself to be channelling Thatcher when he shocked voters and markets last month with unpopular, unfunded tax cuts. The pound hit an all-time low against the dollar, forcing him into a partial recantation. But to understand Britain’s new government, you have to understand its cult of Thatcher — one largely shared by prime minister Liz Truss, whose political awakening began with a school project on Thatcher’s fall.
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