The UK’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, has made no secret of her admiration of her late predecessor, Margaret Thatcher. However, anyone expecting a swift return to Thatcherite policies in 2022 should probably take a closer look at Truss’s politics.
To begin with, Truss is about to oversee a significant expansion of state intervention into the economy, as it pays companies to supply energy to households and businesses. The decision is expected to cost £130 billion over the next two years – the biggest single spending announcement in UK history.
Thatcher aimed instead to retract the state from the economy. Privatisation of state-owned industries was at the heart of her premiership, with energy sector privatisation beginning in 1986 and continuing under John Major’s government.
