In six months, Margaret Thatcher reinvented her political party and redefined modern conservatism in one of the greatest feats of modern political leadership. In 1981, less than two years after she had been elected as Britain's first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher was deemed unpopular and out of touch. Unemployment had risen to levels not seen since the 1930s, and the state's finances were foundering. Her chancellor of the exchequer delivered what became known as the 'no hope' budget in March, which marked the beginning of a period of an almost unprecedentedly broad range of political challenges: hunger strikes and violent protests in Northern Ireland, urban riots in London and Liverpool, and visible discontent with Thatcher from within the Conservative Party. And yet by September 14, when Thatcher sacked 4 mutinous grandees from her cabinet, the prime minister had firmly reasserted her authority. These extraordinary six months would come to define the Conservative Party's most successful and modern leader, who reshaped the ideas and direction of conservatism around the world. To her detractors she may have been a harsh, uncaring and dogmatic leader who made the country a more unequal, materialistic and brutal place, but to her supporters, she was nothing less than a Conservative savior who prevented Britain from becoming an ungovernable socialist state. The 1983 general election would prove a triumph. Kwasi Kwarteng intimately captures this shopkeeper's daughter's unique leadership qualities -- from her pulpit-style and New Testament imagery to her emphasis on personal moral responsibility -- that saw her through some of the most adverse conditions facing any world leader in modern peacetime.

The Canadian politician who was convicted of murder tells his story—and argues for his innocence. In 1984, Colin Thatcher was convicted of killing his ex-wife and sentenced to life in prison. The murder and trial provoked a national media frenzy, casting the once-prominent Saskatchewan politician as the villain. After serving twenty-two years, Thatcher was released and finally able to offer his own account of what happened from the time of the murder up until he left prison. Though firmly proclaiming his innocence from the start, he is now able to go behind the bureaucratic red tape and provide full disclosure, including evidence not seen at the trial, legal documents, and personal correspondence, ultimately questioning the public’s faith in local law enforcement, mainstream media, and justice.

Margaret Thatcher's premiership changed the face of modern Britain. Yet few people know of the critical role played by Jews in sparking and sustaining her revolution. Was this chance, choice, or simply a reflection of the fact that, as the Iron Lady herself said: 'I just wanted a Cabinet of clever, energetic people and frequently that turned out to be the same thing'? In this book, the first to explore Mrs Thatcher's relationship with Britain's Jewish community, Robert Philpot shows that her regard did not come simply from representing a constituency with more Jewish voters than any other, but stretched back to her childhood. She saw her own philosophical beliefs expressed in the values of Judaism – and in it, too, she saw elements of her beloved father's Methodist teachings. Margaret Thatcher: The Honorary Jew explores Mrs Thatcher's complex and fascinating relationship with the Jewish community and draws on archives and a wide range of memoirs and exclusive interviews, ranging from former Cabinet ministers to political opponents. It reveals how Immanuel Jakobovits, the Chief Rabbi, assisted her fight with the Church of England and how her attachment to Israel led her to internal battles as a member of Edward Heath's government and as Prime Minister, as well as examining her relationships with various Israeli leaders.

Britain experienced two stunning developments in the late 1970s. Post-war Keynesianism and big government fell out of favor, and, for the first time, British voters chose a female prime minister. When Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, she was the first leader to oppose the consensus views of both the Labour Party and centrist Tories who, in varying degrees, accepted Keynesianism and state ownership of industry. The author argues that with her faith in monetarism, Thatcher paved the way for a significant realignment of the Conservative Party and British politics. With her traditional conservatism stretching back to her childhood years and her receptiveness to free-market arguments that revealed the economic shortcomings of Keynesianism and socialism, she developed a strong case against government management of the economy. The author explains that Thatcher’s fight for economic change had both dramatic and subtle stages. In the end, the issue of inflation altered British economics and politics and Thatcher was there to take advantage of the moment and score a victory over “socialism.”

Vols. for 1847/48-1872/73 include cases decided in the Teind Court; 1847/48-1858/59 include cases decided in the Court of Exchequer; 1850/51- included cases decided in the House of Lords; 1873/74- include cases decided in the Court of Justiciary.