People Like Us: Margaret Thatcher and Me

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She speaks on many different platforms on civil society matters, including abroad, and is a regular commentator in the media. This may seem obvious. We all know what we value in the places we live, or the places we grew up in. Estate agents point to good housing and schools, access to good healthcare and safe and crimefree communities. When we are making decisions about whether to live in a place, we look not just for employment opportunities but also for those green and recreational spaces, those places to meet, to shop and have fun and learn, and warm to a built environment that makes you feel comfortable, safe and relaxed. More than 30 years ago, I served as a private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and then, briefly, to John Major when they were Prime Ministers. I can testify that both had a strong respect for our democratic institutions, whatever you think of their political record.

We’re also calling on anyone concerned about threats to our democratic space to come together to defend it. We need an effort that bridges party politics and crosses sectors – civil society, business, the arts, media and more. If you’d like to join us, do get in touch. It came to a head in 1990, when Mrs Thatcher withdrew from a Conservative Party leadership challenge despite winning the initial ballot. Caroline had a ringside seat that November. She was the only other woman in the Cabinet room when the Prime Minister revealed she was quitting. Second, it’s not just about money, it’s also about recognising the rich resources that may already exist, many of which may be non-financial, and also giving communities a real say over what happens in their community and about where any new investment goes. That’s one of the things she hopes to combat – and that we stop thinking of powerful women as manly. She also makes the mistake of making her too old. The real Mrs Thatcher on her first visit to Balmoral is, like Anderson, in her 50s, but Anderson seems more like the Mrs Thatcher of a decade later. Worse still, in her last days as Prime Minister, Anderson makes her look 75 or even older. This is certainly not the youthful, colourful looking 65-year-old I knew.She claimed there had been a “murky series of events” and that, given Coladangelo worked as a communications director, “it’s quite hard to see” how she was qualified to advise DHSC on its central policy areas of health and social care.

Daniel is Managing Director of DHA, a public sector relations organisation specialising in achieving social change. He is a communications professional with nearly twenty years’ experience at senior levels of central and local Government and the not-for-profit sector. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, challenged Javid to “abolish Conservative cronyism” at the DHSC, starting by ruling that Tory peer Dido Harding will not be made the next chief executive of NHS England. To judge the temperature, we talked to people in civil society and beyond, from national leaders to grassroots campaigners. We heard serious concerns about specific threats, but the bigger picture emerged as the greatest concern. Those we spoke to believe the overall problem is serious and growing– one interviewee likened it to a boiled frog failing to notice the water heating until it is too late. John later had a major hand in trying to make the best out of the pensions tangle that followed the death at sea of tycoon Robert Maxwell. “When the Maxwell occupational pension schemes got into trouble after Robert Maxwell’s mysterious death in 1991 the Government established a special arm’s-length organisation to act as an honest broker between the parties to see if enough money could be found to ensure all the Maxwell pensioners had their pensions paid.

However, series four was always going to hold a certain fascination for me personally. Covering the period from 1979 to 1990, it spans the time Margaret Thatcher entered No 10 to the tearful day she left. There’s a famous saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ and of course strong communities do a lot more, besides. When it comes to prevention – helping people lead happy lives as well as giving support when needed – the places we live in, or what I call social infrastructure, have a vital role. The couple now split their time between Suffolk and the capital. “We live in the middle of Dunwich Forest. We used to visit friends for many years, so we know the area very well. One wet and miserable February day we saw this empty, forlorn-looking house hidden by overgrown pine trees that was up for sale. We had no intention of buying it but thought it might be interesting to find out the price… anyway, we found we owned it a couple of months later.”