Capítulo 4
Confronting "The Enemy Within": Union Power and Civil Liberties
In her second term, Thatcher confronted union power at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, a vital intelligence facility central to UK-US security cooperation. Unlike MI5 and SIS, whose staff couldn't join unions for security reasons, GCHQ employees were regular civil servants with union rights. This concerned Thatcher deeply, as union strikes during the 1979 "Winter of Discontent" and again in 1981 had seriously disrupted GCHQ operations, with union officials publicly boasting about damaging Britain's surveillance capabilities.
After the Falklands War delayed initial plans, Thatcher's opportunity came when GCHQ employee Geoffrey Prime was convicted of passing secrets to the Soviets, bringing public attention to GCHQ's work. On January 25, 1984, without prior consultation with affected staff, Geoffrey Howe announced a ban on union membership at GCHQ, with a 1,000 compensation payment to each employee. The sudden announcement provoked outrage from unions, though many GCHQ staff quickly accepted the new terms-within 24 hours, 460 employees had accepted while only two rejected it.
Despite negative press reaction and Cabinet grumbling about not being consulted, Thatcher remained firm. When Civil Service unions offered concessions like no-strike agreements, Thatcher refused compromise. By March, nearly 95% of GCHQ staff had accepted the new arrangements, with only 45 refusing. Thatcher insisted on eliminating all union presence, allowing only a staff association with no industrial action rights or external union links.
Robin Butler, Thatcher's principal private secretary, strongly supported her refusal to compromise, warning that any climbdown would be seen as proof she wasn't as resolute in her second administration as her first. Butler understood how Thatcher was changing the establishment, unlike Robert Armstrong who either didn't see it or didn't like it. This battle symbolized how mandarin resistance to Thatcher had diminished after her second election victory.
The miners' strike showcased Thatcher's leadership strengths rather than weaknesses. Unlike her sometimes intemperate EEC dealings or divisive party politics, she maintained discipline throughout, listening carefully to Peter Walker and others while erring on the side of caution. Stephen Sherbourne observed she "fought every skirmish like a good commander" with "limitless energy." Even Ian MacGregor, despite their disagreements, told Tim Bell, "If you fight a war, you want a great general. She was a great general."
Capítulo 5
The Poll Tax: Genesis of a Political Disaster
Because Thatcher believed in property, she disliked property taxes and sought to eliminate them, embarking on a quest that reached its goal in her second term. The replacement she chose-notorious as the "poll tax" though she adamantly refused to use that name-would become the most unpopular domestic measure of her premiership.
At the Chequers meeting, William Waldegrave presented the proposed solution: abolishing domestic rates and replacing them with a local residents' or community charge falling equally on all adults in each local area. This would achieve accountability better than any alternative tax, though rebates would be needed for those on low incomes "but not such as to insulate them from increases in the community charge by high-spending councils." The likely cost was estimated at 50 per head per year.
Waldegrave ended his presentation with a flourish: "So, Prime Minister, you will have succeeded in abolishing the rates." According to Letwin, Waldegrave was "persuasive and sensible and charming" and Thatcher was "purring at all this." She had "a weak spot for Fellows of All Souls." Terry Heiser recalled that "the presentation swept the board."
The timing was significant-the miners' strike had just collapsed, giving Thatcher her greatest industrial victory. With that battle won, "the focus switched to the municipal socialists' revolt." The GLC decided not to set an illegal rate, with Ken Livingstone having to restrain even more hardline comrades. The left appeared to be crumbling, making Thatcher very difficult for colleagues to oppose.
Rothschild soon expressed concerns: "The community charge is, I believe, a winner. But I am nervous lest it is accidentally or deliberately misinterpreted, for example: 'Tories hit the poor once again...'" He questioned whether the charge could "avoid hardships and still collect what is necessary," noting that only figures could provide answers, but "for some reason beyond my comprehension, they do not exist."
This highlighted a key problem: without knowing how the figures would work out, it was impossible to calculate who would gain and who would lose. By mid-May, Environment officials produced a "Specification Report" predicting 7,450,000 people would lose from the reforms while 9,250,000 would gain-a politically dangerous ratio.
Capítulo 6
European Entanglements: The Battle for Britain's Place
From her first day in office in 1979, Thatcher had fought to get "our money" back from the European Community, arguing that Britain's contributions were grossly excessive. What began as a 102 million net contribution in 1973 had grown to 947 million by 1979. After five years of temporary solutions, she finally secured a permanent settlement at the European Council in Fontainebleau on June 26, 1984-a 66% rebate of Britain's net contribution that would continue as long as the funding system remained in place.
Success had been far from certain. At the previous Brussels Council in March 1984, European leaders had grown exasperated with Thatcher. Helmut Kohl urged her to "think of the future" like Churchill and Adenauer, but she simply responded, "No. Sorry. I want my money back." Mitterrand whispered to Kohl, "I think we should agree between ourselves that we will offer her nothing, nothing, nothing." Both leaders became determined to end the dispute at Fontainebleau, planning to isolate her if necessary.
The Fontainebleau European Council was so significant that Thatcher wrote a personal account afterward-something she rarely did as prime minister. She arrived uncertain of Mitterrand's intentions, seeing his options as either "a solution & a triumph for France in the chair" or "a failure-all due to Britain!"
During negotiations, she became furious when foreign ministers socialized outside instead of reporting to heads of government as arranged, exclaiming, "How dare they! We saved all their necks in the war." After rejecting an insulting initial offer, she told Kohl she would accept two-thirds refunds, while he offered 65%. After consulting officials, she returned to the full session asking for one more percent, which Mitterrand graciously granted despite Kohl's visible anger.
British diplomats celebrated the agreement as "the most valuable financial agreement this country ever negotiated," eventually saving Britain 78 billion by 2015. However, French officials viewed it differently-as their triumph that forced Thatcher to compromise. Hubert Vedrine noted she was "terrifying to look at" during capitulation and "did not see it at all as a victory." For Mitterrand and Kohl, Fontainebleau marked the beginning of their alliance to shape Europe's future, having finally settled "the British problem" while securing Britain's agreement to a higher Community budget.
Capítulo 7
The Special Relationship Tested: Reagan's Grenada Betrayal
When Thatcher learned that Reagan had ordered the Grenada invasion without truly consulting her, she was deeply disturbed on multiple levels. The situation began when Governor-General Scoon of Grenada, the Queen's representative, indicated he couldn't openly request help against the revolutionary government for fear of being "eliminated." While Thatcher interpreted this as reluctance to seek assistance, Caribbean leaders and Americans saw it as implicit permission to act.
Following their pre-planned timetable, the Americans sent two messages to Thatcher on October 24, 1983. The first, arriving at 14:47, nominally sought her thoughts on intervention. The second message, arriving before she had even returned from dinner with Princess Alexandra, simply announced the invasion was proceeding. Ambassador Wright reported that Eagleburger had essentially told him the US "would not understand if we actively lobbied against" their almost-decided action.
Thatcher was affronted on multiple grounds: the invasion of sovereign territory seemed wrong to her (especially after fighting the Falklands War on that principle), it involved a Commonwealth nation where the Queen was head of state, and she suspected American duplicity. At midnight, she cabled Reagan expressing "gravest concern" and warning the action would undermine her argument that America could be trusted with restraint-critical context for the imminent deployment of cruise missiles in Britain.
Though her staff urged an immediate follow-up call to Reagan, Thatcher was reluctant, "not wanting to have a great row." When she finally called, the conversation lasted just three minutes and was almost comically brief. Reagan sounded like "a naughty schoolboy who had been caught out," and when Thatcher declined to speak freely "on the telephone," Reagan protested they were on "our most highly encrypted line." Butler, who listened in, believed this was merely "an excuse. She didn't really want to go into it very much." Reagan simply told her "We are already at zero," and afterward told Deaver with sagging shoulders, "She's not with us... But we have to go forward anyway."
The American deception was deliberate and calculated. The Special Situations Group had planned from the beginning to seek Thatcher's thoughts only when it was too late for them to matter. Reagan later overlooked the messages entirely in his memoirs, erroneously claiming Thatcher learned of the invasion from "British officials in Grenada."
Capítulo 8
The Moscow Breakthrough: Thatcher and Gorbachev
Mrs. Thatcher prepared meticulously for her Moscow visit, seeking to understand Gorbachev's concepts of glasnost and perestroika. When Soviet Ambassador Cartledge delivered her letter to Gorbachev, he faced "strong and at times angry criticism" about British positions post-Reykjavik. Gorbachev complained that London and Paris had panicked at the possibility of eliminating nuclear weapons, claiming British Conservatives had "the damp stagnant smell of the prehistoric cave." Despite this criticism, he conveyed "warm personal greetings" and confirmed dates for her visit.
Thatcher organized a Chequers seminar with experts but excluded most officials, even keeping out Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong. The experts divided into "enthusiasts" who saw genuine reform potential and "sceptics" who viewed Gorbachev as "a transient figure." Charles Powell noted the seminar's conclusions were largely pessimistic, with fundamental change deemed unlikely and the Soviet Union possibly evolving into "something resembling Yugoslavia" in twenty years.
Mrs. Thatcher arrived in Moscow looking stunning in her black coat, fur hat and crocodile handbag. Her visit was unprecedented as she was permitted to meet Christians, dissidents and ordinary citizens while speaking on Soviet television-access Gorbachev granted to showcase his openness and gain her endorsement of his reforms.
During their intense seven-hour talks, Gorbachev initially dismissed Communist world domination as "only a scientific concept" when challenged about Soviet expansionism. When he attacked Britain's support for "racist" South Africa, Mrs. Thatcher insisted apartheid must go while maintaining sanctions would only cause "mass starvation." Their ideological debate grew heated as Gorbachev criticized capitalism's "mechanism which operated as exquisitely as ballet for fooling people about who really controlled the levers of power," while Thatcher countered that capitalism distributed "far greater benefits to ordinary people than socialism could."
The effect of her televised interview was sensational because Soviet authorities allowed it to be broadcast unedited-unprecedented in Soviet media. As one Soviet trade unionist remarked, "She squashed them like kittens." The public "just loved" how she challenged her interviewers, with Soviet citizens learning previously concealed information about their country. A young Soviet intellectual wrote that she appeared "extremely professional, very attractive and even sincerely," noting how ladies began dressing "a la Margaret Thatcher" and crowds queued to see photographs of her with Gorbachev.
Capítulo 9
The Third Victory: Making Electoral History
As 1987 began, the expected election year, Thatcher faced an opposition still struggling to understand why she kept winning. Hugo Young's Guardian column falsely attributed to Norman Tebbit the statement "No one with a conscience votes Conservative," exemplifying how the left's visceral hatred of Thatcher led them to make serious electoral mistakes. Rather than coldly analyzing why she was winning, they simply assumed voters would eventually see her supposed wickedness. Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair were among the few who understood her appeal to aspirational working-class voters and recognized that some of her reforms-controlling the deficit, reforming trade unions and nationalized industries, and maintaining nuclear deterrence-were necessary.
Early 1987 brought numerous positive signs for Thatcher's election prospects. A Harris poll projected a Conservative majority of 100 seats, and the Greenwich by-election saw Labour humiliated by the Alliance while the Conservatives maintained their strategic position. British Airways was successfully privatized with share applications eleven times oversubscribed, and the Wapping dispute ended with Rupert Murdoch's victory over print unions, virtually guaranteeing favorable press coverage for Thatcher in the coming campaign. Her Moscow visit neutralized opposition claims that she was too confrontational with the Soviet Union, further strengthening her position.
Neil Kinnock, desperate to establish international credibility before the election, arranged a meeting with President Reagan in March-deliberately timed the day before Thatcher's arrival in Moscow. Despite Labour's slight moderation on defense policy, agreeing to accept cruise missiles conditionally, the meeting was a disaster. Reagan, who had told aides plainly "I want Margaret to win," gave Kinnock a frosty reception lasting barely twenty minutes. When Kinnock attempted to suggest agreement with Reagan on nuclear disarmament, the White House press secretary publicly contradicted him, creating headlines like "Charade in the Oval Office" and "Reagan takes his revenge on Kinnock."
The contrast with Thatcher's triumphant Moscow reception couldn't have been starker. What Kinnock didn't know was that Charles Powell had collaborated with US Ambassador Charlie Price to deliberately "sabotage" the visit. As Powell later admitted, "We wanted to diminish the impact of the visit... I'm ashamed to admit it now, but it is true."
Despite the campaign's chaotic management and Thatcher's persistent anxiety-at one point declaring "It's hardly worth bothering, let's give up, it's the end"-the Conservatives secured a historic third consecutive victory. With 13,763,066 votes (42.2% of the total), they achieved a 102-seat majority. Labour improved to just over 10 million votes (30.8%), while the Alliance declined to 22.5%. Their only significant setback was in Scotland, where Conservative seats fell from twenty-one to ten.
The day after victory, Charles Powell wrote Thatcher a private congratulatory letter, noting "If ever a party and a country were carried to success on the shoulders of one person, it has been over the last eight years." Yet he bravely advised she should not seek another term, suggesting that in two or three years her historic achievements would rival only Churchill's in this century-reminding her, at her moment of greatest triumph, that she was mortal.
Capítulo 10
The Woman Behind the Iron: Personal Dimensions of Power
Those who worked closely with Thatcher saw a different person than her public reputation suggested. John Coles described her as "slightly dumpy, smaller than the popular imagination would have it," noting how she carefully considered her clothing choices for both televisual and political context. Though she projected public toughness, her staff observed a complex character with determination that wasn't mere dogmatism. Her unique position as the only woman in power led her to adopt behaviors that defied male conventions, sometimes at emotional cost.
Her thinking process baffled some observers-she could move "with astonishing rapidity to a clear conclusion, apparently without needing any intervening steps," making her "the fastest mind in the Cabinet by a long way." Despite sometimes incoherent communication, she was "passionately attracted by ideas" and welcomed them regardless of their source, making her "probably the least pompous of all British Prime Ministers."
Civil servants like David Goodall found themselves simultaneously liking, admiring, and being exasperated by her. They appreciated her downrightness, clarity and resolution, while finding her "narrowness of vision" and "ungenerosity of spirit" less attractive. Robin Butler, though an admirer, admitted his "heart always fell" when seated beside her, as she had no small talk and dealing with her was "like feeding a fierce animal."
Women in her informal court saw a different side-Carla Powell noted, "Everything about her was totally, totally feminine. She adored the details of clothes. I called her La Bionda because she loved the boys [her private secretaries]." With her, "everything was a woman thing"-she worried about her daughter Carol's casual attitude to dress, wanting her to marry and be better dressed, sometimes bringing tears to her eyes when discussing her.
Her marriage to Denis was strong, with moments of playful flirtation, though Cynthia Crawford observed it was "not a huge love affair though they were great soulmates." She always felt insecure about being "only the second Mrs. Thatcher." She readily "used her femininity" while being "totally, utterly ruthless" when necessary, believing that "if a woman takes on a battle, she has to win" because men would close ranks against a woman.
By 1987, Thatcher had transformed into a much more majestic figure than when she took office eight years earlier. As the senior statesman of the Western world, she had perfected her style, which fashion historian Jane Mulvagh described as the "sartorial expression of mental control." Her look evolved from provincial smartness of the 1950s and municipal styles of the 1970s to a stronger, clearer aesthetic that worked better on television-block colors like sapphire, cerise, jade green and canary yellow that stood out against "grey men." Her attitude toward clothes resembled a medieval knight's toward armor-they had to be beautiful and well-made while performing their combative function, attracting all eyes and repulsing all attacks.
