The Downfall of Margaret Thatcher

TLDR: A few months after the resignation of Harold Wilson in 1976 Tony Benn noted in his diary the remarkable transformation which had taken place in the former Prime Minister. He wrote: 'Wilson has just disappeared from sight. Once his patronage has gone, there's nothing left.' No one could make a similar assessment of Mrs Margaret Thatcher as discussed by the authors.

Abstract: A few months after the resignation of Harold Wilson in 1976 Tony Benn noted in his diary the remarkable transformation which had taken place in the former Prime Minister. He wrote: 'Wilson has just disappeared from sight. Once his patronage has gone, there's nothing left. Nobody thinks about him any more." No one could make a similar assessment of Mrs Margaret Thatcher, who was on several tests an outstanding Prime Minister who has left a considerable political mark. My purpose is, however, not to assess all aspects of her premiership. Rather, it is to analyse the circumstances of her departure and a number of constitutional issues which were thrown up by it, and then to evaluate the constitutional legacy which she has bequeathed. My thesis is that, for constitutional lawyers at any rate, Mrs Thatcher will be reInembered as much for the manner of her overthrow as for her few lasting effects on the British constitution.