The Thatcher Centenary Project: The 50th Anniversary of her election as Conservative Party Leader

About this event

Policy Exchange’s Thatcher Centenary Project launched with an event to mark the 50^th anniversary of the first ballot of the Conservative Party Leadership Contest that deposed Edward Heath – and which vaulted Margaret Thatcher into the top job.

The 1975 Conservative Party Leadership Contest: Memories and Reflections

Chaired by her authorised biographer, Lord Moore of Etchingham, it featured a panel comprising those who played a key role in the events of the time: Lord Vinson LVO, an early supporter; Lady Wakeham, secretary to Thatcher as Leader of the Opposition; Rt Hon Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, Head of Rt Hon Edward Heath MP’s Private Office; and John O’Sullivan CBE, Assistant Editor of the Daily Telegraph and later Thatcher’s speechwriter.

Panellists emphasised Margaret Thatcher’s determination and character, her clarity of thinking and policy – as well as her interest in ideas – and her kindness and generosity as they described the events that propelled her into leadership – and thence to become Prime Minister. The deposing of Edward Heath, the defeat of other rivals and the role of key supporters within the Parliamentary Party were brought to life by those who had experienced them first hand.

Concluding the first half of the event, Margaret Thatcher’s daughter, Carol Thatcher, shared some personal recollections of her mother and read excerpts from previously unpublished letters from these eventful years.

Looking Forward: Lessons of the 1975 Leadership Contest

The second event in Policy Exchange’s Thatcher Centenary Project launch was a panel event to discuss the lessons that could be learned from Thatcher’s landmark 1975 leadership win. Chaired by former ConservativeHome editor Lord Goodman, the panel included authorised Thatcher biographer Lord Moore of Etchingham, former Conservative Research Department director Lord Kempsell of Letchworth, Conservative MP for Weald of Kent Katie Lam and global economist and former Barclays Bank board member Baroness Moyo.

The clarity of Thatcher’s philosophy and vision was a recurring theme throughout the discussion, as was her courage in espousing economic and public policy ideas at the start of her leadership and premiership tenures that very much cast her as a political outsider. Her strength of conviction was also praised, with panellists noting her gift for turning conviction into action and her likely dismissal of prevailing contemporary orthodoxies like net zero and identity politics. However, despite her indomitable persona, panellists recalled her tactical aptitude for judging when boldness or caution was necessary.