Pete Dorey is Professor of British Politics at Cardiff University. He has published widely on British Conservatism and the Conservative Party. His recent co-authored books include Exploring British Politics 5th Edition (2021), Choosing Party Leaders: Britain's Conservatives and Labour Compared (2020), The British Coalition Government, 2010–2015: A Marriage of Inconvenience (2016) and The Political Rhetoric and Oratory of Margaret Thatcher (2016).

Dorey’s superbly researched account is a concise, full 360-degree study of the inexorable rise of Thatcherism and its erosion of traditional Conservatism. He shows clearly and crisply why her ideological legacy remains so important to the Conservative Party and to anyone who studies it.

• 1. Why Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and prime minister2. The development of Thatcherism: intellectual origins and ideological framework3. The key policies4. Thatcher’s management and domination of the parliamentary Conservative Party5. The Thatcherization of the Conservative Party since 19906. The contradictions and consequences of ThatcherismConcluding commentsChronology

Pete Dorey is Professor of British Politics at Cardiff University. He has published widely on British Conservatism and the Conservative Party. His recent co-authored books include Exploring British Politics 5th Edition (2021), Choosing Party Leaders: Britain's Conservatives and Labour Compared (2020), The British Coalition Government, 2010–2015: A Marriage of Inconvenience (2016) and The Political Rhetoric and Oratory of Margaret Thatcher (2016).

Dorey’s superbly researched account is a concise, full 360-degree study of the inexorable rise of Thatcherism and its erosion of traditional Conservatism. He shows clearly and crisply why her ideological legacy remains so important to the Conservative Party and to anyone who studies it.

• 1. Why Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and prime minister2. The development of Thatcherism: intellectual origins and ideological framework3. The key policies4. Thatcher’s management and domination of the parliamentary Conservative Party5. The Thatcherization of the Conservative Party since 19906. The contradictions and consequences of ThatcherismConcluding commentsChronology