Thatcher, According to a Heritage Fellow
Luke Coffey /
- Newscom
Dr. Robin Harris, senior visiting fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, has a new book published this week on the life of Margaret Thatcher.
On the back cover of his book Harris reprints a letter from Lady Thatcher: “I can think of no one better placed than you to tackle the subject.… You know, better than anyone else, what I wanted our reforms to achieve.”
Not for Turning: The Life of Margaret Thatcher is a must-read book for anyone interested in Lady Thatcher’s incredible life from a greengrocer’s daughter to one of the greatest prime ministers Britain has ever seen.
Harris’s book offers a unique insight into the life of Margaret Thatcher. His professional background means that he is uniquely placed to write about Thatcher’s life in a way many of his contemporaries are not.
Between 1978 and 1990, Harris worked continuously for either the British Conservative Party or the Conservative government. In these capacities he became a regular speechwriter for the then prime minister. Later, Harris acted as Lady Thatcher’s main policy adviser and draftsman, editing a book of her speeches and assisting in the writing of both volumes of her memoirs and of her final book on foreign policy, Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World (HarperCollins, 2002).
Margaret Thatcher was an inspirational—and, ultimately, transformational—leader. She brought Britain back from the brink of economic oblivion and made the U.K. a respected world power once again.
In America, Lady Thatcher will be most remembered for her steadfast support for the Anglo–American Special Relationship and her closeness to Ronald Reagan.
However, her legacy in America was much more than fondness of the U.S. From the very beginning of her premiership, she pursued policies of economic growth, individual liberty, and personal empowerment. In many ways, her economic policies became a template for Ronald Reagan’s.
To learn more about one of the most effective and inspirational leaders of the 20th century, Harris’s book is a great place to start. It can be purchased online here.