Thatcher and ThatcherismTwenty years have now passed since Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, and more than eight years since she left office. So this seems a good opportunity to look back at what Thatcher and Thatcherism may have achieved and what the lessons might be for today. I have to start with a disclaimer. I am the British High Commissioner and I usually speak on behalf of the British Government in Australia. But I hope you will realize that in addressing a topic like this I am speaking in a personal capacity. I'm not entirely sure what the Foreign Office would say if I asked them for the official line on Thatcherism. Given some of their clashes with her over foreign policy, and Europe in particular, perhaps it's best that he didn't try. I had limited personal contact with Mrs Thatcher. I met her for the first time in a swimming pool, in 1966, during my speech day at school. I was at school with his son Mark. I can't say the meeting made a deep impression on me, except for the way she and my father engaged in deep political conversations, while my mother gossiped with Dennis and I did my best to chat with Carol, Mark's sister. distance. In 1971, Margaret Thatcher was Secretary of State for Education in Ted Heath's government and I was a student at Cambridge University. He was speaking at a debate at the Cambridge Union and I was one of those outside, demonstrating against government cuts to university funding. I suppose it was probably better for my future career that he hadn't recognized me underneath the long hair and beard. I had in those days... I have... half the paper... the conclusion has to be that she made a difference. She came to power when Britain felt rotten about itself. He fought battles that needed to be fought. He succeeded, at best, in instilling a sense that Britain could hold its head high once again. Today we see widely conflicting opinions about his legacy. Some in the Tory party seek to distance themselves from Thatcherism, seeking a softer line on public services. Others, who were once ardent supporters of Thatcher, now support Tony Blair and believe he is the heir to her radicalism. Still others argue that it was thanks to her that it became safe to elect a Labor government. Politics isn't that simple, and Tony Blair is a very much his own man. But what is clear is that Thatcherism remains a powerful political symbol, and will continue to be so in the future.