February 2025 marks fifty years since the election of Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party. To mark this anniversary, Lee and Richard discuss the blockbuster leadership contest that elevated her to the top of the Tories, the first woman to lead a British political party.
It’s a story that is full of drama: from the stubbornness of Ted Heath to the rebelliousness of Conservative MPs, right up to the moment that Thatcher wins and a new age in British politics begins.
In this episode, the following books are mentioned:
‘Kingmaker’ by Graham Brady
‘Harold Wilson: The Winner’ by Nick Thomas-Symonds
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Since Attlee & Churchill is the podcast all about post-war British political history, hosted by:
Lee David Evans is an historian of the Conservative Party and the John Ramsden Fellow at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary, University of London. He is on social media @LeeDavidEvansUK.
Richard Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and among his other areas of expertise is an historian of the Labour Party. He tweets at @richardmarcj.