Margaret Thatcher has a fair claim to be called the most influential politician since the Second World War, but her legacy is still hotly disputed today because of her mistakes and weak points

Noting her extraordinary impact and disputed legacy, Tim Bale reflects on the positives and negatives of Margaret Thatcher’s career. On the one hand she confronted underlying structural problems in the UK economy, but on the other she presided over an enormous loss of jobs and some industrial areas of the country remain scarred to this day. Future political leaders have much to learn from her, both as an example and a warning.