Overview

Thumb through the index of almost any study of the Thatcher years - biographical, scholarly or journalistic - and you will come across the name of Sir Alfred Sherman. In her memoirs Lady Thatcher herself pays tribute to Sherman's 'brilliance', the 'force and clarity of his mind', his 'breadth of reading and his skills as a ruthless polemicist'. She credits him with a central role in her achievements, especially as Leader of the Opposition but also after she became Prime Minister. Born in 1919 in London's East End, until 1948 Sherman was a Communist and fought in the Spanish Civil War. But he ended up an indefatigable free-market crusader. The book describes his early relationship with Sir Keith Joseph and his own role in the formation of the Centre for Policy Studies in 1974. Sherman examines the origins and development of 'Thatcherism', but concludes that the Conservative administrations of the 1980s were, for the most part, an 'interlude' and that the post-war consensus remains largely unscathed - 'we are back to where we started'.

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9781845400927

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Reviews

'I could not have become leader of the Opposition, or achieved what I did as Prime Minister, without Keith [Joseph]. Nor, it is fair to say, could Keith have achieved what he did without the Centre for Policy Studies and Alfred Sherman.' Margaret Thatcher, The Path to Power Readers of this book will not find it difficult to envisage that earlier Alfred Sherman in his time as a soldier in the Spanish Republican Army. 'Not' as he indignantly corrected a colleague, 'an infantryman. I was a machine gunner.' And he still is. Norman Tebbit March, 2005 This book should be read by anyone examining the period. Margaret Thatcher, April 2005

These reflections by Thatcherism's inventor are necessary reading. Sir John Hoskyns, Salisbury Review Paradoxes of Power is both inspiring and depressing Rodney Atkinson, Campaign for UK Conservatism, full review Fascinating ... anyone sceptical about think-tanks, small magazines, and even speeches, should read Sherman's marvellous little chapters on the Centre for Policy Studies and how they gradually transformed Mrs Thatcher from the untried party leader of 1974 into a prime-minister-in-waiting. Peter Coleman, Quadrant This book is as much an engrossing human interest story as it is a fascinating record of the metapolitics of that period or a wise animadversion on today's political realities. Derek Turner, Chronicles Alfred Sherman's views are always trenchant but what he has to say about the Conservative renaissance of the late 1970s and 1980s is of particular interest. This book should be read by anyone examining the period. Margaret Thatcher, April 2005 These essays by 'Alfie' Sherman are highly relevant to the politics of today. Norman Tebbit, March 2005

Author Information

Sir Alfred Sherman was born in 1919 in London's East End. Until 1948 he was a Communist and fought in the Spanish Civil War, but he has ended up an indefatigable free-market crusader.

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