Iron Lad – How Thatcherite is Starmer really?

Starmer’s referencing of Thatcher has enraged the left – but is it anything beyond symbolic politicking? And is he really Thatcherite at all? Andrew Harrison speaks to Robert Saunders, a reader in modern British history at Queen Mary University of London, about the legacy of Thatcher and how it ties in with modern Labour policy. 

• “It’s worth remembering that Margaret Thatcher herself borrowed ideas from the left.” – Robert Saunders

• “I think Thatcher would be quite alarmed by what she would see in a Reeves-Starmer manifesto.” – Robert Saunders 

• “Truss and Sunak were giving two different memories of Margaret Thatcher in the last Tory leadership contest… it was like two branches of the same religion.” – Robert Saunders 

• “Margaret Thatcher has become a myth. And the nature of myths means every generation can give different tales about them.” – Robert Saunders

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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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