Prime Ministerial powers of patronage: Ideology and Cabinet selection under Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990

McMeeking, Tom, Heppell, Tim and Roe-Crines, Andrew ORCID: 0000-0002-6878-5030 (2023) Prime Ministerial powers of patronage: Ideology and Cabinet selection under Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990. BRITISH POLITICS, 18 (1). pp. 1-19.

Text Thatcher and Cabinet Selection Paper - Finished.docx - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (61kB)

Abstract

This article will examine how Margaret Thatcher utilised the Prime Ministerial power of Cabinet ministerial appointment between 1979 and 1990. The article will utilise the Norton taxonomy on the Parliamentary Conservative Party (PCP) to determine the ideological disposition (non-Thatcherite versus Thatcherite) of her Cabinet members across her eleven years in office. It will assess the ideological trends in terms of appointments, promotions and departures from Cabinet and it will use archival evidence to explore the advice given to Thatcher to assist her decision-making. Through this process the article will demonstrate how Thatcher was more ideologically balanced than academics have traditionally acknowledged when discussing her Cabinet selections. Moreover, the article will also demonstrate the significance attached to media presentation skills to her decision-making, thus challenging the emphasis on ideology as a dominant determinant of Cabinet selection.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Conservative party, Margaret &#160, Thatcher, Thatcher government 1979&#8211, 1990, Ministerial selection, Cabinet ministers
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	27 Jan 2021 09:27
Last Modified:	12 Jul 2023 14:43
DOI:	10.1057/s41293-021-00160-0
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3114841