People Like Us: Margaret Thatcher and Me

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The new private secretary thus “by chance happened to walk into this extraordinary story – a very human drama of betrayal, anger and determination”. Now: Runs think-tank Civil Exchange and a leadership network aiming to improve services and strengthen communities We fell in love on either end of civil service phones, talking about civil service reform. Caroline was in the Cabinet Office and I was at DWP (Department of Work and Pensions). The first time we met in person was at a meeting she had contrived for the two of us with a consultant in Ernst and Young.”

Argument Honestly held opinions and provocative argument based on current events or our recent reports.We went into the study, which in those days was a very feminine room, and she put the hyacinths between us. We sat in two armchairs and she interviewed me.” John was born in Bedford. “We were sort of nouveau poor. My father’s family had owned Nightingale’s fertilisers but the only trace left in Bedford when I was born was a large car park where the main factory had once stood. She is one of the co-founders and co-Chairs of the network, Women in Public Policy, which aims to get more women involved in Public Life. I love the wildness,” she says. “There aren’t many places within easy reach of London where you can walk for miles without having to go on a road.

Caroline began when “you could see these rifts developing on Europe”. The Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary, Nigel Lawson and Geoffrey Howe, were key figures at odds with the PM. The poll tax hadn’t helped, and there was friction over the UK joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Something had to give. In government, Caroline was the first female Private Secretary at No 10, working as Private Secretary to two Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher and then John Major, between 1989-1991. At the Treasury, she advised the Chancellor on public sector priorities and reformed the public expenditure system, and also worked to improve the culture and working practices of that department. At the Department for Education and Skills, she oversaw an expansion of childcare and early years education, working closely with voluntary organisations and local authorities to deliver services on the ground.She added: “This government is rotten to its core. We need to know how wide this goes and how much government business is being conducted in secret.” Russian Interference Byline Times leads the way in exposing the anti-democratic influence of the Kremlin over the affairs of other nations Caroline has over thirty years experience, including working at the highest levels in Government and the wider public and voluntary sectors. And when he uses the word ‘we’ I think that word does include the Prime Minister. And also, this was in the Prime Minister’s garden. Especially given this was obviously breaking rules, he would have had to have discussed it with the Prime Minister.” This is an excellent, highly readable memoir which really does shed new light on the “Iron Lady." Chris Hallam

Daniel set up DHA in 2000 with the idea that people and society are at the heart of policy-making and communication and has since worked with Government departments, major national agencies including the Arts Council England, the Audit Commission, the Association of British Orchestras, the Charity Commission, NHS Direct, the Equal Opportunities Commission and charities including Scope, Help the Aged, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The contractual relationship between government and many charities for the delivery of services that started under Labour has contributed to a view that charities should not criticise the state. Theresa May does not excite such strong emotions, “but I think that’s because she’s not a powerful woman; she’s in quite a weak position”.Second, it’s not just about money, it’s also about recognising the rich resources that may already exist, many of which may be non-financial, and also giving communities a real say over what happens in their community and about where any new investment goes. This biographical article is written like a résumé. Please help improve it by revising it to be neutral and encyclopedic. ( July 2022) The book is arranged under headings like “Margaret Thatcher’s Court”, “Margaret Thatcher and Gay Men” and “Girl Power or Twisted Sister?”. It gives almost as much weight to domestic detail as to political drama and in doing so conveys a real sense of what it was like to work in No 10.