Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Has Priti Patel found the answer to Corbynism?

issue 06 October 2018

What’s the antidote to Corbyn? Thatcher, according to Priti Patel. Britain’s former PM might be public enemy number one in the eyes of the Corbynistas, but it’s vital the Tories return to Thatcher’s ideas and her way of doing things. That, at least, is the verdict of Patel, the Brexit-backing former international development secretary. Patel said that Britain is now at a crossroads: a similar juncture to the one it faced when Thatcher came to power in the seventies. Back then, she said, regressive socialism was in danger of taking control. The same is happening now, according to the Tory MP, and it’s vital that the Conservatives and the government learns from a prime minister that ‘fought the left very successfully’.

It might seem like a distant memory now, but it’s worth remembering that the Tory party’s current leader was once frequently compared to Thatcher. A snap election disaster and various blunders since have put paid to May ever again being seen as the new Iron Lady.

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