‘Sometimes her displeasure is palpable... you can see the nub of her pen pierce the paper’
Secret thoughts jotted down by Margaret Thatcher on official papers show her unbending character, contempt for some colleagues and fierce grip on the public purse strings
capital letters: “NO”. When he proposed a reduction in civil service staff of three per cent, she wrote in the margin, “too small” and suggested five per cent.
In scenes reminiscent of the recent Brexit negotiations, Mrs Thatcher expressed particular exasperation on the subject of Europe and in particular Britain’s net contribution to the European Community budget.
Minutes of a defence and overseas subcommittee meeting – held at the House of Commons on February 14, 1980, with Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington, Chancellor Sir Geoffrey Howe and Attorney General Sir Michael Havers – prompted fury from the Prime Minister.
Initialled “MT”, her anger is also clear in her response to a
THIS characteristic was picked up on by Meryl Streep when she played Mrs Thatcher in the film The Iron Lady, when she is seen underlining phrases with a felt tip pen. Mark Dunton continues: “Sometimes her displeasure [with her ministers or certain government departments] is palpable – you can see the nub of her pen pierce the paper. “But there are also examples of a more empathic approach – the human side of the Iron Lady, which may surprise some.” By 1990, the PM was at the centre of a storm over the poll tax. Debate about how to handle it took up ever-more government time and energy, with meeting after meeting. In scribbled notes on Number 10 headed notepaper, presumably made during one such meeting, Mrs Thatcher underlined the phrase “Safety Net” and wrote “Beggars – those sleeping rough”. There are several figures and calculations on the page as if she was trying to work out a cost of the community charge.
The notes indicated she was grappling with the problem of how to sell the tax to the public. However, even with such pressing matters of state to contend with, Mrs Thatcher micro-managed, making sure there was no profligacy when it came to scrutiny of expenses relating to her flat. Alongside the cost of bedding and the ironing board, the inventory reveals £527 was spent cleaning carpets and £209 on replacing crockery. In an asterisk next to the figure, an aide suggests asking for a more detailed breakdown, adding: “I find these figures impossible to believe.” Baroness Thatcher responded: “So do I!”
Mr Dunton adds: “There are also examples which illustrate Margaret Thatcher’s values, which are rooted in her strict Methodist upbringing, an emphasis on personal responsibility and an instinctive antipathy towards unnecessary expenditure of taxpayers’ money.
“The files show her facing head-on the political storms of the 1980s while bringing about major changes to Britain’s economy and society.”
●●Mark Dunton talks about Margaret Thatcher’s marginalia at 2pm on Friday at The National Archives, Richmond, west London.