Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party and the Northern Ireland Conflict, 1975-1990

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Winner of the 2022 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles The first woman elected to lead a major Western power and the longest serving British prime minister for 150 years, Margaret Thatcher is arguably one the most dominant and divisive forces in 20th-century British politics. Yet there has been no overarching exploration of the development of Thatcher's views towards Northern Ireland from her appointment as Conservative Party leader in 1975 until her forced retirement in 1990. In this original and much-needed study, Stephen Kelly rectifies this. From Thatchers no surrender attitude to the Republican hunger strikes to her nurturing role in the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process, Kelly traces the evolutionary and sometimes contradictory nature of Thatchers approach to Northern Ireland. In doing so, this book reflects afresh on the political relationship between Britain and Ireland in the late-20th century. An engaging and nuanced analysis of previously neglected archival and reported sources, Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party and the Northern Ireland Conflict, 1975-1990 is a vital resource for those interested in Thatcherism, Anglo-Irish relations, and 20th-century British political history more broadly.

Reviews

Filled with new detail after new detail gleaned from a host of archives and first-hand interviews, this book tells the fascinating story of an iconic party leader and prime minister forced by events into making more concessions than she and her colleagues ever imagined possible. Required reading for anyone interested in the Thatcher era, as well as in the Troubles and the tortuous route out of them. * Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London, UK. *
A major subject, examined through the interrogation of very rich source material. A fascinating study of painfully evolving relationships. * Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work A History. *

Author Bio

Stephen Kelly is Professor in Modern History and Head of History, Politics and International Relations at Liverpool Hope University, UK. He is the author of 'A Failed Political Entity': Charles Haughey and the Northern Ireland Question, 1945-1992 (2016), Frank Aiken: Nationalist and Internationalist (edited collection) (2014), and Fianna Fil, Partition and Northern Ireland, 1926-1971 (2013).