She doesn’t use that term. She explained it’s because she’s a mother of a son and she loves her husband, and she loves men, and I think some people feel feminism is a term you use when you’re choosing to battle against men and you don’t like men. I don’t see feminism as meaning that. Margaret Thatcher and husband Denis on the steps of Ipswich Town Hall during campaigning for the 1979 election. Picture: archant (Image: Archant) Argument Honestly held opinions and provocative argument based on current events or our recent reports. Caroline suggests: “There was a particular edge, to the way in which she’d been hated, that I think has to do with her being a woman. I’m not saying it’s as straightforward as saying ‘She was a woman and therefore she was disliked’. She was a powerful woman, and we tend to dislike powerful women. I think we need to confront that prejudice.”

Caroline set up Civil Exchange in 2011. She is also a founding member of A Better Way, a network hosted by Civil Exchange which is committed to improving services and strengthening communities. She is a co-convenor of the network. Lynne has served on many Government bodies including the Office of Civil Society Advisory Board and several Better Regulation Taskforces, most recently to reduce burdens on charities and social enterprise. But almost everywhere you go there are great shops and places to eat, and there are also some great bookshops: like WH Smith and Wells in Southwold – the latter also has a brilliant jazz/classical music section – and others in Halesworth, Beccles, Aldeburgh and elsewhere.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.” As people, we know good social infrastructure when we see it but, as policy-makers and practitioners, I think we have a blind spot. We only really talk about it indirectly: ‘communities left behind’ or ‘deprived communities’, phrases which the people who live in these places often hate because it makes them feel trashed. Or policy makers andpractitioners only see a part of social infrastructure, public services in particular, neglecting the fact that buildings, the environment and strong communities are essential too. She claimed there had been a “murky series of events” and that, given Coladangelo worked as a communications director, “it’s quite hard to see” how she was qualified to advise DHSC on its central policy areas of health and social care. Cronyism and Corruption Byline Times uncovers the nepotism that greases the wheels of British politics.

Much more than meets the eye in this book – really interesting on women and power in the present day as well as Thatcher and her time. Mishal Husain I knew, when I saw her finally leaving Number 10, there was nowhere for her to ‘go’. She wasn’t going to be like Tony Blair, earning lots of money.” I didn’t mention I didn’t agree with the change she was making, because I didn’t agree with her politics! But I really did think the civil service needed shaking up. We agreed on that. I think she thought ‘Yes, this is somebody who wants to move mountains, like me’, so she took me on.”More than 30 years ago, I served as a private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and then, briefly, to John Major when they were Prime Ministers. I can testify that both had a strong respect for our democratic institutions, whatever you think of their political record. It will be the former chancellor’s first performance at the dispatch box since he quit in a row with Johnson and Dominic Cummings in February 2020. Many people still benefit from an earlier, golden age of investment in social infrastructure. Many schools, hospitals, sewers, libraries, public parks and sports facilities originate from that period and were effectively common goods, held in public ownership for the benefit of the public. The welfare state, which was also designed to reduce poverty and illness, provided another, national expression of the belief that collective investment in mutual health and wellbeing is to everyone’s benefit. ‘A loss of assets’

One said the video monitoring was “utterly unacceptable” while a second said malicious people had bugged the health secretary’s office and were snooping on him. You can wander into Halesworth and the post office goes on and on, and you can buy anything from a screwdriver to a lawnmower and a food mixer, as well as envelopes and stamps. You can’t find shops like that in London. It’s almost a bygone era.”

We fell in love talking about civil service reform! (Truly)

These are all part of social infrastructure, of course, but it also includes less tangible things – the feeling that you can trust your neighbours, that people look after each other and cherish their shared environment. An ability to influence the things that matter, to have a real say, and not have change imposed. Ideal places like these are rich in associative activity and community, voluntary and faith organisations and groups, as well as having a prosperous private sector and wellrun and responsive public services. All of these organisations will be working together to build a good place. ‘As policy-makers and practitioners we have a blind spot’ Mrs Thatcher’s class and her gender were both fundamental to what made her special. Even those who are not political supporters, like me, will no doubt admit to a sneaking admiration for her courage, conviction and determination. We see the Queen doing just that in this series, and if viewers feel the same, then The Crown has done its job well. Although I didn’t vote for her (Lady Thatcher), there’s no doubt she changed our world. She had a huge impact. The way in which we still view the world is shaped largely by some of the political ideas that when she came to power were seen as pretty off-beat – certainly not mainstream Conservatism. Now, they’ve become the norm. 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. It’s also true to say that even if she didn’t devote her career to helping other women, she did do something. She introduced independent taxation for women who were married. And I know, because I wrote with her a speech to The 300 Group (which campaigned for more females in Parliament, the European parliament, local government and public life) that she very sincerely did want to see more women in powerful positions, and thought that would be important.