When the Iron Lady Ruled Britain Paperback – 4 May 2012

This book of reportage - first published in 1987 - has been re-released with a powerful new introductory chapter highlighting the sad parallels between the troubles that beset Britain in the 1980s and those facing the country today.In the mid 1980s, Chesshyre travelled the length and breadth of Britain with his notebook investigating the state of the underfunded and poorly run NHS and schools, growing unemployment, sink estates, the tough life of immigrants, rundown coal-mining communities, and the declining manufacturing industry. He also delved into the Hooray Henry world of the 'Big Bang' city workers - reporting on the me-first attitudes engendered by Thatcherism that led to an increasing gap between 'them' and 'us'.All of the issues he raised are as relevant now as they were then - hence the re-issuing of this book, as explained in the intro. The riots of 2011, the financial woes brought about by unfettered big business, the even wider gap between the privileged who send their kids to public schools and the rest of the population, all point to a terrible stagnation, Chesshyre says.The 'broken Britain' Tories want to mend comes from the hard-edged approach to life that Thatcher introduced, and which has to some extent been spread across the globe by admirers of Iron Lady politics, he says. It is a myth that Thatcher came from a disadvantaged grocery shop background and had to work her way up - her father was the mayor of Grantham, he points out. Britain today is run by Old Etonians, and where there is discord there is certainly not harmony (as the 2011 riots proved), he concludes.Hanif Kureishi, Beryl Bainbridge, William Boyd and Christopher Hitchens all gave this book glowing reviews when it was first published. Andrew Marr describes it as "brilliant, bleak" today.It's gripping, poignant, unsettling and well-written. The intro alone made me wish I could read an updated version of Chesshyre's 1980s journey -- what would he make of the country now?

Being in my early thirties, I have only a vague recollection of Maggie's reign. Reading this made me realise how little has changed in today's Britain. What I found most shocking was the treatment of the Asian community and the lack of fairness exhibited by the police. The book also made me re-evaluate my feelings about the US and realise that there is much that can be learnt from Uncle Sam. Anyone who thinks that there's no poverty in the UK or that people should get a job and sort themselves out should read this. It surely couldn't fail to change their mind.