Thatcherism Hayek & the Political Economics of the Conservative Party

Thatcherism Hayek & the Political Economics of the Conservative Party explores the extent to which Hayek influenced the economic policies of Mrs Thatcher and its effect on the Conservative and Unionist Party.

With the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, Friedrich von Hayek feared that the same was about to happen in Britain due to the prominence of socialist intellectuals advocating socialism. Hayek advocated for the free market and the importance of a pricing system as opposed to a planned economy, which, in his view, would be coercive, limit free choice, stymie economic growth, and ultimately lead to fascism in Britain.

Thatcherism is the benchmark by which past, current and future Conservative Party leaders measure themselves. However, the role that Winston Churchill and Enoch Powell played in the birth and creation of Thatcherism is rarely discussed.

This book takes a glimpse of the conservative party and how Margaret Thatcher, followed by the years of austerity under David Cameron, BREXIT under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, and the short, but catastrophic premiership of Liz Truss; propelled, what was once the right wing of the modern Conservative Party to its centre ground. This book takes a glimpse in the rearview mirror of time, to explore the political economics of those who influenced Margaret Thatcher in order to understand what Thatcherism did in its time; what it gave birth to; and why the parliamentary conservative party continue to compete at being more Thatcherite, than Mrs Thatcher herself.

Dr Floyd Millen is also the author of Police Reform & Political Accountability: The Ties that bind Policing in England and Wales and the USA (1607-2016)