The Conservative Party, David Cameron and Lady Thatcher's Legacy

The death of Lady Thatcher in April 2013 was never going to bring an end to controversy over her career and legacy, and scholars of Contemporary History and Political Science will continue to take contrasting positions. Since David Cameron became Conservative leader in 2005, the party has attracted considerable academic interest and much of the work has rightly emphasised the difficulty faced by Thatcher's successors in forging a post-Thatcherite' identity which will enthuse the public without alienating grass-roots party members. The books under review are inspired by different methodologies, but all represent useful contributions to our understanding of the party in recent decades. Their most notable feature is a welcome tendency for political scientists to escape their traditional preoccupation with structures' of various kinds, allowing them more scope to evaluate the role of individuals like Lady Thatcher and to reflect more accurately the complex nature of political developments.