The Thatcher files

Writer L.P. Hartley's famous opening line, "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there", is too often a very real feeling for those analysing government, where the pace of events and media can frequently contribute to a year zero mentality. The online publication of a number of files from the Thatcher Government's first year in office is a timely reminder of the need for re-consideration of the lessons of that era, both the continuity and the changes.

The Thatcher government's agenda - sound familiar?

Much is already known about the Thatcher government from the first-draft of history by journalists, political commentators and memoirs and diaries of the time (including the Thatcher government studies by our own Peter Riddell). But there is much more to be discovered, and government files such as these can offer a ringside seat on the inner workings of both politicians and the civil servants who supported them. Take the current crop of files and what they tell us about that government’s approach to the civil service and reform. The Thatcher government entered office with a zealous aim to reduce public expenditure, cut the size of the civil service and number of quangos and introduce greater efficiency into the practices and culture of Whitehall. Parallels to today? Yes, but with some major differences, not least the fact that the overall cuts, both to public expenditure and departmental manpower, were not nearly as big as current plans.

What the files reveal about Thatcher and her Cabinet

From the files we can see close-up the Cabinet disagreements over proposed quango abolitions and over the methods and scale of the cuts to the civil service. There are scribbled notes demonstrating the difficult relationships between departments and the centre over efficiency drives and scrutinies of departmental programmes. Perhaps most interesting, as the files related largely to her office, are the views of Thatcher herself. These are often expressed frequently but revealingly in the annotation of a simple "No" in the mass of discussion and decision-papers that crossed her desk. A characteristic response came when asked whether she wanted to send a Christmas message to civil servants: "I just don’t think this is a very good idea. Of course we wish everyone a happy Christmas – but an 'official' message doesn't seem quite right". But it is not purely a determined and apparently rigid view from Thatcher that comes across. The files also include examples of her being coached in how to handle difficult issues coming up in Cabinet, revealing a sometimes hesitant and uncertain PM at this early stage of her premiership.

Lessons for today - plus ça change...

There are of course many differences between that era and today, but the lessons that can be learnt here about the pressures of driving change in government, particularly for a new government, remind us just how much things stay the same. Overall, these files are revealing about the problems, political considerations and organisational difficulties in how the government's initial aims were moulded and challenged by a variety of pressures. They also highlight the important role of the Prime Minister in maintaining a sustained and vocal interest in pushing through reforms - hopefully lessons very familiar to Cameron and Clegg.