SHE is the most important British politician of the second half of the 20th Century.
Margaret Thatcher – who came to power 30 years ago tomorrow – is also a highly divisional figure in the nation she dominated for more than a decade.
But what forces forged the Iron Lady?
Who was the major influence on the woman who locked horns with the unions, vanquished the Argentinians and foisted the Poll Tax on an infuriated British populace?
According to Thatcher expert, Richard Vinen, there may have never been a Mighty Maggie if it hadn’t been for Enoch Powell.
Richard says the intellectual muscle behind the Thatcher project was provided by the controversial Brummie politician.
Powell, who was born in Stechford, and was MP for Wolverhampton South West for most of his Westminster career, remains notorious for his opinions on race and immigration.
In the late 60s, he warned against open borders in a diatribe that became known as the Rivers Of Blood speech.
And, Richard, who was also brought up in Birmingham, says it was Powell’s convictions that led directly to Thatcherism.
“I wouldn’t say Powell was important to her as an individual,” he says.
“And she didn’t subscribe to his views on race and immigration. But as an economic thinker, he led the way on monetarist policy, which Thatcher adopted.
“It’s impossible to overstate how important Powell was for the Conservative Party back in the 1970s and 80s, even when he left the party and joined the Ulster Unionists.
“He was such a bizarre and dominant figure. Other Parliamentarians were scared of him.
“Powell also had the ability to take any argument to its logical conclusion, which clarified a lot of debates in the lead up to Thatcher’s reign.”
He adds: “On a personal level, Thatcher didn’t have good relations with Powell, although that did thaw towards the end of his life. Believe it or not, his problem with her was he thought she was too pragmatic and compromising.
“Not what many people would say about Thatcher today.”
Richard, who grew up in Selly Oak, is the author of Thatcher’s Britain, a major new analysis of Maggie’s years in power which has just been published.
As a 46 year-old, he was a teenager when Thatcher came to power, in 1979.
Now working as a lecturer in history at King’s College, London, he decided to write the book because many of his own students weren’t even born when Thatcher was Prime Minister.
“I think there’s still very little understanding about who Margaret Thatcher actually was, and what she achieved,” he says.
“She really hasn’t been rehabilitated. Many of my own students seem to think she is to blame for everything evil that has happened since she was in power.
“There’s still open hostility towards her, which you don’t find with Harold Macmillan or Winston Churchill. Yet in many ways they were further to the right of the political spectrum than she was.”
So why is Thatcher held in such contempt by so many people?
“Part of it,” he says, “Is she really doesn’t exhibit much personal charm. Churchill and Macmillan were witty and attractive people, which goes a long way.
“Another important point is there’s a lot of snobbery and sexism involved in the hatred of Thatcher. She’s a middle-class woman, and I don’t think she’s ever really been forgiven for that.
“However, it can’t be denied she can be a cringe-making person. She chose Rolf Harris’s Two Little Boys as one of her favourite songs on a radio programme. That made most people squirm.”
But does Richard believe Thatcher was ultimately a great leader?
“In some ways she was lucky,” he says. “Especially with her enemies. She was always fighting people who polarised opinion, such as Michael Foot, leader of Labour at the time, Arthur Scargill, and General Galtieri of Argentina.
“But I think she was definitely very useful. A lot of decisions Thatcher made had to be taken by somebody, as Britain in the 70s was a mess.
“She was a confrontational figure willing to do the painful and necessary things; an outsider in the political system, who could be conveniently blamed for a lot of the pain and hardship of the 80s.
“But we did need a ruthless figure to change the UK. Love her or loath her, she was a massively important figure in the history of this country.
* Thatcher’s Britain By Richard Vinen is published by Simon & Schuster (£20).