ABSTRACT
London policy on Scotland after 1979 could be divided into three phases, with two turning points, in 1986 and in 1992. Central to the first act was Mrs Thatcher, prime minister from 1979 to 1990. She was hated by most Scots, not least in her own party, yet they didn’t care all that much for her Labour challenger Neil Kinnock or for Tony Blair, the ultimate vanquisher of Toryism, either. Was she an English nationalist? She sounded one, although she was actually of Welsh descent. Most of her entourage-Alan Clark, a cross between Braveheart and Flashman, excluded-wanted the Scots to clear out, carrying with them the toxins of Celtic collectivism. Was she an Anglo-British imperialist? If so, she let the Scottish Unionists collapse when some superficial devolution compromise (of the third chamber sort entertained by Edward Heath) might have bought them time. Or was she, on this as on other issues, a typical Westminster product, aiming at party advantage, unconcerned about ultimate ends?
