ABSTRACT
Good fortune contributed at least as much to Margaret Thatcher's becoming prime minister in 1979 as it had to her winning of the Conservative leadership four years earlier. As the election approached, Edward Heath made a speech to the 1978 party conference in which he advocated the continuance of pay policy under an incoming Conservative government. In her reply, Thatcher made clear her own strong preference for free collective bargaining. First year of the Thatcher revolution saw other moves towards the achievement of economic freedom, notably the abolition of restrictions on the import and export of capital. In second year, the gloves came off. Thatcher learned fast how government works and felt ever more secure of her ground. In simple terms, Howe and Thatcher were prepared to risk economic slump in order to kill inflation and resurrect for British citizens the simple notion of 'proper money'.
