ABSTRACT
One of the main criticisms of Margaret Thatcher has been that she broke with Conservative traditions by leading the party in dangerous new directions. Thatcher had two other immense advantages: grassroots support and a parliamentary party closer than ever before to both her views and her social background. Thatcher's overall dominance was reflected at constituency party level and especially in the selection of parliamentary candidates. Unsurprisingly, from 1983 onwards larger numbers of MPs were elected who shared Margaret Thatcher's view of the world. The hard-edged, market-led, competitive world of Thatcherism was marginalising the older traditions of politics as a form of gentlemanly service. The Tories under Thatcher changed more quickly than at any time in the twentieth century. Thatcher transformed the face of modern Conservatism while, in the short term at least, consolidating her party's hold on power. It was a substantial, if not necessarily a beneficial, achievement.
