ABSTRACT
The association of Thatcherism with economics goes so deep in the public mind that it might almost be said to constitute an identification. For many people, Thatcherism is economics. Thatcherism was associated, or indeed identified, not only with the concern for economics but with a particular view of economics. The technical structure of Thatcherite macro-economic policy was devised by Nigel Lawson, Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1979 to 1981, who though outside the Cabinet exercised great influence on the Treasury and the Prime Minister. He invented a framework of policy known as the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), designed to reduce inflation by controlling the money supply 'over a period of years'. The target for 1979-80 was set at growth between seven and eleven per cent, and the government was to arrange its macro- economic policies so as to meet the target and thus to bring inflation under control.
