Thatcher was good for Britain | Lord King | Oxford Union

Emotions ran high after the Iron Lady's passing, and there wasn't a news pundit that successfully avoided the word 'divisive' that week, but were the Thatcherite upheavals necessary and inevitable?

Lord King, secretary of State for Defence under Margaret Thatcher and John Major gives his speech in proposition of the motion with first hand accounts from the time.


ABOUT LORD KING:
King was elected to Parliament at the 1970 Bridgwater by-election, following the death of the sitting MP, Sir Gerald Wills.

King was brought into the Cabinet in 1983 by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. After brief stints as the Environment Secretary and Transport Secretary, he went on to hold the posts of Employment Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary at a time when these were high-profile roles with the potential for controversy. King's career in the Cabinet may appear odd to some observers due to his many quick moves between departments. The moves were a reflection of his ability to 'master his brief' quickly, and as successive crises hit the government it was King who was moved to fill the gap. King never had a strong public profile compared to other members of the Cabinet, but neither did he draw attention to himself by elementary errors or public gaffes.


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