Last Orders: Sir Anthony Seldon

Mace | 2nd February 2020 | Magazine

Fresh from writing an account of Theresa May’s time in Downing Street, the historian finds time to talk about the state of the nation – and other matters.

Your new book is an inside view of Theresa May. Was she a good PM? In many ways, she was a very good prime minister for the time she was in. She was extraordinarily resilient and patient. But she didn’t command respect, so we had a weak head of government. When May began there was talk of “another Thatcher”. It didn’t quite turn out like that, did it? Well, Thatcher was younger – 10 years younger than May when she assumed the premiership. When May became PM, she was of an age when most people are retiring and already tired. In addition, Thatcher took over at a time when the country had been ruled by Labour for 11Π of the previous 15 years – and had been seen to fail. Whereas May took over when the Conservatives had been in power and in coalition: the clock was beginning to tick out. Thatcher was a conviction politician whereas May was a pragmatic politician at a time when the country needed a conviction politician. You’ve written about all the prime ministers from Thatcher to May. Why ...

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