Maggie: Her Fatal Legacy

John Sergeant's long career as a political journalist has been inextricably linked with Margaret Thatcher since the night he stood on the steps of the British Embassy in November 1990 and announced to 13 million viewers that the prime minister would not be coming out of the Embassy to speak to the massed ranks of the world's press. As his broadcast continued, it was plain to all 13 million that Mrs Thatcher, having learned that she had lost the first round of the leadership contest that would cost her the premiership, was walking down the steps behind him.
Maggie is John Sergeant's mordant analysis of Thatcher's life and career, bringing to bear his trademark wit and keen sense of the absurd, but also his deep understanding of the British political arena and an insight born of 30 years of reporting on events in Westminster. His access to those who worked for her, with her, and against her is unique. This riveting book offers both a fresh appraisal of a woman who changed British politics forever and a powerful account of her legacy and her political heirs, be they new Labour or Ian Duncan Smith.