Geoffrey Howe had made a similar point in his first, 1979, Budget. Privatisation was seen from the beginning not only as a means of exposing the sickest part of the national economy to the healthy disciplines of the market economy, but as offering millions of ordinary people a direct personal stake in the market economy. Despite Harold Macmillan's entertaining jibe about selling the family silver, raising the wind was merely a bonus, although a useful one.

The demands of the nationalised industries were also, of course, directly responsible for a considerable part of the serious deterioration of the public finances. This in turn was a major reason why the previous Labour government had felt obliged, cap in hand, as it was said at the time, to seek a large loan from the International Monetary Fund, the only industrialised nation ever to do so. But while the immediate crisis that had led to this national humiliation had passed, the problem of excessive deficit in the public finances had not. At the same time, there was widespread agreement that the level of taxation was too high. It was clear that the only way of squaring the circle was a prolonged period of downward pressure on government spending. However, this, too, was generally seen as politically impossible (at least in the absence of an IMF diktat): the unions, in particular, whose greatest strength was in the public sector, would not tolerate it. Yet it was achieved; and at the end of the day tax rates were lower and the public finances were in surplus.

Again, could the problem of excessive trade union power, leading to the seemingly all-pervasive trade union veto over each and every policy needed to restore the nation to economic health (and, incidentally, if at first sight paradoxically, industrial peace), be confronted head-on? Both the previous governments, the Wilson/Callaghan Labour government and the Heath Conservative government, had attempted to do this, and each had failed. So this, too, although widely desired, was thought by most of the opinion-forming classes to have become politically impossible, not least because it was thought impossible for any government to withstand successfully any major and prolonged strike. Yet it was done.

How was it that the Thatcher government was able to prosecute, to a pretty successful conclusion, policies in all the key areas which had previously been considered, insofar as they had been considered at all (and most of them had been), to be politically impossible?

A number of conditions came together. The people recognised that the country was in a very bad way, and that unpopular policies might well be necessary. They had a right to expect us to explain what we were seeking to do, and why; which we did. But we did not seek their assent in advance - nor, rightly, did they expect us to. We would be judged by results.