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05th February 2010

Exeter College student publishes new thinking on Thatcher

A report by David Merlin-Jones, a third-year historian, has attracted attention in the national press.

David worked over the summer for Civitas, a leading think tank, and his work was published in January’s Civitas Review. He argued in the report – “Time for Turning: Why the Conservatives need to rethink their industrial policy (if they have one)” – that the next Government “would do well to follow in the footsteps of their Thatcherite predecessors and get involved in industry”. He concluded that “contrary to popular belief Thatcher and her ministers were not very laissez-faire in their industrial policy” – in the 1980s, Mrs Thatcher had “demonstrated a stimulating balance between intervention and non-intervention that could act as a template for today”.

His report attracted the attention of theĀ Daily Telegraph.

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