Margaret Thatcher turned British politics upside down by being a conviction politician with determination and a connection with her public.

After the failings of the Heath era, she took the party leadership and transformed it. Out went the languid landed gentry and in came the entrepreneurs, the driven and the self-made. With a new sense of purpose, she won the 1979 election for the party and became Prime minister.

During her premiership the nation became divided as the initial ha...