I am delighted to welcome you to the Margaret Thatcher Centre website.

As the Premiership of the lady from whom our Centre takes its name retreats further into history, the lessons and inspiration we draw from her actually seem even more relevant and that is precisely what our Centre aims to achieve.

Whilst our Centre is removed from the day-to-day combat of Party politics, we cannot but notice the myriad challenges facing a country that is buckling under a high tax burden, whose productivity is sclerotic, whose police are increasingly passive observers of criminality whose public services seem producer, not consumer, centric.

Amidst such challenges, Britain’s political class seem trapped in a detached technocratic trance.

A generation has grown to maturity and has yet to encounter a government governed by the guiding principles of competitive taxation, consumer choice in public services, strong defence, robust policing and steered by unwavering commitment to freedom under the rule of law.

Whatever the outcome of the forthcoming general election, the purpose of the Margaret Thatcher Centre has never been more relevant.

The Rt Hon Sir Conor Burns, Chairman of The Margaret Thatcher Centre