Moore

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Henry Hopwood-Phillips watches sparks fly between Charles Moore, political journalist Andrew Neil and the audience at Cadogan Hall as they discuss Margaret Thatchers official biography
wo titans of the media world assembled under the shade of The Spectator magazines banner to the delight of the local commentariat. Both were on top form, navigating Lady Margaret Thatchers political life. Moore gave a polished, accomplished performance; Neil was both insightful and direct. Noticeable was the decent amount of time that elapsed between question and answer and questions were considered after reflection, instead of instantly reacted to. The fact this was conspicuous speaks volumes about the parlous state of our political dialogue. People have become accustomed to either smooth, PR-perfected deliveries of party-lines or faulty, jittery newspeak that can feel as though a robot has had washing-up liquid poured over its circuits. The conversation didnt harbour any surprises and was pleasantly brisk. The best question put forward by Neil after bookish pleasantries was whether Thatcher had concluded leaving

articulate audience. Moore was invited to answer a question pertinent to the current political climate when asked whether Thatcher would have felt herself more closely affiliated with UKIP than the current Tory crop were she alive today. Unruffled, Moore deployed the Heraclitus defence the idea that one cannot step into the same river twice peddling the idea that Thatchers character would alter in different circumstances, that she wasnt some static idea frozen in conservative iconography like a Byzantine saint. A philosophical reply and not without merit but hardly a watertight defence. The ides la mode shifted rapidly from economics to kulturkampf soon after Thatchers deposition in 1990 and she showed every sign of being just as inclined to Strauss, Bloom and Powell as she had been Joseph, Hayek and Powell. Perhaps sensing this, Moore added that though she preferred Enoch Powell to Ted Heath she always prized loyalty above all else, however, it was in a conversation with the former that the Iron Lady was reminded by the maverick that she believed in the country because it held her beliefs, he believed in the country no matter what its beliefs; a welcome reminder that Margaret stuck to her ideological guns. Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography; Volume One: Not for Turning by Charles Moore is out now (Allan Lane, Hardback 30, penguin.co.uk)

Charles Moores biography of Margaret Thatcher immediately supercedes all earlier books written about her.
- Stuart Proffitt, Publishing Director at Allen Lane

the EU was the best option for Britain after leaving office. Moore replied in the affirmative and implied that her advisors were right to have kept her opinions hushed in case she would have been side-lined as a public figure. An odd argument to advance against a woman whose political life was synonymous with conviction and division. And especially against a woman who would be in the stands if she positioned herself any more in the shadows of her post-political purgatory. Much of the red meat of the evening came from a bold and

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