“The British people had given up on socialism. The 30-year experiment had plainly failed – and they were ready to try something else.”
So mused Margaret Thatcher on the eve of her first general election victory on May 3 1979. But as we approach the 30th anniversary this weekend of the Iron Lady's arrival in Downing Street, many British people have concluded that once again “a 30-year experiment” has “plainly failed”. This time, however, it is the experiment with Thatcherism.

The closing of the Thatcher era is an event of global significance. Many of the policies pioneered by her government in Britain were copied in the rest of the world: privatisation, deregulation, tax cutting, the abolition of exchange controls, an assault on the power of the trade unions, the celebration of wealth creation rather than wealth redistribution.

Mrs Thatcher came to power 18 months before Ronald Reagan and the two swiftly developed an ideological love affair. But the real triumph came when Thatcherite ideas started to catch on in improbable and inhospitable environments – such as the Soviet Union and France.