Mrs Thatcher has cited the breaking of the post-war political consensus, established with the support of dominant groups in the Conservative and Labour parties, as one of her objectives. In this penetrating study of her style and performance, she emerges as both the midwife and the product of the collapse of consensus. Mrs Thatcher has cited the breaking of the post-war political consensus, established with the support of dominant groups in the Conservative and Labour parties, as one of her objectives. In this penetrating study of her style and performance, she emerges both as the midwife of the collapse of consensus and also as its product.