Word: thatcherism
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Only a month ago, the fate of Westland, a financially troubled helicopter manufacturer, seemed a relatively minor matter, principally of interest to British businessmen. Now it has mushroomed into the most damaging political scandal to face Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher since she took office in 1979. Three weeks ago, Michael Heseltine, Thatcher's Defense Minister, stormed out of a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street and quit over the government's handling of what has become known as "the Westland affair." Last week the controversy claimed another victim: Trade and Industry Minister Leon Brittan, a friend and political ally...
...scandal gathered force, the Prime Minister herself was coming under increased fire for alleged duplicitous conduct in the controversy. With a 139- member majority in the House of Commons, Thatcher is in little danger of being forced from office, but her credibility and her style of governing were being questioned as never before. Said a senior member of her Conservative Party: "There is a nasty smell about this whole business...
About an hour before the Westland board was to recommend acceptance of the Sikorsky bid to its shareholders, excerpts from the Mayhew letter were leaked to the press. Thatcher's critics have charged that this was done to discredit Heseltine in his role as champion of the Europeans...
...Britain's only helicopter maker. One came from a West European consortium of defense contractors, including British Aerospace; the other was made by Sikorsky, a division of the U.S. conglomerate United Technologies. Defense Minister Heseltine supported the European bid, arguing that it alone would keep helicopter technology in Britain. Thatcher maintained that she was neutral on the competing rescue plans, but Heseltine accused her of favoring the U.S. offer and resigned after an icy confrontation...
...heart of the controversy last week was the question of whether Thatcher was involved in leaking to the press a letter about the two bids. That letter, dated Jan. 6, was sent by Sir Patrick Mayhew, Britain's Solicitor-General, to Heseltine. In it, Mayhew urged Heseltine to correct "material inaccuracies" in his version of the ongoing battle. These had been contained in an earlier letter from the then Defense Minister to a representative of the European consortium...