BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN
In recent years, populism has risen on both sides of the Atlantic. It claims the mantle of conservatism. But it is not conservatism. Figures like Donald Trump and movements like MAGA do not stand for the ideals that defined Margaret Thatcher. Thatcherism was built on conviction, principle, and a clear vision for renewal.
Populism thrives on grievance, division, and resentment. It is not conservatism. It is its antithesis.
Thatcher did not govern by polls or pandering. She had a vision: roll back the state, unleash free markets, restore individual responsibility. Her policies were not always popular at first but they were policies of substance. She knew leadership meant tough decisions. It meant persuading the public, not pleasing them. She knew how to win.
Populism is different. It is reactive. It stokes grievances. It exploits divisions. Its leaders chase short-term wins and headlines. They do not think long-term nor characteristically home in on lasting win-wins. This is not conservatism. It is transactional opportunism. True conservatism preserves what is best in our traditions and institutions. It reforms what is broken.
Populism tears things down. It offers little in return.
Populists confuse strength with bluster. They pride themselves on being rude, crude, or divisive. They mistake these traits for strength. Thatcher knew better. True strength lies in principles, not personality. She did not need vulgarity or theatrics. Her strength (in the early years) was in her policies. It was in her unwavering commitment to her beliefs.
Populists obsess over “owning the libs” or dominating headlines. They reduce politics to a spectacle. The loudest voice wins. The battle of ideas is lost. Thatcherism was different. It was about winning arguments, not news cycles. It was about persuading the public, not provoking them.
Thatcher was a reformer. But she was also a conservative. She valued institutions: the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, the market economy. She did not seek to dismantle them. She sought to strengthen them. She was neither old-fashioned nor fuddy-duddy. Her principles are neither outmoded, insubstantial, or ‘wet’ today.
Populism is suspicious of institutions. It attacks “elites” and “the Establishment.” It requires a “them”. It does not objectively or coolly distinguish between what is worth keeping and what must go (the keep/reform essence of conservatism).
Populism’s disdain for institutions is not conservatism. It is nihilism. It is the politics of the wrecking ball, not the builder’s trowel. Thatcherism built a stronger, more prosperous Britain. Populism tears things down. It offers no vision for the future.
While DOGE has its attractions, and perhaps the ‘swamp’ of cash-and-carry American politics is so corrupt that the apparatus of the state requires a complete reset, that is not the case in the UK which, if anything, suffers from a dearth of public sector talent because politicians and civil servants (yes, there are far too many of both) are so poorly paid that the relative cream of talent found in the private sector are not motivated to replace them.
Thatcher understood national interest. But she was not insular. She knew Britain’s prosperity and security were tied to its alliances. NATO mattered. The European Community mattered. She was a patriot, but not a parochialist.
Populism retreats into isolationism. Its leaders talk of “putting America first” or “making America great again.” These slogans mask a deeper insularity. True conservatism engages with the world. It does not retreat from it. Thatcher knew this. Populism does not.
Thatcherism was about ideas, not personality. Thatcher would have rejected the cult of the leader. She believed in the power of ideas, not the cult of the individual.
Populism revolves around the leader. Its success depends on charisma, not ideas. This is not conservatism. It is demagoguery. True conservatism upholds principles. It does not worship strongmen.
The future of conservatism lies in renewal, not resentment. It lies in the principles of Thatcherism, not the theatrics of populism. Thatcherism was about building, not tearing down. It was about leading, not pandering. It was about principles, not personality.
That is the choice. And it is clear.
Time for those who call themselves the representatives of conservatism to reflect, dust off and refresh. Return to sound, core principles rather than falling for the loud nihilism of short-termist demagogues and spivs.
Dominic Wightman is the Editor of Country Squire Magazine, works in finance, and is the author of five and a half books including Conservatism (2024).