The Centre for Policy Studies has a rich history. Established in 1974 by Sir Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher, it aimed to ‘think the unthinkable’ with regard to public policy. Here, we have compiled some of the milestones of the CPS’ work so far.
1970s
1974
CPS established by Keith Joseph to "convert the Tory Party" to economic liberalism. Margaret Thatcher joined the Centre as Deputy Chairman. Alfred Sherman, another key figure at the time, described the purpose of the CPS as being to "question the unquestioned, think the unthinkable, blaze new trails."
June: The first of Keith Joseph's seminal speeches on economic policy - at Upminster. He attacked both Labour and Conservative Governments for "thirty years of Socialistic fashion... thirty years of interventions; thirty years of good intentions; thirty years of disappointment."
September: Keith Joseph's speech at Preston, 'Inflation is caused by governments', outlines a monetarist counter-inflationary policy. Described by Margaret Thatcher as "one of the very few speeches which have fundamentally affected a political generation's way of thinking."
October: General election - Labour majority of three
1975
February: Margaret Thatcher elected leader of the Conservative Party
June: EEC referendum
CPS publications included 'Why Britain Needs a Social Market Economy'.
1976
March: Callaghan replaces Wilson as Labour leader
December: Healey's mini-Budget and IMF Letter of Intent
CPS publications included 'Stranded on the Middle Ground' - a collection of some of Keith Joseph's key speeches and 'Myths and Magic' by Jock Bruce-Gardyne, a key exposition of the new monetarist thinking. 'Upper Clyde Shipbuilders' by Frank Broadway, on the failures of subsidies, was part of the sea change in Conservative thinking on industrial policy
1978
Summer: 'Labour Isn't Working' Conservative Party advertising campaign
CPS publishes 'Monetarism: an essay in definition' by Tim Congdon and 'Second Thoughts on Full Employment Policy' by Samuel Brittan'. 'Conditions for Fuller Employment' by Keith Joseph argues that "The combination of government over-spending, overtaxing, overborrowing and over-regulating destroys jobs".
1979
Winter of Discontent
March: Labour Government loses a vote of confidence
May: Conservatives win General Election with 43 seat majority
1980s
1980
October: Margaret Thatcher's 'the lady's not for turning' speech at Conservative Party Conference
November: Ronald Reagan elected US President
CPS publishes 'The New Conservatism' by Nigel Lawson and 'The Challenge of a Radical Reactionary' by Lord Harris of High Cross. The Centre's Trade Union Reform Committee publishes a range of proposals for reforming Britain's union laws, setting the agenda for future Government action.
1981
March: Formation of the SDP
CPS publications include 'Against Import Controls' by Tim Congdon, 'The Economic Adviser's Role' by Alan Walters and 'The Litmus Papers: A National Health Dis-service' - a collection of essays on health reform edited by Arthur Seldon.
1982
April - June: Falklands War
CPS publishes 'The Right to Learn' - a ground-breaking report on standards, parental choice and devolution of power to schools. 'Telecommunications in Britain' calls for the privatisation of BT and the introduction of competition to the sector.
1983
June: General Election. Conservative majority 144
CPS publishes 'Power to the People' by Anthony Flew, one of the earliest serious discussions of parental choice in education.
1984
March: Coal strike began
October: Brighton bomb
November: Flotation of British Telecom
CPS publishes 'Making it Work: the future of the European Community' - the first report of the CPS' Study Group on the European Community.
1986
CPS publishes 'Shares for All: steps towards a share-owning society' by Sir Nicholas Goodison
1987
June: General Election. Conservative majority 102
October: 'Black Monday'.
A comprehensive series of CPS reports on the next steps in the privatisation agenda examines the sectors of rail, electricity, coal and the Royal Mail. 'The Good Council Guide' lays out an agenda for local government reform, based on the successes of Wandsworth Council.
1989
November: Fall of the Berlin Wall
CPS publishes 'Nationalised Universities' by Deepak Lal, which called for an end to Government control over universities.
1990s
1990
October: Britain joins the ERM
November: Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister, replaced by John Major
CPS publications include 'Teachers Mistaught' by Sheila Lawlor on reform of teacher training structures.
1992
April: General Election. Conservative majority 21.
November: 'Black Wednesday' - Britain leaves ERM
CPS publishes 'Privatisation Everywhere' by John Moore, showing how the model pioneered by the Thatcher Government had become a blueprint for other countries.
1993
CPS publishes 'Testing Time: the future of the National Curriculum' by John Marenbon, a call for thorough reform of the Curriculum.
1996
CPS publications include 'The Performance of Privatised Industries' - a detailed statistical analysis which showed the positive benefits of privatisation.
Lady Thatcher delivers the first CPS Keith Joseph Memorial Lecture.
1997
May: General Election. Labour majority 179.
A number of CPS publications, including 'Blue Skies Ahead', outlined practical steps for the Conservative Party to renew itself after electoral collapse.
1998
April: Good Friday Agreement
CPS publishes 'More Damage to the Family' by Patricia Morgan, part of a series of reports on the demise of family life and its consequences for society.
1999
May/July: Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament open
CPS publications include 'After the Landslide: learning the lessons from 1906 and 1945' by David Willetts MP and Richard Forsdykem 'The War of Independence' by Lord Saatchi and Peter Warburton on radical welfare reform and 'The End of Illiteracy' by Tom Burkard
2000s
2001
CPS publishes 'Poor People! Stop Paying Tax!' by Maurice Saatchi and Peter Warburton which advocated a simpler tax system and 'Welcome To The Asylum' by Harriet Sergeant which argued for a fairer immigration policy.
June: UK General Election, Labour win with majority of 83.
September: 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.
October: US and UK troops enter Afghanistan.
2002
January: Euro Enters Circulation.
2003
CPS publishes 'The European Constitution' by David Heathcoat-Amory MP which highlighted the risk to national sovereignty that the EU poses.
March: Invasion of Iraq.
2004
CPS publishes 'Why Britain Cannot Afford Not To Cut Taxes' by Lord Blackwell.
2005
May: UK General Election, Labour win with majority of 31.
July: 7/7 terrorist attacks in London.
2007
CPS publishes 'Greater Transparency for UK Retail Banking' by Andrew Tyrie MP which argued that banks should reveal all their charges to the consumers.
June: Tony Blair resigns as Prime Minister.
September: Northern Rock collapses and is nationalised 5 months later.
2008
October: Government spend £850bn bailing out RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS.
November: Obama elected President of USA.
2009
CPS publishes 'Re-empower the Bank of England' by Sir Martin Jacomb advocating a reduction in the powers of the FSA and an increase in the Bank of England's influence.
March: Bank of England announces first round of quantitative easing and injects £200bn into the economy.
Speeches and publications
Keith Joseph at the CPS
Stranded on the Middle Ground? (1976)
A collection of some of Keith Joseph’s key speeches and articles undertaken between 1974 and 1976, including ‘Inflation: the climate of opinion is changing’, ‘The quest for common ground’, ‘Government spending generates unemployment’, ‘Economic Consequences of the Social Contract’, ‘Recovery without inflation’, ‘Moral and material benefits of the market order’ and ‘The humanity of capitalism’ and ‘Equality: An Argument Against’.
Monetarism is Not Enough (Stockton Lecture, 1976)
“By itself, the strict and unflinching control of the money supply, though essential, is not enough. We must also have substantial cuts in tax and public spending and bold incentives and encouragements to the wealth creators, without whose renewed efforts we shall all grow poorer.”
Conditions for Fuller Employment (1978)
“Jobs are seen as flowing from the government, not from individual initiatives and effort. This is totally to misunderstand the truth.”
Rewards of Parenthood (1990)
Called for a re-examination of the disadvantages suffered by mothers who choose to stay at home when their children are young.
The Importance of Parenting (1991)
Argued that the upbringing of children deserved greater priority, for the sake of all our futures.
Margaret Thatcher at the CPS
Political Office or Political Power? 1977
Foreword to John Biffen’s CPS pamphlet
Aims of Industry National Free Enterprise Award (1984)
Speech receiving award
Centre for Policy Studies (AGM 1988)
Speech to the CPS
Centre for Policy Studies (AGM 1991)
Speech to the CPS
All Souls commemoration 1995
Speech of tribute to Keith Joseph
The Path to Power (1995)
Speech at National Press Club
Liberty and Limited Government (1996)
Keith Joseph Memorial Lecture
Celebrating 35 Years
To mark the Centre's 35th anniversay in 2009 we have recorded a selection of interviews with some of the key people involved with the CPS in its early years.
The interviews are available to listen to below.
Simon Webley:
Professor Kenneth Minogue:
Lord Vinson
part one:
Lord Vinson
part two:
Click the link below for an in-depth account of the early history of the CPS and Margaret Thatcher’s involvement.
Sources and further reading
- Thinking the Unthinkable by Richard Cockett
- Keith Joseph by Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett
- The Path to Power by Margaret Thatcher
- The Downing Street Years by Margaret Thatcher
- The Margaret Thatcher Foundation www.margaretthatcher.org