Skip to main content
‘What would Maggie do?’ Painful scenes from the Tory conference
It was always going to be a bizarre spectacle to watch the party try and walk off crashing the economy mere days before, but resorting to literal idol worship of Thatcher cut-outs surely spells the end of days for Truss's Tories, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
A cardboard cutout of Thatcher stands on the platform of a Tory conference fringe meeting titled “What would Maggie do.”

THE Tory government decided to push the self-destruct button right in the middle of its own conference. Normally guaranteed to be the showcase that gets them good headlines, instead Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng engineered a financial crisis before the conference and crowned this with an embarrassing U-turn in the middle of their showcase event.

To get a sense why, I went to a Tory conference fringe meeting organised by the Thatcherite Centre for Policy Studies titled “What would Maggie do.” The short answer for how the Tories screwed themselves is that a life-size cardboard cut-out of Thatcher was put on the platform, as if this lifeless icon could join the debate.  

The real-life Thatcher was a tactical fighter for their side, who by a mix of force and guile transferred money and power from working people to big business and the rich. Unable to repeat the trick, the Tories have settled for a cardboard imitation, which is rigid, thin and doesn’t work.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Andy Burnham surrounded by Labour Party supporters at the launch of his campaign as Labour's candidate for the Makerfield by-election during a press conference at Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, May 22, 2026
New leadership / 10 July 2026
10 July 2026

IAN LAVERY MP warns that decades of neoliberal policies have left former industrial communities behind — but a renewed Labour commitment to working people could change the political landscape

Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, January 15, 2026
Politics / 17 January 2026
17 January 2026

Once derided by Farage as a ‘fraud,’ Jenrick has defected to Reform, bringing experience and political ruthlessness to the populist right —  and raising the unsettling prospect of a Farage-led movement with a seasoned operative pulling the strings, says ANDREW MURRAY

BE AFRAID BE VERY AFRAID: Javier Milei among supporters after winning in legislative midterm elections in Buenos Aires
Argentina / 6 November 2025
6 November 2025

As six out of 10 Argentines don’t vote for Milei LEONEL POBLETE CODUTTI looks at the country’s real crisis that runs far deeper than just the ballot box

House of Commons House of Commons handout photo issued of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons, London, during Prime Minister's Questions, September 10, 2025
Aw That / 13 September 2025
13 September 2025

The Prime Minister’s hamfisted promotional video promising to go ‘further and faster’ coincides with Angela Rayner’s resignation over tax dodging and Mandelson’s long overdue departure over Epstein — incredible timing, writes MATT KERR