Margaret Thatcher's premiership from 1979 to 1990 had a profound impact on Scotland. David Stewart analyzes the impact of this period of Conservative government on Scotland, while examining the extent to which Conservative policy under Thatcher represented a break from the 'post-war consensus' in British politics. Focusing on the origins and impact of the poll tax, the campaign to save Ravenscraig steelworks, the sharpening of the North/South divide, the 1984/85 miners' strike, and the balance of power within Scottish civil society, he makes substantial contributions to the debates surrounding the decline of Scottish Unionism, the roots of Scottish devolution, the legacy of Thatcherism, and the changing British constitution.

David Stewart was awarded his PhD from the Scottish History Department at Glasgow University in 2005 and is now a lecturer in history at the University of Central Lancashire.

Introduction
Chapter 1: 'The Architect's Work': The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, 1886-1990
Chapter 2: Sink or Swim? The Scottish Economy Under Thatcher
Chapter 3: Slaying the Dragon: The Onslaught on the Trade Union Movement
Chapter 4: Social Thatcherism? Welfare Provision in Scotland, 1979-1990
Chapter 5: 'The Runaway Train'? Scottish Local Government in the Thatcher Era
Chapter 6: Rule Britannia? Thatcher and the 'Scottish Question'
Conclusion