A former cabinet minister looks back on the life and career of the UK’s first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. What was the impact of her rise to the top political job, and how do we now view her leadership qualities? Why is she for many the epitome of a strong leader, but for others a divisive figure? Where do we stand today on the values and beliefs that led her to make some of the difficult and demanding decisions she did? And what is the legacy she has left for the nation?

Baroness Gillian Shephard was a junior minister in a Thatcher government. She recently published The Real Iron Lady: Working with Mrs T a collection of her own and others’ recollections of working with Margaret Thatcher.