Maggie

Maggie is John Sergeant's mordant analysis of Margaret Thatcher's career and, more importantly, the legacy she has left to the Conservative party, which he would argue has been little short of disastrous. He takes us from the glory days of three successive election victories to the machinations that saw Mrs Thatcher's departure from Downing Street, and on to the years since, during which she has exerted a remarkable and sometimes baleful influence on the party she once led. Sergeant brings to bear his trademark wit and keen sense of the absurd but also his deep understanding of the British political arena and an insight born of thirty years' reporting on events in Westminster. His access to those who worked for her, with her and against her is unique, from Michael Heseltine to Norman Tebbit, from John Major to Chris Patten and even Tony Blair. It is vintage Sergeant and indispensable to anyone wishing to understand Margaret Thatcher's enduring influence.

John Sergeant was until recently Political Editor of ITN, which he joined in 2000 after twelve years as Chief Political Correspondent of the BBC. His career as a political journalist has spanned more than thirty years and he is a regular guest on many radio and tv shows, including Have I Got News for You, Room 101 and The News Quiz on Radio 4. His autobiography, Give Me Ten Seconds, was published by Macmillan in 2001. He lives in Ealing.