Was there a legislative moral agenda in Thatcher's administration?

Studies based on the moral dimension of Thatcherism have enjoyed a significant re-emergence in the last few years. However, the debate around the Thatcherite lack of a moral legislative agenda has not been properly explored from an ideological perspective. Through analysis of discourses and newly released material, the article reassesses this debate, and while it concludes that the absence of an active moral agenda was, in part, a direct result of Thatcherite ideas on the development of the individual as a moral being, it also argues that Thatcherism was consistent with its own narrative when it legislated on morality in specific circumstances. (AU)