returned to work. The No Turning Back Group at the Institute of Economic Affairs pushed for the privatisation of health and education but Thatcher rejected this idea, instead trying to introduce some free market supplyside reforms into public services. The immensely unpopular Community Charge, which replaced the Rates system with a poll tax, resulted in increasing unpopularity for Thatcher personally and for her party as a whole, leading to her political judgement being questioned. Thatcher's distrust of the European Union led to the resignations of her Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson in 1989 and her Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Howe in 1990. Lawson's resignation was principally the result of his feeling that Thatcher and her economic adviser, the monetarist Professor Sir Alan Walters were undermining his position as Chancellor, by engaging in economic policy formulation from Number 10 rather than from the Treasury. Howe's embarrassing and humiliating affront to Thatcher and her anti-European sentiments had drastic effect and consequences for her. The virulent attack contained in Howe's resignation speech from the Tory backbenches resulted in severe damage to Thatcher's standing in her own party and marked the beginning of the end with one of the true Thatcherite believers suggesting that she had become too excessive. Howe had been a friend of Thatcher since they first met at Grays Inn, and the Inns of Court Conservative Association in 1957. Only Howe and Sir Keith Joseph had continually supported her economic policies since 1975. The result was a leadership challenge being swiftly announced by her former Defence Secretary, Michael Heseltine. After the first round of voting, Thatcher withdrew her candidacy, despite winning, because the margin of her victory was not enough to give her a first round victory and it was felt that her position was becoming untenable. A further two candidates then entered the race for Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party: John Major (her last Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Douglas Hurd (her Foreign Secretary). The Conservatives held onto power for another seven years under Sir John Major 1990–97, but made the electorate force them out on 1 May 1997, heralding the introduction of Tony Blair and New Labour that would commence a period of socialist gradualism, and a number of high intensity conflicts abroad. Contributors Reception Rupert Smith, writing in The Guardian, called the series "a very effective piece of programme-making" and claimed that while watching