control of the party: he was the second biggest loser from Heath's election win, as it prevented Powell from taking control of the party. Heath had attempted to reduce the power of the trade unions but was eventually beaten by the strikers. Following the February 1974 election defeat former Health Minister Keith Joseph turned against Heath and his neo-Keynesian policies to become a champion of free market economics but lost his position and influence after his controversial human stock speech. Joseph's close friend and ally, Margaret Thatcher, put herself forward as the free market candidate in the subsequent leadership election and won a surprising victory. Jay met with Thatcher at a dinner where he explained to her the monetarist theories that she would subsequently adopt. Contributors The Road to Power Margaret Thatcher kickstarted a political change in economic policies that had far-reaching political consequences, that changed the face of Britain forever. The monetarist policies used to defeat inflation caused large-scale unemployment. Riots broke out across Britain, there was growing dissent even inside the government. How would Mrs Thatcher survive her plummeting popularity? Merchant banker John Gouriet, convinced of an imminent Soviet takeover of Britain through the trade union movement, worked with TV personalities Ross and Norris McWhirter to establish the National Association for Freedom (later known as the Freedom Association) dedicated to fighting the left. Their early campaign against the Provisional Irish Republican Army linked it to the Soviet Union, resulted in the assassination of Ross, which they blamed on the KGB. The resulting publicity boost drew support from important figures including Thatcher, the new leader of the opposition. Thatcher, not yet secure within her own party since her election to the leadership had surprised many people, appointed moderates to her cabinet including Shadow Employment Secretary Jim Prior who was charged with trade union policy. The Grunwick dispute became a cause celebre and The Freedom Association saw their opportunity to take on the unions directly. The mail order film processing business was crippled by the refusal of Post Office staff to collect the post but the National Association for Freedom saved the business and broke the strike by smuggling out the films in a midnight raid. Divisions within the shadow cabinet were heightened when Thatcher's close ally, Sir Keith Joseph, established the independent Centre for Policy Studies where John Hoskyns and Norman Strauss, both members of No.10's Policy Unit, produced