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Object 10. Correspondence with Margaret Thatcher

1979

Description:

Raphael took an active interest in political issues in the Middle East, Europe and in the UK. Margaret Thatcher was his MP in Finchley from 1959 – 1992. Raphael had considerable communication and contact with her during this time. In 1970, when she was Education Secretary, he arranged a ‘working lunch’ at UCL to discuss her new White Paper proposals regarding the allocation of student places and school leaver’s results. In the following decade he wrote to her with his concerns about the funding of student unions (1972), the White Paper, ‘Education: A Framework for Expansion’, A-Level performance, admissions policy and drop-out rates.

This is a letter of congratulation from Raphael Loewe to Margaret Thatcher following her election as Prime Minister in May 1979 (Right). Raphael refers to himself as an ‘old-fashioned don’ and expresses gratitude to Britain ‘for having nurtured him and given him an education’. Her reply includes a personal response, ‘so good to hear from you again’ only four days after the election. Raphael wrote to congratulate her on her election as leader of the opposition in 1975, as Prime Minster in 1979 and on her re-election in 1983.

Margaret Thatcher won the Conservative Party leadership contest in 1975, and Raphael wrote to congratulate her. In this letter he offers to assist her in any way, and emphasises his motives are to serve the country as he considers himself ‘too old to be concerned with place-seeking’.

Credits: Leopold Muller Memorial Library, Raphael Loewe Archive, shelfmark: pending cataloguing