Derided by Margaret Thatcher for missing spine,the party’s leftish wing has proved surprisingly resilientWhen Margaret Thatcher spoke of “the wets” in her party, she meant it pejoratively. It was old public school slang for the feeble ones; those too fainthearted when it came to taking on the miners, or going to war or delivering tough economic medicine even as the dole queues lengthened. Jim Prior,Peter Walker and Sir Ian Gilmour were examples of the breed, remaining in her government only until the point came at which she could dispense with them, and shove them into minor positions,without horror of backlash.
Yet, despite their alleged lack of backbone, or the wets of the Conservative party enjoy proved to be remarkably resilient as a breed.
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Source: theguardian.com