1 Friedman’s lack of influence on British economic policy. * James Forder Balliol College Oxford james.forder@balliol.ox.ac.uk June 2016 Abstract Using a range of sources, it is argued that, contrary to common belief, Milton Friedman had no special influence on British policy in the 1970s and 1980s. The opposing impression appears to be derived in part from the work of Friedman’s admirers, but principally from the allegations of Margaret Thatcher’s opponents who believed they could taint her with his name. Key words Friedman, monetarism, Thatcherism 1. Introduction In much common estimation, Milton Friedman had an enormous influence on the policy of the British government during the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher (1979‐1990), and the Prime Minister herself was greatly influenced by him. There were, for example, numerous observations to this effect when Friedman died in 2006. The New York Times reported, ‘Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain were heavily influenced by his views’; 1 CNN that ‘Friedman’s ideas were embraced’ by Reagan and Thatcher; 2 and the University of Chicago News Office said that Thatcher had been a ‘devoted follower’ of his ideas. The British press saw his importance in the same kind of way. The BBC said ‘Known as the high priest of monetarism, his ideas gained popularity in the 1980s when they influenced the policies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan’; 3 the Times that at his pinnacle he had been known as her ‘favourite economist’; 4 and the Telegraph had it that he was ‘one of the early gurus of Thatcherism’. 5 And then there was Thatcher herself – she was reported as saying he had, ‘revived the economics of liberty when it had been all but forgotten. He was an intellectual freedom fighter. Never was there a less dismal * I am grateful to Edward McPhail for the suggestion that Hayek’s comments on the relation of his own views to Friedman’s are relevant in what follows; to George Tavlas and others at the History of Economics Society meeting at Duke, in June 2016, for comments; and to Anne Williamson of Balliol College for research assistance and a number of insightful comments. 1 16 November, 2006. 2 http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/16/news/newsmakers/friedman/ 3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6156106.stm 4 17 November 2006. 5 17 November 2006.