It is postulated that the structure division within the working class, allowing for a consensual alliance across classes and aligning better-off worker interests with those of capital, forms the historical basis for analyzing periods of consent and defines conflict limits within British society. Thatcherism is characterized by a move toward more centralized and militarized forms of policing in particular and toward more authoritarian methods of criminalization generally in courts and prisons. There has been a tendency for courts and the prison system to be seen as arms of government rather than as independent forums for criminal case resolution. The rise in the prison population, the government's prison building program, changes in parole rules for violent offenders and drug traffickers, failure to provide adequate prison regimes, increased emphasis on security in the prison system, and heightened repression of protest against prison regimes are cited as examples of Thatcher's authoritarian approach. It is pointed out, however, that the British Government historically has moved toward policies that Thatcher has wholeheartedly adopted and her ability to articulate authoritarian ideas in a popular way has facilitated her impact on British society in general and on the criminal justice system in particular. 69 references.