This book investigates the transformation of civil liberties and the legal relationship between the individual and the state during the tenure of the Conservative government in Britain under Margaret Thatcher. Authors C. A. Gearty and Keith D. Ewing, both established legal scholars, utilize a combination of legislative analysis and historical context to evaluate how specific policy shifts impacted democratic freedoms. They argue that the cumulative effect of these legal changes fundamentally altered the balance of power within the British state. The text provides a rigorous examination of how executive authority expanded during this period of political transition.

Legal scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the erosion of civil liberties in late 20th-century Britain. Readers often note the academic density of the prose and the authors' precise, evidence-based approach to constitutional law.