Margaret Thatcher

The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October, 1925), is a British stateswoman and was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, also Leader of the Opposition from 1975, and the only woman to date to hold the former position. She is also the only woman to be in the latter position officially, though another has been the Acting Leader. She won 3 successive general elections and was the last person to do this until Tony Blair in 2005. However, although she had strong support from most voters for most of her reign she was eventually elected out of leadership by her own party and replaced by John Major in 1990 who went on to be re-elected himself in 1992. She is an elder stateswoman of the Conservative Party and the figurehead of a political philosophy that became known as Thatcherism, which involves reduced public spending, lower direct taxation, de-regulation, a monetarist policy, and a programme of privatisation of government-owned industries. Even before coming to power she was nicknamed the Iron Lady in Soviet media (because of her vocal opposition to communism), an appellation that stuck.

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The Right Honourable - LG - OM - PC - FRS - 13 October - 1925 - British stateswoman - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - 1979 - 1990 - Leader of the Opposition - 1975 - Another - Tony Blair - 2005 - John Major - 1992 - Conservative Party - Thatcherism - Monetarist - Privatisation - Soviet - Communism

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Thatcher served as Education Secretary in the government of Edward Heath from 1970 to 1974, and successfully challenged Heath for the Conservative leadership in 1975. She was undefeated at the polls, winning the 1979, 1983 and 1987 general elections, and became the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century. In foreign relations, Thatcher maintained the "special relationship" with the United States, and formed a close bond with Ronald Reagan. Thatcher also dispatched a Royal Navy task force to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentina in the Falklands War.

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Education Secretary - Edward Heath - 1970 - 1974 - 1979 - 1983 - 1987 - 20th century - Special relationship - United States - Ronald Reagan - Royal Navy - Falkland Islands - Argentina - Falklands War

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The profound changes Thatcher set in motion as Prime Minister altered much of the economic and cultural landscape of the UK. She curtailed the power of the trade unions, cut back the role of the state in business, dramatically expanded home ownership, and in so doing created a more entrepreneurial culture. She also aimed to cut back the welfare state and foster a more flexible labour market that would create jobs and could adapt to market conditions. Exacerbated by the global recession of the early 1980s, her policies initially caused large-scale unemployment, especially in the industrial heartlands of northern England and the coalfields of South Wales, and increased wealth inequalities. However from the mid 1980s a period of sustained economic growth occurred that led to an improvement in the UK's economic performance. Supporters of Margaret Thatcher assert that Thatcherite policies were responsible for this.

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Trade union - Welfare state - 1980s - Unemployment - Northern England - South Wales - Thatcherite

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Her popularity finally declined when she replaced the unpopular local government rates tax with the even less popular Community Charge, more commonly (if misleadingly) known as the poll tax. At the same time the Conservative Party began to split over her sceptical approach to European Economic and Monetary Union. Her leadership was challenged from within and she was forced to resign in 1990, her defeat being due at least partly to inadequate advice and campaigning. In 1992 she was created Baroness Thatcher, and since then her direct political work has been as head of the Thatcher Foundation.

Related Topics:
Local government rates - Community Charge - Poll tax - European - Economic and Monetary Union - 1990 - 1992

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