Margaret Thatcher's achievements. The Iron Lady
Margaret Thatcher, 1974Margaret Thatcher loved to be first in everything. The first woman to lead Great Britain, the first prime minister to win elections three times in a row, the first British politician to remain in power for a record 11 and a half years. Attitudes towards her in her homeland still remain contradictory and fragmented: for some she still remains the “mother of the nation”, for others she is the “witch Thatcher”. On one point, today's British are absolutely united: there are no people indifferent to the personality and legacy of the Baroness and there never will be.
Called the “Iron Lady” by the Soviet newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda in 1976 (only later did the British pick up the nickname and begin calling their prime minister the “Iron Lady”), Margaret Thatcher would have celebrated her 92nd birthday on October 13. In honor of the Baroness's birthday, we recall the brightest moments of her life and political career.
October 13, 1925: Grocer's daughter born
The most powerful woman in Great Britain was born in a small town in Lincolnshire into the family of a vegetable merchant. Many Thatcher biographers laugh that, having been born into such conditions, Margaret should have become a Laborite rather than a Conservative. However, already in childhood, the girl’s father, Elfrid Roberts, began to actively accustom her to Tory values, especially talking a lot about the advantages of a market economy. Margaret grew up as a “daddy’s girl” (the life of a housewife-mother did not appeal to the girl at all): together with her father, they attended lectures at universities, read books and listened to political programs on the radio. During World War II, her hero will be Winston Churchill: his strong speeches and achievements for the benefit of Great Britain will inspire the girl to get involved in politics.
Margaret's father taught her to work hard and be independent of public opinion. That is why at school the girl was considered arrogant, or, as her classmates more accurately called her, a “toothpick.” Margaret did not have brilliant academic abilities, but she still graduated from school as the best student, thanks to perseverance and discipline.
“No, I was unlucky. I deserve it” - Margaret Roberts, 9 years old (during the award for winning a school competition).
1943: Career as a chemist?
The best student at school, Margaret went to receive higher education at the prestigious Oxford University. The specialty she chose was not at all humanitarian: the girl began to study chemistry under the guidance of the future Nobel laureate Dorothy Hodgkin, but soon she was very quickly disappointed in her choice, deciding that she should study law.
By the way, the girl has not lost interest in politics at all. True to her father’s behests, she became one of the few who decided to join the Conservative Association of traditionally liberal Oxford. And she succeeded well in it, becoming its president a few years later (and the first girl in this position).
After graduating from university, however, Margaret did not change her specialty, working for a couple of years at a plastics manufacturing plant.
“This woman is stubborn, headstrong and painfully arrogant,” the head of recruitment at Imperial Chemical Industries would say about her when he refused to hire Margaret in 1948.
1950: A young mother cannot run for Parliament
After graduating from university, Margaret moved to the town of Dartford, where, at 24, she decided to try for the first time as a member of Parliament. Local conservatives famously approved her candidacy, but, alas, the girl failed to win the 1950 elections, since Dartford traditionally voted for Labor.
The failure hit Margaret's self-esteem hard, but giving up was not in her nature. Moreover, in the same year the girl finally met her idol, Winston Churchill, who instilled in her self-confidence. Margaret went to law school, and two years later she married a wealthy 33-year-old businessman, Denis Thatcher. Subsequently, many of Thatcher's opponents would decide that it was a marriage of convenience: Denis sponsored her education and future political campaigns. Even Margaret's motherhood was attacked: it was rumored that the woman decided to give birth to her twins as soon as possible, so as to never again think about whether she should or should not have children.
However, despite her increased fame and the funds available from her husband to conduct the political struggle, Margaret again faced failure in the next elections. The reason was extremely simple: voters believed that a young mother could not run for Parliament, since she had to take care of the house.
“I hope that we will soon see more and more women combining family and career” (Margaret Thatcher, 1952)
1959: Youngest Member of Parliament (also a woman)
Finally, having raised her children and sent them to boarding school, Margaret again attempted to enter Parliament. And this time she succeeded - first of all, because the Conservatives were in power in the country at that time, and also due to the fact that Thatcher chose the more Tory-friendly constituency of Finchley.
1970: "The Milk Thief"
Finally, after a series of defeats by Labor in 1970, the Conservatives, led by Edward Heath, will again come to power, who will appoint Margaret to the post of Minister of Education. This is how Thatcher’s career in big politics will begin, the start of which will be very successfully described by the leader of the House of Commons, William Wiltrow, who said: “Once she got here, we will never get rid of her.”
Thatcher will take up her duties with all responsibility and determination. For example, it will reduce the budget for education. But perhaps her most controversial and scandalous decree will be the cancellation of the provision of a free glass of milk during school breakfast to students from wealthy families. For this step, the press ironically nicknamed her “Thatcher the Milk Snatcher.” Perhaps this was her first failure in governing the state, because saving milk did not have much impact on the state budget, but popular indignation haunted the Conservative party for a long time.
“I learned one lesson from this experience: I provoked maximum political hatred for a minimum of political benefits” (Thatcher - on the “milk” scandal)
1975: Conservative Leader
In 1974, Edward Heath's government suffered a crushing election defeat. Margaret will regard this as a signal for decisive action. She owed much to Heath, but, nevertheless, she did not hesitate to openly oppose her benefactor and stand for the post of Tory leader.
Was this a betrayal? Maybe. In any case, no one in the party leadership took Thatcher's arrogance seriously. But the woman had a strategy. Yes, she was unpopular in the establishment, but she could well gain the support of ordinary party members (the so-called “backbenchers”). Thatcher had an excellent memory and ability to work with numbers. In her conversations with fellow party members, she often bombarded them with facts, so that no one could argue with her. Moreover, she remembered each of her colleagues, knew the names of his children, and remembered their birthdays, which also added significant weight to her in the eyes of politicians.
In 1975, she triumphantly unseated Heath as party leader. Many thought it wouldn't last long. And their skepticism was their biggest mistake.
“Her main strength is that she is not afraid to say that two plus two equals four. But this is so unpopular today" (Poet Philip Larkin - about Thatcher, 1979)
4 May 1979: First female Prime Minister
Four years later, Margaret Thatcher finally realized her, perhaps, her most important childhood dream. By a margin of just one vote, she managed to wrest the coveted post of prime minister from the hands of Labor leader J. Callaghan and begin her 11-year reign.
She entered No. 10 Downing Street as a kind of experienced housewife who would be able to correctly distribute the state budget, just as any woman copes with planning a family budget. After a long period of Labor rule, the country's economy was in critical condition, and Margaret, ready to put her father's words about the benefits of the free market into practice, set to work.
“Any woman who is familiar with the problems of running a household better understands the problems of governing a country.”
1980: "Ladies Don't Turn Around"
Despite Thatcher's efforts to introduce free market principles, the country's economy continued to decline. Critics called on the Prime Minister to “do a 180-degree turn”, but Margaret was adamant.
“You can turn around if you want. Ladies don't turn around."
1982: Falklands War
Thatcher may not have been a brilliant political strategist, but she was very talented. Her premiership was coming to an end, and her internal reforms were not bringing any positive results. In the minds of the people, she remained “Thatcher’s witch”, who stole milk and jobs from them - and this is not a good background for a triumphant re-election to a second term.
Luck smiled at the woman in 1982 and sent her the treasured Argentine aggression in the distant Falkland Islands (these are British territories located near Argentina). As usual, Buenos Aires wanted to appropriate the territories where the Argentine population was mainly located, and the British government was ready to take this step so as not to start a war. No, it, of course, did not intend to scatter territories - it’s just that maintaining the Falkland Islands was already expensive, and London had no communications there for a long time.
But Margaret had a different opinion. This was a wonderful opportunity to show the British that she was ready to become their “second Churchill.” Regardless of the costs (indeed, it would have been cheaper to give these godforsaken lands to the Argentines), Margaret sent a fleet to cross the Atlantic and fight the war, which they, of course, won. It was a real triumph: Thatcher again restored the British pride in their country, awakened in them the ambitions of a post-imperialist people, at the head of which she should stand. It is not surprising that in the next elections she was instantly re-elected to a second term.
So Thatcher bought herself time. And then came the first fruits of Margaret's economic policy. The market finally came to its senses: every Briton owned shares in privatized companies, almost no one missed the opportunity to buy their own home, and London at that time became the real financial capital of the world.
"Defeat? I don’t recognize the meaning of this word!” (Thatcher - at the beginning of the Falklands War in response to speculation about the impending defeat of Great Britain)
1984: Miners' Storm
For her inflexibility and strength of character, Margaret was already widely called the “Iron Lady,” but, perhaps, no one expected such a step from her.
Trade unions have traditionally had a lot of weight in Britain, but not in Thatcher's eyes. And when British miners decided to go on strike in response to the closure of several mines, Margaret made an unprecedented decision. It has been a long time since the civilized West saw how huge police detachments dispersed demonstrators with shots and beatings. The war with the miners lasted about a year, and Thatcher never wanted to make concessions. She won. But she finally lost the support of the working class.
"She hated the poor and did nothing to help them." (Morrissey, British musician).
1984: Thatcher and Reagan: "special relationship"
Like her idol Winston Churchill, Thatcher placed a special emphasis on traditionally close Anglo-American relations.
Thatcher loved attractive men: perhaps that is why her relationship with the US President, a handsome Californian, Ronald Reagan, was more than successful. The leaders of Britain and the United States often called each other and coordinated policies. Margaret even allowed the American military to be stationed on her territory. Meanwhile, the prime minister was also fascinated by another handsome man - the leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev. It was Thatcher who gave the Soviet Union an invitation to the Western world, contributing to a significant warming of relations between East and West.
“I liked Gorbachev. You can do business with him" (Margaret Thatcher, 1984)
1990: Fatal error
Perhaps Thatcher could have ruled Britain for a long time if not for a banal human factor: fatigue. Whatever one may say, the Iron Lady has been in power for too long. Finally, any of her initiatives no longer caused anything but irritation among the people. The final straw was Thatcher's poll tax. More than a hundred thousand people took to the streets of London with protest demonstrations, and all were forcibly dispersed by the police. Thatcher did not resign then, but it was the beginning of the end.
In November, almost her entire cabinet opposed Margaret's leadership. It was a betrayal - they treated her almost the same way she once treated Edward Heath. And just like Heath once, the Iron Lady had nothing to oppose to her party colleagues who had turned their backs on her. Thatcher resigned.
“It was betrayal with a smile on its face” (Margaret Thatcher)
2007: legend during his lifetime
Yes, Thatcher left 10 Downing Street, but she never left British public life. She wrote memoirs, gave speeches, and in 1992 she was even granted the title of Baroness.
The funeral ceremony took place in St. Paul's Cathedral, and Elizabeth II herself was present. It was a state funeral: the cortege with Margaret's body passed throughout London, and cannon salvoes were fired in memory of the Iron Lady. Before Thatcher, only... Winston Churchill received such an honor.
“To some extent we are all Thatcherites” (David Cameron, 2013)
Her parents are a seamstress and a shopkeeper. The Roberts family lived a harsh life - not so much because the pious father preached the ideas of asceticism, but because there was always not enough money. The apartment of the future baroness had neither hot water nor a toilet. Later, our heroine was called by different names: Toothpick, Splinter, Crammer, and Clever Girl. And only much later, these nicknames were supplemented by one more, under which the whole world recognized her: the Iron Lady.
The Baroness was born on October 13, 1925 in a poor apartment located above a grocery warehouse. The English town of Grantham, north of London, where she was born, was famous only for being the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton. Her parents are a seamstress and a shopkeeper. The Roberts family lived a harsh life - not so much because the pious father preached the ideas of asceticism, but because there was always not enough money. The apartment of the future baroness had neither hot water nor a toilet. Later, our heroine was called by different names: Toothpick, Splinter, Crammer, and Clever Girl. And only much later, these nicknames were supplemented by one more, under which the whole world recognized her: the Iron Lady.
Margaret Thatcher. Photo provided by ©AFP" >
Meet, gentlemen: Baroness Margaret Hilda Thatcher.
Her mother, Beatrice Roberts, was considered an exemplary housewife and practically did not interfere in her daughter’s life: firstly, housework and sewing took up too much effort and time, and secondly, the independent daughter did not really allow her timid mothers to participate in their own upbringing. The father is another matter. However, Alfred Roberts did not so much teach his daughter as constantly praised her, encouraged her any hobbies and was her best friend, which the freedom-loving Margaret liked very much.
Maggie Roberts adored her father, and to him she became everything in the world. Alfred, a very gifted man, did not shine with education. Having only completed elementary school, he was forced to stop there, and compensated for his inescapable thirst for knowledge by endlessly reading books. He and Margaret were infected with a passion for reading. They went to libraries together, read aloud to each other, passionately argued about this or that book and, most importantly, talked a lot. Perhaps it was precisely because God did not give Alfred a son, and his eldest daughter Muriel was strikingly similar to her mother - a born housewife, that he tried to embody all his unrealized ambitions, hopes and dreams in the talented and original youngest daughter.
Father sometimes forgot that Maggie was just a little girl, and communicated with her as an equal. From morning to night, he instilled in his daughter the principles of honor, duty and faith. Even before Margaret went to school, her father taught her never to blend in with the faceless crowd, not to make herd decisions, not to be afraid of being misunderstood and different from others, to fearlessly defend her own point of view, not to shift responsibility to someone else . He said: “Baby, remember, in life there are no words: “I can’t” or “It’s too hard.” Such words are for the weak in spirit.” Alfred convinced the very little child that it is necessary to feel sorry for people, but you cannot feel sorry for yourself. And besides, we must always remember that the Lord does not abandon His children. He taught his daughter the way a father usually teaches his son, and at the same time the grains fell into very fertile soil.
The girl absorbed her father's philosophy like a sponge, and performed many of her adult actions under his influence. Her father strove to give Margaret an excellent education. Maggie began studying music and poetry even before school. Alfred Roberts introduced her to sports from early childhood, as he preached the idea of harmonious and comprehensive personal development. And among other things, the father developed his daughter’s oratorical abilities. It would seem that the girl’s life, filled with books, music, sports and endless conversations with her father, was bright and eventful. But every coin has two sides.
Margaret was largely ahead of her peers intellectually, and in a sense, childhood passed her by. She grew up as a serious and reserved child beyond her age and had no friends. If it weren't for her father, Meggie would be completely alone. Despite the strength of her father’s life position, he had dogmatic religious beliefs that did not allow his daughter to communicate with frivolous peers, go to the cinema or, later, to dance. Yes, Margaret didn’t really strive for this...
Maggie went to a girls' school. She studied well and actively participated in sports competitions, even becoming captain of her school’s team. At the age of nine, Margaret Hilda won a poetry competition, perhaps it was then that the famous character of the future Iron Lady first appeared.
When Maggie won first place, the school's headmistress congratulated the girl, telling her: “You are very lucky, Margaret,” to which the schoolgirl retorted with conviction: “It's not luck, madam. This is a merit! Since then, the whole school called Maggie Toothpick - either for her sharp mind, or for her equally sharp tongue.
At the age of 12, she began attending political meetings, and at 13, despite the political preferences of her father, a Conservative supporter, she made her own choice in favor of Labour. In addition, Margaret managed to work in her family's grocery store. Meanwhile, not only the daughter, but also the father progressed. Through hard work and extraordinary determination, he achieved the position of mayor of Grantham. Margaret closely followed his political career.
Cramming
Maggie set herself the most difficult tasks - and coped with them brilliantly. Four years before graduating from school, she decided that she would study at the best women's college in Oxford - Somerville. There was still not enough money in the family, and in order to qualify for a scholarship, it was necessary to learn Latin perfectly - and the girl achieved this with four years of cramming. It was then that she acquired her next school nickname - Crammer.
But it was a nickname, and Margaret still received the Somerville scholarship. Until college, she lived in her small isolated world that her father built for her: hard study, the grocery store and endless discussions about the books she read and politics. In Somerville, Margaret receives another nickname: her fellow students began to call her Jeanne in honor of Joan of Arc - either because she was “burning” in her studies, or because for the first time in her life she fell madly in love and, like a real Jeanne, fearlessly rose to the bonfire of failed love.
Her first love was the son of a count, whose family, of course, did not accept the daughter of a small shopkeeper. The young man, quite scared by his parents’ unequivocal threats to deprive him of financial support, left Margaret alone with her first love disappointments, but she was too strong and proud to allow herself to suffer.
Maggie began to study with even greater persistence. She was seen with a textbook in her hands from six in the morning until twelve at night. The only thing that distracted her from her studies was political debates, popular at that time, which Margaret did not miss. There she honed her oratory skills, learned to defend her position among men, who, in principle, were not interested in women’s opinions, and even more so on such “non-feminine” issues as politics and economics.
Maggie Roberts fell more and more in love with politics. Later, at Oxford University, she joined the Conservative Association. In her memoirs, Margaret admitted that the change in political preferences was due not only to ideological considerations, but also to purely career plans to become president of this association.
In 1947, Margaret Roberts graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and became a research assistant in a laboratory located in Mannington. From the first minute she was aware that in little Mannington she would be cramped with her exorbitant ambitions and ambition.
She aspired to London, and her next place of work was a chemical laboratory in the capital. The career of a chemical scientist was not unsuccessful, but rather short, since all Maggie’s thoughts were occupied by politics and jurisprudence closely related to it. In 1948, Margaret decided to try to get into parliament from the Conservative Party branch in Dartford, Kent.
She had practically no chance: 23 years old, female... She didn’t have her head in the clouds and assessed her chances as minimal, but still entered the fight.
Margaret Roberts lost the election, but won in her personal life. During the election campaign, Maggie met one of her party comrades, industrialist Denis Thatcher.
Their “political romance” lasted for two years, and in 1951 they got married. Almost immediately after her honeymoon, she entered law school. Evil tongues (and Margaret was surrounded by evil tongues all her life) claimed that Maggie got married for purely mercantile reasons, since a wealthy husband could pay for the legal education that she dreamed of. Margaret respected herself and her husband too much to react publicly to the attacks, but in private conversations with friends she admitted that such guesses hurt her painfully.
In 1953, Maggie received her law degree, and she took the bar exam with two four-month-old twins in her arms. For the next five years, Margaret Thatcher worked as a lawyer. She later became a brilliant specialist in patent and tax law - areas of jurisprudence where there was practically no place for women at that time. It was then that Meggie fearlessly entered the man's world and began to look for her place in the sun.
Margaret later said: “It’s good that I studied in educational institutions for girls all my life. Having hardly known boys as a child, I never learned how to have a complex in front of them and give in to them just because they are boys. And when I became an adult - sorry, gentlemen, but it was too late.” Margaret never for a moment forgot about her main goal - to break into the world of big politics, but quite deliberately took a time-out for several years, which allowed her to wait until her children grew up a little.
And in 1959, Margaret entered the fight for a seat in parliament for the second time and this time won, becoming a member of the House of Commons at the age of 33.
ARMORED TANK
Margaret Thatcher began to actively move up the political career ladder in the 60s, but only 20 years later, in May 1979, she became Prime Minister of Great Britain, winning almost 44% of the vote. She was 53 years old, and having stood her ground in a man's world for so many years, she had become even tougher. Even her adoring and admiring father said: “Margaret is 99.5% perfect. The remaining half a percent is what it could have had if it had been just a little warmer.”
With her entry into big politics, not only her life changed, but also her nicknames. Lord, what names did they call this woman! And the Iron Lady, and Bloody Margot, and the Armored Tank, and the Shopkeeper's Daughter, and the Ram - you can't list everything! By the way, the nickname Iron Lady was invented by the Russians. It was with our light hand that the whole world called her that.
Without a doubt, one of the main projections of politics onto the plane of real life is the state of the economy. From this point of view, which country did Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher inherit? Before MT, as it was most often called for short in Great Britain, came to power, the country was seriously ill. The USA, continental Europe and rapidly progressing Asian states aggressively ousted the British from the trade and economic niches they had previously conquered. Regression reigned in everything, except that the never-ending fuel crisis progressed.
The press gave useful advice to citizens on how to better build their lives in apartments that had not been heated for months. There was no money in the treasury, and civil servants began to have their salaries delayed, and some were forcibly transferred to a three- to four-day working week. Inflation reached 20-25%. In the country's largest cities, garbage collection stopped, and hordes of rats gathered around the fetid garbage. For the first time in the history of England, unkempt lawns appeared in central parks.
Brilliant Britain has deteriorated before our eyes. But our life is so structured that prosperous times, as a rule, give the world the most ordinary people, and it is difficult times that give birth to titans, heroes and geniuses. The medicines that MT forced their sick country to take were in fact made from completely traditional ingredients.
It would seem that everything is very simple: do not be a dependent; get a practical, in-demand education; work honestly and pay honestly for your work; stretch the legs over the clothes; respect the law; pay taxes; do not borrow until you have repaid what you already owe; set aside money for illness and old age. That's all the simple rules of the game! But for their introduction into the economy, MT had to fight with such tough, almost military, methods that the events of those years were called by journalists and researchers the historical Battle of Britain.
In a war like in a war - and Margaret Thatcher, without making a fuss, dealt with completely insolent trade unions, with striking miners protesting against the closure of unprofitable mines, with dependent sentiments in a society that believed that the state a priori “owed” something to it, with crime during denationalization, with corruption and tax evasion.
The main blow was aimed at fighting inflation, and, of course, the drastic measures taken by the Prime Minister were very unpopular. The government took strict control over the issue of money and credit policy. The country's budget was also placed under completely transparent control, which caused huge cuts in government funding. Unlike many other politicians, MT did not use the carrot and stick method. There was only a whip, but the Iron Lady never lied or was a hypocrite before the nation, and did not make empty promises.
Yes, it was very difficult. Yes, no one promised instant improvements. Yes, MT methods are absolutely unfeminine. She said: “Nobody wants a government made up of stuffed animals.” However, it was the prime minister’s toughness, analytical mind and determination that led to inflation falling to 4% by 1984. There were many victims along the way. One after another, enterprises that previously lived on government subsidies went bankrupt. The army of unemployed has reached terrifying proportions. A huge gap has formed between the economic situation of different regions of the country. However, the middle class gradually began to grow and strengthen its position.
It is no secret that it is the middle class that most objectively shows the health of the economy, and during the years of the Iron Lady’s reign it has grown significantly and reached 40% of the population. The British business, put on a half-starvation diet, having lost excess weight, suddenly felt so much better that it rushed at full speed to catch up with competitors who had gotten far ahead.
Having defeated the main disease - inflation and strictly controlled its dynamics, MT was able to cope with complications. Since 1984, Great Britain began to progress and gradually become the very country we know today. Although, of course, there were some mistakes. At some point, the anti-inflationary policy was weakened - and prices began to rise again. Several serious miscalculations were made in tax legislation, which also negatively affected the state of the economy. Foreign policy was not the prime minister's strongest point. But, as we know, only those who do nothing do not make mistakes. She made decisions, performed actions - and was fully responsible for them.
That is why the award of a baronial title to Margaret Thatcher by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992 was perceived in British society as a well-deserved reward.
A lot has been said about the political incarnation of the great MT, but I would like to talk about that side of her life that has never been in the public eye - about her family. What did the Iron Lady look like when she returned to her home after an eventful working day?
Margaret, practically inexperienced in communicating with men, except perhaps for political debates, married a man ten years older, who had a history of unsuccessful marriages and was very wealthy. The question arises: did she need the marriage for herself personally, for Maggie Roberts, and not to strengthen her political image or to gain some additional financial opportunities? A careerist, independent, tough and ambitious, was she, in principle, created for a family?
In 1968, Thatcher told the Daily Telegraph: "If we can't afford full-time help around the house, I'll have to give up my career tomorrow." Do you think it's a game for the public? Hardly.
Throughout her life she proved that she never stooped to falsehood. With her fantastic straightforwardness and extraordinary honesty, MT has won so many enemies, ill-wishers and opponents that it is unlikely that any male politician can compare with her. She wanted to have both a family and a career, and this great woman knows how to achieve her goals.
Margaret Thatcher repeatedly discussed the possibility of combining family and professional responsibilities. Her opinion was clear: yes, this is real. In a 1983 interview with Cosmopolitan, she remarked: “I hope that in the future we will see more and more women combining marriage and career. The prejudice against such a dual role does not only come from men. Much more often, unfortunately, this comes from representatives of our own sex.”
Shedding her Iron Lady mask, Margaret Thatcher was a loving daughter, a loving mother and a loving wife. Both Thatcher herself and her husband spoke little publicly about their personal lives, but one day Denis Thatcher could not resist: “The world and family see Margaret with different eyes. The world calls her the Iron Lady. The children call her what children should call her: Ma. I gave her a different nickname." Of course, like a true English gentleman, he never admitted which one it was. Maybe at least once in her life Margaret received a gentle, warm nickname?
Thatcher's name has in a certain sense become synonymous with toughness and rationality, but at the same time one cannot help but admit that she is surprisingly charming. Who, if not a Frenchman, can appreciate a real woman? It was the Frenchman François Mitterrand who made the statement about Margaret Thatcher that has spread all over the world: “She has the eyes of Caligula, and the lips of Marilyn Monroe.”
At the next Sothby's auction, dolls parodies of the greats of this world were exhibited. Ronald and Nancy Reagan went for 6 thousand pounds sterling, Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones - for 7.5 thousand. The first place was won by a doll of Baroness Thatcher. And although it cost 11 thousand 220 pounds sterling, it’s not even about this fabulous (per doll!) amount. The point is different.
The lady will soon turn 75 years old. A few years ago, she and her husband celebrated their golden wedding. MT has long since moved away from big politics, and recently doctors banned her, the greatest speaker of our time, from public speaking. Micro-strokes are recurring more and more often: alas, the Iron Lady’s health turned out to be not so iron-clad.
Together with the Baroness, as with any truly great person, an entire era passes away. But in fact, the era of Margaret Thatcher does not fade into oblivion, but simply becomes history before our very eyes. Lady Margaret has been accustomed to offensive nicknames since childhood, so she is no longer offended by the unpronounceable name that was practically officially assigned to the era of her reign - the so-called Thatcherism. Unfortunately, this word is often pronounced with a negative connotation, but the big one, as you know, is seen from a distance. There is only one impartial and objective judge - Time.
What is the Baroness thinking about today? She recently spoke about this with one of the biographers. Margaret Thatcher said that, unfortunately or fortunately, for the first time in her life she had so much free time to think and, sitting in a rocking chair in her beautiful garden, she thought about the health of her husband, the well-being of her children and the prosperity of the country. Note, exactly in this - very understandable and very feminine - order!
British-born Margaret Hilda Thatcher became the first woman prime minister in Europe. Despite the fact that during her lifetime Thatcher was often criticized for destabilizing the economy, rising unemployment and the outbreak of the Falklands War, in the memory of most British people the “Iron Lady” remained a bright and talented politician who cared about the well-being of her state.
early years
The future prime minister was born on October 13, 1925 in the city of Grantham. Margaret's father, Alfred Roberts, was a simple grocer, but he was always interested in politics and actively participated in public life. For some time he was a member of the city council, and later even became the mayor of Grantham. It was her father who instilled in Margaret and her older sister Muriel a love of knowledge, determination and perseverance. The Roberts family was distinguished by its religiosity and severity, which later affected the character of the “Iron Lady.”
Margaret grew up a very gifted child. She did well in school and was also involved in sports, music and poetry. In 1943, the girl entered Sommerville College, Oxford University, to study chemistry. Despite the fact that Margaret achieved considerable success in the scientific field, she was always attracted to politics. While still studying, Roberts became a member of the Conservative Party. After receiving her diploma, the girl moved to Colchester, where she continued her social activities and worked for a company that researched food additives.
Career
Margaret stood for federal parliament twice in the early 1950s. Although she failed to get the coveted chair, the press immediately started talking about the new candidate. And it is not surprising, because Margaret was the only woman on the list of those elected. At the same time, she met her future husband, Denis Thatcher, also an active public figure.
In order to increase her chances of winning the next elections, Margaret Thatcher decided to get another education. So she became the owner of a lawyer's diploma. From 1953 to 1959, Thatcher practiced law, specializing primarily in tax matters. The break in the struggle for a seat in parliament was also due to the fact that in 1953 Thatcher became the mother of twins, Mark and Carol.
In 1959 Margaret finally became a member of the House of Commons. Her male colleagues tried to challenge and ridicule many of Thatcher’s statements. In the early years of her political career, the “Iron Lady” advocated:
- Tax reduction;
- State assistance to the poor;
- Legalization of abortion;
- Stopping persecution of sexual minorities;
- Reducing government intervention in the market economy.
Subsequently, Thatcher had to reconsider her views on the social policy of the state and herself initiate a number of very unpopular reforms among the British.
Between 1961 and 1979 Margaret Thatcher:
- She was Deputy Minister of Pensions and Social Insurance;
- She traveled to the United States several times as an ambassador;
- She was a member of the opposition government;
- She served as Minister of Education and Science;
- She led the Conservative Party.
In the spring of 1979, the Conservatives won the parliamentary elections, which meant the appointment of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. Thatcher lasted three whole terms in her high position. However, due to a number of tough measures aimed at developing a market economy and reducing social programs, the prime minister gradually lost the support of the population and her party. In 1990, Thatcher resigned. For some time she continued to participate in British public life. However, as her health deteriorated, Thatcher appeared less and less at important government events. On April 8, 2013, at the age of 87, the “Iron Lady” died of a stroke.
During Thatcher's premiership, Great Britain had to face many trials: conflicts with former colonies, the aggravation of the situation in Northern Ireland, workers' strikes and a new round of the Cold War. Thatcher responded to every new challenge posed to England with her characteristic toughness and straightforwardness. Despite the fact that many of her activities were not understood by her contemporaries, the main goal of the “Iron Lady” was always the prosperity of her native country.
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Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher(eng. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher; née Roberts; 13 October 1925, Grantham - 8 April 2013, London) - 71st Prime Minister of Great Britain (UK Conservative Party) in 1979-1990, leader of the Conservative Party in 1975-1990, Baroness since 1992. The first woman to hold this post, as well as the first woman to become prime minister of a European state. Thatcher's premiership was the longest in the 20th century. Having received the nickname “Iron Lady” for her sharp criticism of the Soviet leadership, she implemented a number of conservative measures that became part of the policy of the so-called “Thatcherism”.
As head of government, she introduced political and economic reforms to reverse what she saw as the country's decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies were based on deregulation, especially of the financial system, providing a flexible labor market, privatizing state-owned companies and reducing the influence of trade unions. Thatcher's high popularity during the early years of her reign declined due to the recession and high unemployment, but increased again during the 1982 Falklands War and economic growth that led to her re-election in 1983.
Thatcher was re-elected for a third time in 1987, but her proposed poll tax and views on Britain's role in the European Union were unpopular among her government. After Michael Heseltine challenged her leadership of the party, Thatcher was forced to resign as party leader and prime minister.
Early life and education
Margaret Roberts was born on October 13, 1925. Father - Alfred Roberts, originally from Northamptonshire, mother - Beatrice Ithel (nee Stephenson) (1888-1960) originally from Lincolnshire, dressmaker. One of the grandfathers is a shoemaker, the other is a switchman. She spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned two grocery stores. Together with her older sister, Muriel was raised in an apartment above one of her father's grocery stores, located near the railroad. Margaret's father took an active part in local politics and the life of the religious community, being a member of the municipal council and a Methodist pastor. For this reason, his daughters were raised in strict Methodist traditions. Alfred himself was born into a family of liberal views, however, as was then customary in local government, he was non-partisan. He was mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946, and in 1952, after the Labor Party's landslide victory in the 1950 municipal elections, which gave the party its first majority on Grantham Council, he ceased to be an alderman.
Roberts attended Huntingtower Road Primary School before winning a scholarship to Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School. Reports on Margaret's academic progress indicate the student's diligence and constant work on self-improvement. She took elective classes in playing the piano, field hockey, swimming and race walking, and poetry courses. In 1942-1943 she was a senior student. In her final year of university prep school, she applied for a scholarship to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford University. Although she was initially rejected, after the refusal of another applicant, Margaret still managed to receive a scholarship. In 1943 she came to Oxford and in 1947, after four years of studying chemistry, she graduated with second class honors, becoming a Bachelor of Science. In her final year of study, she worked in the laboratory of Dorothy Hodgkin, where she was involved in X-ray diffraction analysis of the antibiotic gramicidin C.
Beginning of a political career
In 1946, Roberts became chair of the Oxford University Conservative Party Association. The greatest influence on her political views during her university years was Friedrich von Hayek's The Road to Serfdom (1944), which viewed government intervention in the country's economy as a precursor to the authoritarian state.
After graduating from university, Roberts moved to Colchester in Essex, England, where she worked as a research chemist for the company BX Plastics. At the same time she joined the local Conservative Party association and took part in the 1948 Llandudno party conference as a representative of the Conservative Alumni Association. One of Margaret's Oxford friends was also a friend of the chairman of the Dartford Conservative Party Association in Kent, which was looking for candidates for the election. The association's chairmen were so impressed with Margaret that they persuaded her to take part in the election, although she herself was not on the approved list of Conservative Party candidates: Margaret was not elected as a candidate until January 1951 and was included on the electoral list. At a celebration dinner following her official confirmation as the Conservative Party candidate in Dartford in February 1951, Roberts met successful and wealthy divorced businessman Denis Thatcher. In preparation for the election, she moved to Dartford, where she took a job as a research chemist with J. Lyons and Co., developing emulsifiers used in the production of ice cream.
At the general elections of February 1950 and October 1951, Roberts contested the Dartford constituency, where Labor had traditionally won. As the youngest candidate and the only woman to run, she attracted media attention. Despite losing to Norman Dodds in both cases, Margaret managed to reduce Labor support among the electorate, first by 6,000 votes, and then by a further 1,000 votes. During the election campaign, she was supported by her parents, as well as by Denis Thatcher, whom she married in December 1951. Denis also helped his wife become a member of the bar association; in 1953 she became a barrister specializing in tax matters. In the same year, twins were born into the family - daughter Carol and son Mark.
Member of parliament
In the mid-1950s, Thatcher renewed her bid for a seat in Parliament. She failed to become the Conservative Party candidate for Orpington in 1955, but became a candidate for Finchley in April 1958. In the 1959 elections, Thatcher nevertheless won during a difficult election campaign, becoming a member of the House of Commons, which she remained until 1992. In her first speech as a parliamentarian, she spoke in support of the Public Authorities Act, requiring local councils to make their meetings public , and in 1961 refused to support the official position of the Conservative Party, voting to restore the punishment of caning.
In October 1961, Thatcher was nominated to serve as Parliamentary Undersecretary for Pensions and National Insurance in Harold Macmillan's cabinet. After the defeat of the Conservative Party in the 1964 parliamentary elections, she became the party's spokesman on housing and land ownership issues, defending the right of tenants to buy out council housing. In 1966, Thatcher became a member of the Treasury's shadow team and, as a delegate, opposed Labour's proposed mandatory price and income controls, arguing that they would be counterproductive and ruin the country's economy.
At the 1966 Conservative Party conference she criticized the Labor government's high tax policies. In her opinion it was “not just a step on the path to socialism, but a step on the path to communism”. Thatcher emphasized the need to keep taxes low as an incentive to work hard. She was also one of the few members of the House of Commons to support decriminalization of homosexuals and voted to legalize abortion and ban sighted hare hunting with greyhounds. In addition, Thatcher supported maintaining the death penalty and voted against weakening the divorce law.
In 1967, she was selected by the US Embassy in London to participate in the International Visits Program, which gave Thatcher a unique professional exchange opportunity to visit US cities for six weeks, meet with various political figures and visit international organizations such as the IMF. A year later, Margaret became a member of the Shadow Cabinet of the official opposition, overseeing issues related to the fuel sector. Just before the 1970 general election she worked on transport and then education.
Minister of Education and Science (1970-1974)
From 1970 to 1974, Margaret Thatcher was Minister of Education and Science in Edward Heath's cabinet.
In the parliamentary elections of 1970, the Conservative Party under the leadership of Edward Heath won. In the new government, Thatcher was appointed Minister of Education and Science. During her first months in office, Margaret attracted public attention for her efforts to cut costs in this area. She prioritized academic needs in schools and reduced spending on the public education system, resulting in the elimination of free milk for schoolchildren aged seven to eleven. At the same time, the supply of one-third pint milk to younger children was maintained. Thatcher's policies caused a storm of criticism from the Labor Party and the media, who called Margaret "Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher"(translated from English - "Margaret Thatcher, the Milk Thief"). In her autobiography, Thatcher later wrote: “I learned a valuable lesson. She incurred the maximum amount of political hatred for the minimum amount of political gain.”.
Thatcher's tenure as Minister of Education and Science was also marked by proposals for more active closure of literacy schools by local education authorities and the introduction of a single secondary education. Overall, although Margaret intended to maintain literacy schools, the proportion of pupils attending comprehensive secondary schools increased from 32 to 62%.
Leader of the Opposition (1975-1979)
After a number of difficulties faced by the Heath government during 1973 (oil crisis, trade union demands for higher wages), the Conservative Party was defeated by Labor in the parliamentary elections of February 1974. At the next general election, held in October 1974, the Conservatives' result was even worse. Against the backdrop of declining support for the party among the population, Thatcher entered the race for the post of chairman of the Conservative Party. Promising to carry out party reforms, she enlisted the support of the so-called 1922 Committee, uniting conservative members of Parliament. In the 1975 election for party chairman, Thatcher defeated Heath in the first round of voting, who was forced to resign. In the second round, she defeated William Whitelaw, who was considered Heath's preferred successor, and on February 11, 1975, she officially became chairman of the Conservative Party, appointing Whitelaw as her deputy.
After her election, Thatcher began regularly attending official dinners at the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank founded by the tycoon and student of Friedrich von Hayek, Anthony Fischer. Participation in these meetings significantly influenced her views, which were now shaped by the ideas of Ralph Harris and Arthur Seldon. As a result, Thatcher became the face of an ideological movement that opposed the idea of the welfare state. The institute's brochures offered the following recipe for the recovery of the British economy: less government intervention in the economy, lower taxes and more freedom for entrepreneurs and consumers.
The Russians are bent on world domination, and they are rapidly acquiring the funds necessary to establish themselves as the most powerful imperial state the world has ever seen. People in the Soviet Politburo need not worry about rapid changes in public opinion. They chose guns over butter, while for us almost everything else is more important than guns.
In response to this, the newspaper of the USSR Ministry of Defense “Red Star” published an article entitled “The Iron Lady is terrifying...” (January 24, 1976). In it, the author wrote that “they call her the iron lady... in her own country.” (In fact, in Great Britain Margaret Thatcher was originally called differently. For example, on February 5, 1975, in the London newspaper The Daily Mirror, an article about Thatcher was called “The Iron Maiden.”). Soon the translation of this nickname in the English newspaper “The Sunday Times” as "The Iron Lady" firmly entrenched in Margaret.
Despite the recovery of the British economy in the late 1970s, the Labor government was faced with public anxiety about the country's future path, as well as a series of strikes in the winter of 1978-1979 (this chapter in British history became known as the "Winter of Discontent"). The Conservatives, in turn, launched regular attacks on Labour, primarily blaming them for record levels of unemployment. After James Callaghan's government received a vote of no confidence in early 1979, early parliamentary elections were called in Great Britain.
The Conservatives built their campaign promises around economic issues, arguing for the need for privatization and liberal reforms. They promised to fight inflation and weaken trade unions, since the strikes they organized were causing significant damage to the economy.
Premiership
Domestic policy
In the elections of May 3, 1979, the Conservatives won decisively, receiving 43.9% of the vote and 339 seats in the House of Commons (Labor received 36.9% of the vote and 269 seats in the House of Commons), and on May 4, Thatcher became the first woman prime minister. Great Britain. In this post, Thatcher made vigorous efforts to reform the British economy and society as a whole.
In the 1983 parliamentary elections, Thatcher's Conservatives received the support of 42.43% of voters, while Labor received only 27.57% of the vote. This was also facilitated by the crisis in the Labor Party, which proposed a further increase in government spending, restoring the public sector to its previous size and increasing taxes on the rich. In addition, there was a split in the party, and an influential part of the Labor Party (“Gang of Four”) founded the Social Democratic Party, which competed in these elections together with the Liberal Party. Finally, factors such as the aggressiveness of neoliberal ideology, the populism of Thatcherism, the radicalization of trade unions, and the Falklands War played against Labor.
In the 1987 parliamentary elections, the Conservatives won again, receiving 42.3% of the vote against Labor's 30.83%. This was due to the fact that Thatcher, thanks to the tough and unpopular measures she took in the economic and social sphere, managed to achieve stable economic growth. Foreign investments that began to actively flow into the UK contributed to the modernization of production and an increase in the competitiveness of manufactured products. At the same time, the Thatcher government for a long time managed to keep inflation at a very low level. In addition, by the end of the 80s, thanks to the measures taken, the unemployment rate was significantly reduced.
Particular attention from the media was paid to the relationship between the Prime Minister and the Queen, with whom weekly meetings were held to discuss current political issues. In July 1986, a British newspaper Sunday Times published an article in which the author argued that there were disagreements between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street on "a wide range of issues relating to domestic and foreign policy". In response to this article, the Queen's representatives issued an official denial, dismissing any possibility of a constitutional crisis in Britain. After Thatcher left the post of Prime Minister, those around Elizabeth II continued to call “nonsense” any allegations that the Queen and the Prime Minister were in conflict with each other. The former prime minister subsequently wrote: “I always thought the Queen’s attitude towards the work of the Government was completely correct ... the stories about the contradictions between “two powerful women” were too good not to invent them.”.
Economics and taxation
Thatcher's economic policy was significantly influenced by the ideas of monetarism and the work of economists such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek. Together with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Geoffrey Howe, Thatcher pursued policies aimed at reducing direct taxes on income and increasing indirect taxes, including value added tax. In order to reduce the rate of inflation and the volume of money supply, the discount rate was increased. In turn, extremely unpopular measures were used to combat the budget deficit: subsidies to the remaining state-owned enterprises were reduced, assistance to depressed regions was reduced, and spending on the social sphere (education and housing and communal services) was reduced. Cuts in spending on higher education led to Thatcher becoming the first post-war British Prime Minister to graduate from Oxford University without receiving an honorary doctorate from the university (not only were students opposed to this, but the governing council also voted against it). The urban technology colleges she created were not very successful. To control education costs through the opening and closing of schools, the Consolidated Schools Agency was established, which the Social Market Fund said benefited "unusually dictatorial powers".
Some members of the Conservative Party, supporters of Edward Heath, who were part of the Cabinet, did not share Thatcher’s policies. After the English riots of 1981, the British media spoke openly about the need for fundamental changes in the country's economic course. However, at the 1980 Conservative Party Conference, Thatcher openly stated: “Turn if you want. The lady doesn't turn!"
In December 1980, Thatcher's approval rating dropped to 23%, the lowest ever for a British prime minister. As the economy worsened and the recession deepened in the early 1980s, Thatcher raised taxes despite concerns from leading economists.
By 1982, there were positive changes in the UK economy, indicating its recovery: the inflation rate dropped from 18% to 8.6%. However, for the first time since the 1930s, the number of unemployed people was over 3 million. By 1983, economic growth accelerated, and inflation and mortgage rates reached their lowest levels since 1970. Despite this, production fell by 30% compared to 1970, and the number of unemployed reached its peak in 1984 - 3.3 million people.
By 1987, the country's unemployment rate had dropped, the economy had stabilized, and inflation rates were relatively low. An important role in supporting the UK economy was played by revenues from a 90% tax on North Sea oil, which were also actively used to implement reforms during the 1980s.
Opinion polls showed that the Conservative Party enjoyed the greatest support among the population, and the Conservatives' successful local council election results prompted Thatcher to call parliamentary elections for June 11, although the deadline for holding them was not until 12 months later. According to the election results, Margaret retained the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain for a third term.
During her third prime ministerial term, Thatcher carried out a tax reform, the revenue from which went to the budgets of local governments: instead of a tax based on the nominal rental value of a house, the so-called “community tax” (poll tax) was introduced, which was supposed to remain in the same amount pay every adult resident of the house. This type of tax was introduced in Scotland in 1989, and in England and Wales in 1990. Reforming the tax system became one of the most unpopular measures during Thatcher's premiership. Public discontent resulted in large demonstrations in London on March 31, 1990, in which about 70 thousand people took part. Demonstrations in Trafalgar Square eventually turned into riots, during which 113 people were injured and 340 people were arrested. Extreme public dissatisfaction with the tax led Thatcher's successor, John Major, to repeal it.
Privatization
The policy of privatization became an integral part of the so-called “Thatcherism”. After the 1983 elections, sales of state-owned enterprises into the utility market accelerated. In total, the government raised more than £29 billion from the sale of state-owned industrial enterprises (for example, the two-stage privatization of aircraft and industrial engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce brought in £1.6 billion), and another £18 billion from the sale of council houses.
The process of privatization, especially of unprofitable state-owned industrial enterprises, contributed to the improvement of a number of indicators of these enterprises, especially labor productivity. A number of enterprises in the field of natural gas production, water supply and electricity supply were privatized, which, however, remained natural monopolies, so their privatization could not lead to competition in the market. Despite the fact that Thatcher always opposed the privatization of the railway, believing that it would be for the British government what Waterloo was for Napoleon I, shortly before her resignation she agreed to the privatization of British Rail, which was implemented by her successor in 1994 A number of companies that were privatized showed good performance even under state control. British Steel, for example, significantly improved its productivity while remaining a state-owned enterprise controlled by a government-appointed chairman, Ian McGregor, who over the years faced intense trade union backlash over plant closures and job cuts. To compensate for the loss of direct government control over privatized enterprises, the UK government significantly expanded regulation of this industry, creating regulators such as the Gas Regulatory Authority, the Department of Telecommunications and the National Rivers Authority.
Overall, the results of privatization were mixed, although consumers benefited from lower prices and improved productivity. In addition, thanks to mass privatization, many Britons became shareholders, which formed the basis of “people's capitalism”.
The privatization of public assets was accompanied by financial deregulation to support economic growth. Geoffrey Howe abolished foreign exchange regulations in 1979, allowing greater capital investment in foreign markets. And the so-called “Big Shock” of 1986 led to the lifting of most restrictions on the London Stock Exchange. The Thatcher government supported growth in the financial and service sectors to offset depressed industrial trends. According to political economist Susan Strange, these policies led to the formation of "casino capitalism", as a result of which speculation and financial trading began to play a more important role in the country's economy than industrial production.
Labor Relations
During her premiership, Thatcher actively fought against the influence of trade unions, which, in her opinion, had a negative impact on parliamentary democracy and economic results due to regular strikes. Margaret's first prime ministerial term was marked by a number of strikes organized by part of the trade unions in response to new legislation that limited their powers. In 1981, there were serious riots in Brixton, which were associated with rising unemployment, but the Thatcher government did not soften its economic policies, which were the cause of rising unemployment. Ultimately, the confrontation between trade unions and the government ended in vain. Only 39% of trade unionists voted for the Labor Party in the 1983 parliamentary elections. According to the BBC, Thatcher "succeeded in driving the trade unions out of power for almost a generation."
During her second prime ministerial term, Thatcher, without making any concessions in her policies, continued to pursue the previous economic course, and also began a more active fight against the influence of trade unions: laws were passed banning coercion to join a trade union, banning “solidarity strikes”, mandatory advance warning to employers about the start of a strike and mandatory secret voting to decide on the start of a strike. In addition, the “closed shop” rule on preferential employment of members of the leading trade union at a given enterprise, as well as agreements with trade unions on a guaranteed minimum wage, were abolished. Representatives of trade unions were also excluded from advisory government commissions on economic and social policy.
Although Thatcher's efforts were aimed at preventing mass strikes, which had become common in Britain, she convinced the British that these measures would help to increase the democracy of trade unions. However, together with significant cuts in privatized unprofitable enterprises and a rapid increase in unemployment, this policy resulted in major strikes.
The 1984-1985 miners' strike was the largest confrontation between trade unions and the British government. In March 1984, the National Coal Authority proposed closing 20 of the 174 state-owned mines and cutting 20,000 jobs (totaling 187,000 people in the industry). Two-thirds of the country's miners, under the leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers, declared a nationwide strike, and in the summer, transport and metallurgy workers joined the miners. The strike spread throughout the country and affected many sectors of the economy. Thatcher refused to accept the strikers' conditions and compared the miners' claims to the Falklands conflict, which happened two years before these events: “We had to fight the enemy outside the country, in the Falkland Islands. We must always be aware of the enemy within the country, which is more difficult to fight and which poses a greater danger to freedom.". A year after the strike began, in March 1985, the National Union of Mineworkers was forced to retreat. The damage to the country's economy from these events was estimated at at least £1.5 billion. In addition, the strikes caused a sharp fall in the exchange rate of the pound sterling against the US dollar. The UK government closed 25 unprofitable mines in 1985, and by 1992 the number was 97. The remaining mines were privatized. The subsequent closure of another 150 coal mines, some of which were unprofitable, resulted in tens of thousands of people losing their jobs.
As we know, the miners contributed to the resignation of Prime Minister Heath, so Thatcher was determined to succeed where he had failed. To minimize the impact of the strike, the British government increased oil production in the North Sea and increased oil imports, also ensured that those who did not join the strikers for fear of losing their jobs were provided with work, and turned public opinion against the strikers and trade unions. The strategy of creating national reserves of combustible fuel, the appointment of Ian MacGregor as the head of the national coal industry, who led the fight against trade unions, as well as preparations for possible strikes and mutinies of the British police made a significant contribution to Thatcher's victory over the trade unions. The government's actions resulted in the end of the strike in 1985.
In 1979, the number of strikes in the UK reached its peak (4,583 strikes, more than 29 million lost working days). In 1984, the year of the miners' strikes, there were 1,221 strikes in the country. In the subsequent years of Thatcher's premiership, the number of strikes fell steadily: in 1990 there were already 630. The number of trade union members also fell: from 13.5 million in 1979 to 10 million in 1990 (the year Thatcher resigned).
To combat growing unemployment, the Thatcher government also revised the system of assistance to the unemployed: social assistance was cut, government rent regulation was removed, part-time work, earlier retirement, professional retraining for more in-demand specialties, and relocation to less prosperous regions of the country were encouraged. In addition, the development of small businesses was stimulated. Despite significant levels of unemployment in the early and mid-1980s, many industrial enterprises were able to significantly improve their competitiveness by reducing costs by moving away from traditional post-war full employment policies. In turn, this contributed to economic growth.
Social sphere
Thatcher's neo-conservative policies affected not only the economic, financial and labor relations spheres, but also the social sphere, to which the country's government sought to extend the same principles and use an identical strategy - cost cutting, privatization and deregulation. Such a policy made it possible, on the one hand, to spread elements of the market in this area, and on the other hand, to strengthen control over it by the central government.
Education
In the early years of Thatcher's premiership, education was not the main priority for the government, which was more occupied with the fight against inflation and trade unions, but already in 1981, after the appointment of Joseph Keith as Minister of Education, a turn in policy was outlined, which reflected Thatcher's desire to take control of control the activities of educational institutions and at the same time apply market laws to them, according to which the strongest survive, that is, the schools that are most popular.
Among Thatcher's important achievements in this area was the introduction of so-called area grant schemes, under which pupils' education could be paid in part or in full by public funds. This allowed talented children from poor families to attend private schools, where tuition was paid. In addition, parents of students were given the right to independently determine the place of education of their children, and not to send them to the schools to which they were assigned, and also to be members of the governing councils of schools.
The Education Reform Act of 1988 in the UK introduced national curricula, which were based on the idea that students would receive a similar education regardless of the type of school or its location. "Core subjects" were identified, which included English, mathematics and science, as well as "fundamental subjects" - history, geography, technology, music, art and physics. Compulsory study of a foreign language was introduced in secondary school.
Serious measures were taken by Thatcher to reduce the role and independence of local educational authorities, which were involved in the financial management of schools. Instead, finances were transferred to the control of managers, among whom were many parents of students.
The 1988 law also introduced a new type of secondary education institution - city technological colleges, which received financial support from the state (while also being financed by private sponsors and charitable contributions). Education at these colleges was free.
Healthcare
During Thatcher's premiership, the AIDS epidemic emerged, but initially the government remained indifferent to this issue. The topic of HIV was raised only in 1984, when the question of the need to ensure the safety of donor blood arose. As a result, during the period from 1984 to 1985, the AIDS problem developed primarily in the context of blood transfusion and the fight against drug addiction.
The unpopularity of this topic within the British government was due to several reasons. First, there was a perception that the new virus was spreading primarily among homosexuals and, to a lesser extent, among marginalized groups, so it posed little threat to the majority of the country's citizens. Secondly, the Conservative Party sought to contrast itself with Labor, which supported the rights of sexual minorities. This was largely due to the conservatives' commitment to more conservative views on family relationships and family values. Based on this, in 1986 the Ministry of Education launched a campaign in schools against the promotion of positive images of homosexuality, and in 1988 a famous amendment to the Local Government Act was passed, which ordered local authorities “not to permit the promotion of homosexuality or materials for the purpose of homosexuality.” encouragement,” and also “prevent materials about the acceptability of homosexuality from being taught in schools.”
At the same time, the new AIDS policy adopted in 1986, which consisted of distributing sex education among the population as the only effective way to combat the epidemic, assumed cooperation and participation in its implementation of groups at greatest risk, primarily the LGBT community. Thus, by this time the government was more likely to adhere to a strategy of preventive measures (calling for the use of condoms, disposable syringes), rather than a policy of punishment or alienation of the main risk groups, although it supported the image of homosexuality as an abnormal phenomenon. To a large extent, this change in policy was caused by the fear of an AIDS epidemic among heterosexual couples, as well as scientific publications by American specialists.
However, already in 1989, as anxiety in society about the AIDS epidemic subsided, another change in policy on this issue occurred. Thatcher, convinced that the problem was being exaggerated, dissolved the special AIDS unit at the Ministry of Health and also refused to fund academic research into sexual behavior. As a result, the media again began to write about this problem as a problem of the LGBT community, rather than traditional sexual couples.
Northern Ireland problem
In 1981, representatives of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army, who were serving prison terms in Northern Ireland's Maze prison, went on a hunger strike, demanding that they be restored to the status of political prisoners, which they had been deprived of by the previous Labor government. The hunger strike was started by Bobby Sands, who said that he was ready to starve to death if the government did not improve the conditions of his cellmates serving their sentences. However, Thatcher refused to make concessions. According to her, “crimes are crimes, and there is no political aspect in this case”. However, the British government held secret negotiations with republican leaders in an attempt to end the hunger strike. After the death of Sands and nine other prisoners, who starved for 46 to 73 days, Irish nationalist prisoners were given equal rights with other prisoners - members of armed groups, but Thatcher categorically refused to give them political status. The hunger strike led to an escalation of violence in Northern Ireland, and in 1982 Sinn Féin politician Danny Morrison called Thatcher "the greatest bastard we've ever known"(English: the biggest bastard we have ever known).
On 12 October 1984, the Irish Republican Army attacked Thatcher with a bomb at a Brighton hotel during the Conservative conference. As a result of the terrorist attack, five people were killed, including the wife of one of the members of the Cabinet of Ministers. Thatcher herself was unharmed and opened the party conference the next day. As planned, she gave a presentation, which attracted support from political circles and increased her popularity among the public.
On November 6, 1981, Thatcher and Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald established the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council, which included regular meetings between representatives of both governments. On November 15, 1985, Thatcher and Fitzgerald signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle, according to which the reunification of Ireland was to occur only if the majority of the population of Northern Ireland supported this idea. In addition, for the first time in history, the British government provided the Irish Republic with an advisory role in the governance of Northern Ireland. It called for an intergovernmental conference of Irish and British officials to discuss political and other issues relating to Northern Ireland, with the Irish Republic representing the interests of Northern Irish Catholics.
The signed agreement aroused sharp criticism from unionists, who represented predominantly the interests of the Protestant population and advocated the preservation of Ulster within Great Britain and against Irish interference in the affairs of Northern Ireland. Democratic Unionist deputy leader Peter Robinson even called him "an act of political prostitution". More than 100 thousand people joined the protest campaign under the slogan “Ulster says no,” led by unionists.
Conservative MP Ian Gow resigned as Minister of State at the Treasury and all 15 Unionist members of the House of Commons resigned; only one of them returned as a result of the parliamentary by-elections that followed on January 23, 1983.
Foreign policy
In foreign policy, Thatcher was guided by the United States and supported Ronald Reagan's initiatives towards the USSR, which both politicians viewed with distrust. During her first term as prime minister, she supported NATO's decision to deploy ground-launched BGM-109G missiles and short-range Pershing 1A missiles in Western Europe, and also authorized the US military, starting November 14, 1983, to deploy more than 160 cruise missiles on at the US air force base Greenham Common, located in Berkshire, England, which caused mass protests from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. In addition, Great Britain under Thatcher purchased Trident missiles worth more than £12 billion (in 1996-1997 prices) for installation on its SSBNs, which were supposed to replace the Polaris missiles. As a result, the country's nuclear forces tripled.
Thus, in matters of defense, the British government relied entirely on the United States. The “Westland case” received significant publicity in January 1986. Thatcher made every effort to ensure that the national helicopter manufacturer Westland rejected a merger proposal from the Italian company Agusta in favor of an offer from the American company Sikorsky Aircraft. Subsequently, British Secretary of State for Defense Michael Heseltine, who supported the Agusta deal, resigned.
On April 2, 1982, Argentine troops landed on the British Falkland Islands, triggering the outbreak of the Falklands War. The ensuing crisis, as history has shown, became a key event in the years of his premiership. At the suggestion of Harold Macmillan and Robert Armstrong, Thatcher became the creator and chairman of the war cabinet, which by April 5-6 set the British Navy the task of regaining control of the islands. On June 14, the Argentine military surrendered, and the military operation ended in success for the British side, although 255 British soldiers and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the conflict. The Argentine side lost 649 people (of which 323 people died as a result of the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano by a British nuclear submarine). During the conflict, Thatcher was criticized for neglecting the defense of the Falkland Islands, as well as for the decision to sink the General Belgrano. Nevertheless, Thatcher was able to use all military and diplomatic options to restore British sovereignty over the islands. This policy was welcomed by the British, which significantly strengthened the shaky position of the Conservatives and Thatcher's leadership in the party before the 1983 parliamentary elections. Thanks to the Falklands factor, the economic recovery of early 1982 and divisions among Labor, the Conservative Party led by Thatcher managed to win the election.
Thatcher, unlike many Conservatives, was cool to the idea of further deepening European integration. In 1988, in a speech in Bruges, she opposed EEC initiatives to increase centralization in decision-making and create federal structures. Although Thatcher was generally in favor of Britain's membership in the integration association, she believed that the organization's role should be limited to issues of ensuring free trade and effective competition. Despite the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson and Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe, Margaret was strongly opposed to the country's participation in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the forerunner of the European Monetary Union, believing that it would impose restrictions on the British economy. However, John Major managed to convince Thatcher, and in October 1990, Great Britain became a participant in the mechanism.
The role of the British Commonwealth diminished under Thatcher. Thatcher's disappointment in this organization was explained by the increased, from her point of view, interest of the Commonwealth in resolving the situation in southern Africa on terms that did not meet the demands of British conservatives. Thatcher saw the Commonwealth only as a useful structure for negotiations, which were of little value.
Thatcher was one of the first among Western politicians to positively assess the reformist sentiments of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom she first negotiated in London in December 1984. Her phrase about Gorbachev after these negotiations is known: “You can deal with this man.” Back in November 1988 - a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the East European socialist regimes - Thatcher for the first time openly declared the end of the Cold War: "We are no longer in a Cold War", because “the new relationship is wider than ever”. In 1985, Thatcher visited the Soviet Union and met with Mikhail Gorbachev and Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers Nikolai Ryzhkov. Initially, she opposed the possible unification of Germany. According to her, this “will lead to a change in the post-war borders, and we cannot allow this, since such a development of events will call into question the stability of the entire international situation and may threaten our security”. In addition, Thatcher feared that a united Germany would cooperate more with the USSR, relegating NATO to the background. At the same time, the Prime Minister supported the independence of Croatia and Slovenia.
Resignation
During the election for chairman of the Conservative Party in 1989, Thatcher's rival was a little-known member of the House of Commons, Anthony Mayer. Of the 374 members of Parliament who were members of the Conservative Party and had the right to vote, 314 people voted for Thatcher, while 33 people voted for Mayer. Her supporters within the party considered the result a success and rejected any claims that there were divisions within the party.
During her premiership, Thatcher had the second lowest average level of popular support (around 40%) of any post-war British prime minister. Opinion polls suggested that her popularity was below that of the Conservative Party. However, the self-confident Thatcher always insisted that she was of little interest in various ratings, pointing to record support during the parliamentary elections.
According to public opinion polls conducted in September 1990, Labor's rating was 14% higher than that of the Conservatives, and by November the Conservatives were already 18% behind Labor. The above ratings, as well as Thatcher's combative personality and her disregard for the opinions of her colleagues, became the cause of disagreements within the Conservative Party. In the end, it was the party that was the first to get rid of Margaret Thatcher.
On 1 November 1990, Geoffrey Howe, the last of Thatcher's first 1979 Cabinet, resigned as Deputy Prime Minister after Thatcher refused to agree on a timetable for Britain to join the single European currency.
The next day, Michael Heseltine announced his desire to lead the Conservative Party. According to opinion polls, it was his personality that could help the Conservatives overtake Labor. Although Thatcher managed to take first place in the first round of voting, Heseltine secured enough votes (152 votes) to force a second round. Margaret initially intended to continue the fight to the bitter end in the second round, but after consultation with the Cabinet she decided to withdraw from the election. After an audience with the Queen and her final speech in the House of Commons, Thatcher resigned as prime minister. She considered her removal from office to be a betrayal.
The position of Prime Minister of Great Britain and Chairman of the Conservative Party passed to John Major, under whose leadership the Conservative Party managed to win the 1992 parliamentary elections.
After resignation
After leaving the post of Prime Minister, Thatcher served as Member of the House of Commons for Finchley for two years. In 1992, at the age of 66, she decided to leave the British Parliament, which, in her opinion, gave her the opportunity to more openly express her opinions on certain events.
After leaving the House of Commons
After leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher became the first former British prime minister to establish the fund. In 2005, due to financial difficulties, it was closed. Thatcher wrote two volumes of memoirs: "The Downing Street Years"(1993) and "The Path to Power" (1995).
In July 1992, Margaret was hired by a tobacco company "Philip Morris" as "geopolitical consultant" with a salary of $250,000 and an annual contribution of $250,000 to her fund. In addition, she received $50,000 for each public appearance.
In August 1992, Thatcher called on NATO to stop the Serb massacres in the Bosnian cities of Gorazde and Sarajevo, ending the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian War. She compared the situation in Bosnia with "the worst extremes of the Nazis", saying that the situation in the region could become a new Holocaust. Thatcher also spoke in the House of Lords criticizing the Maastricht Treaty, which she said "she would never sign".
Against the background of growing interest of Western oil companies in the energy resources of the Caspian Sea, in September 1992, Thatcher visited Baku, where she took part in the signing of an agreement on the assessment development of the Chirag and Shahdeniz fields between the Government of Azerbaijan and the companies - British Petroleum and Norwegian Statoil.
From 1993 to 2000, Thatcher was Honorary Chancellor of the College of William and Mary in the US state of Virginia, and from 1992 to 1999, Honorary Chancellor of the University of Buckingham (the first private university in the UK, which she founded in 1975).
Following the election of Tony Blair as chairman of the Labor Party in 1994, Thatcher named him "the most dangerous Labor leader since Hugh Gaitskell".
In 1998, following the arrest by Spanish authorities of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to stand trial for massive human rights abuses, Thatcher called for his release, citing his support for Britain during the Falklands conflict. In 1999, she visited a former politician who was under house arrest in a London suburb. Pinochet was released by Home Secretary Jack Straw in March 2000 for medical reasons.
During the 2001 parliamentary elections, Thatcher supported the Conservatives, although she did not approve the candidacy of Ian Duncan Smith for the post of leader of the Conservative Party, as was the case with John Major and William Hague. However, immediately after the election she gave preference to Duncan Smith over Kenneth Clarke.
In March 2002, Thatcher published a book "The Art of Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World", which she dedicated to Ronald Reagan (the book was also published in Russian). In it, Margaret expressed her position on a number of international political events and processes. She argued that there would be no peace in the Middle East until Saddam Hussein was overthrown; wrote about the need for Israel to sacrifice territory in exchange for peace, the utopianism of the European Union. In her opinion, Britain needs to reconsider the terms of its membership in the EU or even leave the integration entity by joining NAFTA.
After 2002
On June 11, 2004, Thatcher attended the funeral of Ronald Reagan. Due to health problems, a video recording of her funeral speech was made in advance. Then Thatcher, along with Reagan's entourage, went to California, where she attended a memorial service and burial ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Thatcher at a memorial service marking the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. On the right - Dick Cheney and his wife
Margaret celebrated her 80th birthday on October 13, 2005 at a London hotel. Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Guests included Elizabeth II, Philip of Edinburgh, Alexandra of Kent and Tony Blair. Geoffrey Howe, who also attended the celebrations, said that “her real triumph transformed not only one, but both parties, so when Labor returned to power, most of the principles of Thatcherism were taken for granted by them”.
In 2006, Thatcher attended the official memorial service in Washington DC for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as a guest of Dick Cheney. During the visit, Margaret met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In February 2007, Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister to have a monument erected in the British Parliament during her lifetime (the official opening took place on February 21, 2007 in the presence of the former politician). A bronze statue with an outstretched right hand is located opposite the statue of Thatcher's political idol, Winston Churchill. Thatcher made a short speech in the House of Commons, saying that “I would rather prefer an iron statue, but bronze will do too... It won’t rust”.
At the end of November 2009, Thatcher briefly returned to 10 Downing Street to present to the public her official portrait by artist Richard Stone (who also created portraits of Elizabeth II and her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon). This event was a manifestation of special respect for the former prime minister, who was still alive.
In 2002, Thatcher suffered several mini-strokes, after which the doctor advised her to refuse to participate in public events and withdraw from social and political activities. After collapsing during lunch in the House of Commons on 7 March 2008, she was taken to St Thomas' Hospital in central London. In June 2009, she was hospitalized due to a broken arm. From 2005 until the end of her life she suffered from dementia (senile dementia).
At the 2010 Conservative party conference, the country's new Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he would invite Thatcher back to 10 Downing Street on the occasion of her 85th birthday, in honor of which celebrations would be held with the participation of former and current ministers. However, Margaret ruled out any celebrations, citing the flu. On April 29, 2011, Thatcher was invited to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, but did not attend the ceremony due to poor health.
Illness and death
In the last years of her life, Margaret Thatcher was seriously ill. On December 21, 2012, she underwent surgery to remove a bladder tumor. Thatcher died in the early hours of April 8, 2013, aged 88, at the Ritz Hotel in central London, where she had been staying since being discharged from hospital at the end of 2012. The cause of death was stroke.
The funeral service took place at St Paul's Cathedral in London with full military honours. Back in 2005, Thatcher drew up a detailed plan for her funeral, and preparations for it have been going on since 2007 - all events in which the Queen takes part are planned in advance. At her funeral, according to the plan, the “iron lady” wanted the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, members of the royal family, as well as major political figures of the Thatcher era, including ex-USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev (could not attend for health reasons). According to Thatcher's last wishes, the orchestra performed selected works by the English composer Edward Elgar. After the funeral service, cremation took place, and the ashes, according to the will of the deceased, were buried next to her husband Denis in the cemetery of a military hospital in London's Chelsea. The funeral took place on April 17 and cost 6 million pounds sterling.
Thatcher's opponents, of whom there were also many, wildly celebrated and held street parties in honor of the death of the ex-prime minister. At the same time, the song “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead” from the film “The Wizard of Oz,” released in 1939, was performed. In the April days of 2013, the song became popular again and took second place in the official UK single chart.
Heritage
For Thatcher's supporters, she remains a political figure who was able to restore the British economy, deal a significant blow to trade unions and restore Britain's image as a world power. During her premiership, the number of British residents who owned shares increased from 7 to 25%; More than a million families purchased previously council-owned homes, increasing homeownership from 55% to 67%. Overall personal wealth increased by 80%. Victory in the Falklands War and a close alliance with the United States are also considered one of its most important achievements.
At the same time, the period of Thatcher's premiership was marked by high unemployment and regular strikes. For the unemployment issue, most critics blame her economic policies, which were heavily influenced by the ideas of monetarism. This problem, in turn, has caused the spread of drug addiction and family divorces. Speaking in Scotland in April 2009, on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of her election as Prime Minister, Thatcher insisted that she had no regrets about her actions during her premiership, including the introduction of the poll tax and the removal of subsidies. "an outdated industry whose markets were in decline".
Thatcher's premiership was the longest in the 20th century since Salisbury (1885, 1886-1892 and 1895-1902) and the longest continuous tenure since Lord Liverpool (1812-1827).
Fame and popularity
Time magazine named Margaret Thatcher one of the 100 outstanding people of the 20th century in the category "Leaders and Revolutionaries".
Awards
Having taken the post of Minister of Education and Science in 1970, Thatcher became a member of the British Privy Council. Two weeks after leaving her post, she received the Order of Merit - a distinctive sign of members of a limited society (order), established in Great Britain in 1902 by King Edward VII. At the same time, Denis Thatcher became the owner of the hereditary title - baronet. In 1992, Thatcher became a member of the House of Lords with a life peerage with the title of Baroness Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire and a coat of arms. In 1995, she was appointed Dame of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (Britain's highest order of chivalry) by Elizabeth II.
In 1983, Thatcher was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London, and after her election as leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, she became the first woman full member (as an honorary member) of the Carleton Club.
The Falkland Islands have celebrated Margaret Thatcher Day on 10 January every year since 1992, commemorating her visit to the islands in 1983. In addition, a street in Port Stanley was named after the politician, as well as a peninsula in South Georgia.
Thatcher was awarded the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, as well as one of the two highest US civilian awards awarded by the President of the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also a recipient of the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award. Thatcher supported the US strategic research institute Heritage Foundation, which established the Margaret Thatcher Freedom Center in 2005.
In 1998, Thatcher was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Zagreb. She was a member of the Bilderberg Club.
Mentions in culture
The personality of Margaret Thatcher is mentioned in a number of works of art, including literary texts, television programs, feature films and documentaries, theatrical productions, and musical compositions. In the documentary drama "The Falklands Game", released in 2002 on the British television channel BBC4, the role of the British Prime Minister was played by actress Patricia Hodge, and in "Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley" - Andrea Riseborough. In addition, Thatcher became the main character in films such as Margaret (2009; played by Lindsay Duncan) and The Iron Lady (2011; played by Meryl Streep). For her role as Thatcher in the last film, Meryl Streep won her eighth Golden Globe Award statuette and her second award statuette. BAFTA and won her third Oscar.
The article on Thatcher in the Oxford Biographical Reference Book ranks third in length - more than 33 thousand words. There are only more articles about Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth II.
Cinema
- Janet Brown - Decision 79 (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981).
- Caroline Bernstein - "Back to Business" (2007), "I Am Bob" (2007).
- Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady (2011).
A television
- Angela Thorne - "Anyone for Denis?" (1982), "Dunrulin" (1990).
- Steve Nallon - Spitting Portrait (1985-1987), Live from London (1988), KYTV (1989), Bullseye! (1990), “Ben Elton: The Man from Onty” (1990), “The New Statesman” (1987-1990), “Pallas” (1992), “Night of a Thousand Faces” (2001), “In Search of La Shae” ( 2011).
- Hilary Turner - “First Among Equals” (1986).
- Maureen Lipman - "About the Face" (1989).
- "House of Cards" (1990).
- Sylvia Sims - Thatcher: The Last Days (1991).
- "Last Take" (1995).
- Patricia Hodge - The Falklands Game (2002).
- Louise Gold - The Alan Clark Diaries (2004).
- Anna Massey - "Pinochet in the Suburbs" (2006).
- Kika Markham - "Line of Beauty" (2006).
- Caroline Blakiston - "The Cup!" (2006).
- Elizabeth Shepherd - Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story (2006).
- Andrea Riseborough - Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley (2008).
- Lindsay Duncan - "Margaret" (2009).
- Lesley Manville - "The Queen" (2009).
- “Thatcher. A woman at the pinnacle of power" (documentary, 2010).
- “Historical Chronicles with Nikolai Svanidze”, episode 84 - “1982. Margaret Thatcher and the USSR" (documentary, 2012).
Theater
- Billy Elliot the Musical (Lee Hall, Stephen Daldry, 2005 - present)
Literature
- "First Among Equals" (Jeffrey Archer, 1984)
- "The Fourth Protocol" (Frederick Forsyth, 1984).
- "The Negotiator" (Frederick Forsyth, 1989).
- "The Deceiver" (Frederick Forsyth, 1991).
- "The Alan Clark Diaries" (Alan Clark, 1993, 2000).
- "The Fist of Allah" (Frederick Forsythe, 1994).
- "Icon" (Frederick Forsythe, 1997).
- "The Line of Beauty" (Alan Hollinghurst, 2004).
Music
- "Women in Uniform" single cover (Iron Maiden, 1980)
- "The Final Cut" (Pink Floyd, 1983)
- "Maggie" (The Exploited, 1985)
- "Maggie" (Chaos U.K., 1982)
- "Heartland" (The The, 1986)
- "Margaret On The Guillotine" (Morrissey, 1988)
- "All My Trials" (Paul McCartney, 1990)
- “Margaret” (gr. “Electrophoresis”, 2012)
One can argue endlessly about Thatcher. And people never tire of remembering her and admiring who she was for the whole world. The Iron Lady, who was feared by the entire political elite of the world and listened to by the most eminent men on Earth. And, meanwhile, the beginning of her life in no way suggested that little Margaret would turn out to be the best Prime Minister of England of our time.
But anything is possible if you passionately desire it and persistently build your career, brick by brick, without stopping for a moment. This is the main reason for Thatcher's success. The daughter of a small merchant, having spent her entire childhood in poverty, she even then had an insane desire to invade the “camp of male power” and become the Prime Minister of Great Britain! This then seemed like the mental impudence of a woman “out of nowhere,” but she was able to do it so quickly and easily that no one had time to understand that the Iron Lady had come. The first and last female Prime Minister of England!
Thatcher immediately came into power as organically and beautifully as if she had been there for decades. And she began her “unbending” work, which made Great Britain for many years a power whose opinion was unconditionally listened to by all the “powers of this world.” Even US presidents. And they could not resist the intelligence, intelligence and toughness of Thatcher. They “gave in” to her “Jesuitic” cunning, like young guys; how she did it is still unclear.
Lady Thatcher left the brightest mark in the history of the world and influenced the way of thinking throughout Great Britain. And her greatest legacy: an example for women leaders that the impossible is possible and must be done!
Margaret Thatcher biography briefly
Margaret Thatcher young
Margaret Thatcher young
Margaret Hilda Thatcher- British politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990, leader of the British Conservative Party. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to hold the post of Prime Minister (analogous to President in other countries) of Great Britain.
Margaret Hilda Roberts was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire on October 13, 1925. Her father was the owner of two grocery stores and an active local politician. After leaving school, Margaret studied at Oxford University from 1947-1951. worked as a research chemist.
In 1953, Thatcher received a law degree, after which she practiced law (1954-1957). In 1959 she was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley. In 1970, Edward Heath appointed Thatcher Secretary of State for Education and Research.
In 1979, Thatcher won a landslide victory in the internal elections of the Conservative Party, becoming the leader of the opposition and the first woman to lead a major British political party.
In 1979, after winning the general elections, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of Great Britain.
After leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher published two books of memoirs - 'The Downing Street Years' and 'The Path to Power'. In 1992, she was hired as a 'geopolitical consultant' at the tobacco company Philip Morris.
Domestic policy of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher Iron Lady
Thatcher launched a series of political and economic projects designed to solve problems in Britain, such as incredibly high unemployment. Thatcher's political philosophy was based on the abolition of government control (particularly in the financial sector), the organization of flexible labor markets, the privatization of state-owned companies and the reduction of the influence of trade unions.
She associated her program for improving the UK economy with reducing government spending, ending subsidies for unprofitable enterprises, and transferring state-owned corporations to private ownership; considered inflation a greater danger than unemployment. Reducing local government spending.
Initially, Thatcher enjoyed great popularity, but over time this popularity began to fade - the people did not like the general financial instability and unemployment that stubbornly refused to be overcome. The hunger strikes that took place in Ireland in 1981 and Thatcher’s response to them further aggravated the already unstable situation in Northern Ireland; Subsequently, IRA fighters even made an attempt on Thatcher’s life. The Falklands War was extremely beneficial for Thatcher and helped her win the election in 1983.
Her firmness in defending her views and her rigidity in implementing her decisions secured the title of “Iron Lady” for Thatcher.
Margaret Thatcher foreign policy in brief
On January 19, 1976, Thatcher made a loud anti-Soviet speech in which she accused the USSR of striving for world domination and aggressiveness, and her country of being overly peaceful in solving international problems. Soon after this, the Soviet newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda awarded Thatcher the nickname “Iron Lady” - which, by the way, she accepted and approved with some pleasure.
The foreign policy strategy of Margaret Thatcher's government provided for the revival of Great Britain's status as a great power and the inclusion of a wide range of global and regional issues, including those beyond the immediate interests of the country, into the orbit of British policy.
The British side initiated and guarantored constitutional reform in Southern Rhodesia and the holding of general elections in this country. Already in 1980, the independent Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) became a member of the Commonwealth.
Great Britain managed in the late 80s - early 90s. significantly strengthen its economic and military-political presence in traditional zones of influence.
Thatcher ordered an all-out invasion of the Falkland Islands, formerly a colony of England but captured by Argentina. On May 21, after intense artillery shelling from the sea and bombardment of Argentine positions from the air, detachments of British paratroopers were landed on the Falkland Islands. Hostilities ended on June 15. When the white flag of surrender was thrown at Port Stanley, Thatcher went to Downing Street. “Today Britain is Great Britain again. This is a great justification for everything we have done.”
Thatcher's successes in foreign policy significantly strengthened her authority within the country.
The Falklands crisis significantly strengthened Anglo-American allied relations.
Thatcher strongly rejected the idea of political integration of the member countries of the European Community.
Margaret Thatcher personal life
Margaret Thatcher with her husband and children
Margaret Thatcher family, husband and children
In her youth, Margaret had an affair with a young and very rich earl. But the young count’s parents did not like the grocer’s daughter.
The next time Margaret fell in love with a Scottish farmer. The farmer, while caring for Margaret, unexpectedly took a closer look at her sister Muriel, a girl with little interest in politics, but well versed in cooking and home comfort.
Margaret Thatcher's only husband was Denis Thatcher, who was ten years older than her. For Denis, this marriage was the second. The marriage of Margaret and Denis is considered to be a marriage of convenience.
Thanks to her husband’s money, the “Iron Lady” was able to obtain a law degree, practice law, and pay for the election campaign for a seat in the House of Commons.
In 1953, Margaret Thatcher gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Mark Thatcher and Carol Thatcher.
Margaret Thatcher's height and weight
Margaret Thatcher's height is 166 cm. Margaret Thatcher's weight is 64 kg (at the age of 53, when Margaret Thatcher took over as Prime Minister of Great Britain.)
The Iron Lady. Margaret Thatcher is the queen of politics. Brief information.
