Thatcher, Margaret

(1925– )

   Margaret Thatcher became a Conservative Member of Parliament in 1959. She served as Secretary of State for Education and Science under Edward Heath whom she successfully challenged for the leadership following the party’s second electoral defeat in 1974. In opposition, she became associated with New Right policies and in her victorious general election campaign in 1979 urged a radical change of direction after years of drift and consensus politics. A strong conviction politician, she had a number of distinctive policies which later were collectively labelled Thatcherism. As Prime Minister, she was a domineering figure whose performance did much to fuel the debate about prime ministerial government. Her personal style and performance did and still do arouse sharply contrasting views, some seeing her as divisive and harsh, others as someone who was not afraid to lead. It is evident in such observations as: ‘Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides’; ‘To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies’; and ‘U-turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning’.

   For several years she was an electoral asset to the Conservative Party. She won three successive general elections, until then the only British politician to do this in the twentieth century. However, although she had strong support from the largest minority of voters for most of her tenure she was eventually elected out of leadership by her own party and replaced by John Major in 1990. Her popularity had finally declined when she replaced the unpopular local government rates (a tax on property) with the even less popular community charge, more commonly known as the poll tax. At the same time the Conservative Party had also begun to split over her sceptical approach towards the European Union (then Community). A life peer since 1992, Baroness Thatcher has given her name to an era, an indication of the impact she had on both Conservative and British politics. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister since Gladstone, and had the longest single period in office since Lord Liverpool (1812–27). She is also the only woman to be United Kingdom prime minister or leader of a major British political party.

   Further reading: P. Hennessy, The Prime Minister, Allen Lane, 2000