Margaret Thatcher is the former Prime Minister of Great Britain. Called ‘The Iron Lady’ for her unyielding will, she was even given two verbs of her own: ‘Thatcherism’ and ‘Handbagging’. She worked her way to the top of the Conservative Party and achieved great success. There were many Thatcher lovers but at least as many Thatcher haters. Margaret Thatcher died at the age of 87 on April 8, 2013. Her life was made into a film starring Meryl Streep. The title of the film is ‘The Iron Lady.’
Margaret Thatcher-Roberts
Margaret Thatcher-Roberts was the Prime Minister of Great Britain for eleven years. She changed the country beyond recognition during her rule. When she took office in 1979, she found a stagnant British economy and society. The British Isles had just gone through a period of great discontent with strikes and protests. When she resigned eleven years later, in 1990, Britain was a world power and the center of the financial world.
‘The Iron Lady’ and Thatcherism
Thatcher met as many supporters as opponents. You either supported her or you despised her and her work. It did not stop the woman, who was called The Iron Lady for her intransigence, from taking unpopular measures. Her approach was given a verb grafted onto her name: Thatcherism .
She accomplished:
- breaking the power of the unions;
- deregulation of the welfare state;
- privatization.
Free market
Thatcher was a supporter of the free market and with that she upset the left-wing forces. She also antagonized the old British elite by paving the way for the fast guys who managed to make a lot of money.
The financial heart of London, The City, grew under her rule. Britain became less of a class society during her reign and Thatcher became the heroine of the new money. In the meantime, the old money was gnashing its teeth.
Conservative
Thatcher was an exponent of the Conservative Party and she worked her way to the top. That was special for a woman at that time. Moreover, she did not come from a wealthy family, like most men in the Conservative Party. She came from the town of Grantham and was the daughter of the local grocer. As a grocery’s daughter, she had learned how to handle money and that you had to work for your money.
Turn
Her nickname says it all, Margaret Thatcher was unyielding. Even when it concerned positions within her own party. “This lady is not for turning,” she once said during a party conference when part of the party asked for a change in policy. “This lady won’t turn.” The Russians gave her the nickname Iron Lady at the end of the Cold War. It was the time of Gorbachev, who wanted to do business with her.
TINA
She stood for straight rule and saw her politics as a solution to the economic malaise. She honored the principle of TINA, There Is No Alternative. The measure may be unpopular, but there is no alternative . She received plenty of support after her handling of the Falklands crisis. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, an archipelago that has been under the British throne since the nineteenth century. Argentina lays claim to the islands and wanted to confirm this with an invasion. It became a matter of principle and the British wanted to keep the archipelago. A fleet sailed and troops were sent by Thatcher to the tip of South America. A short but fierce war raged that went down in history as the Falklands War. After more than two months, the British emerged victorious. Thatcher’s name was established after that war.
Irish Army
During the Troubles , the struggle between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s, the Prime Minister was personally attacked and threatened several times. The Irish Republican Army targeted her and even exploded a bomb aimed at her in 1984, causing deaths and injuries. The prime minister and her husband were unharmed. Even after that attack, she was unyielding, saying terrorism would not destroy democracy.
Hand bagging
Margaret Thatcher was inseparable from her handbag. A cartoonist depicted her with that bag during negotiations on the EU budget. She allegedly hit the table with the bag. It yielded the verb Handbagging . Such was her image: militant, right-wing, businesslike and Eurosceptic.
Poll Tax
In 1987 she won the elections for the third time in a row. The introduction of a new tax, the poll tax, led to riots and Thatcher began to lose control of the people. Her resistance to the euro caused bad blood. Thatcherism had outlived itself. She resigned in 1990 because it was not certain that she would win a leadership election within her party. She said goodbye to 10 Downing Street in tears.
Movie ‘The Iron Lady’ with Meryl Streep
The film The Iron Lady was released in 2012. Meryl Streep played the lead role, an older Margaret Thatcher, who talks to her husband Dennis. Dennis has just passed away and Margaret is struggling with growing older, being alone and her developing dementia. In flashbacks we see the life of young Margaret Roberts, her marriage to Dennis, their two children and her political career. Meryl Streep won a
Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Oscar for Best Actress in 2012 .
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- Ien Dales Award – the integrity award