View source for Margaret Thatcher

{{Short description|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990}}
{{Redirect|Iron Lady||Iron Lady (disambiguation)|and|Margaret Thatcher (disambiguation)}}
{{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
<!--Per [[WP:INFOBOXREF]] claims found in the infobox of an article that are expanded upon and cited later in the article do not need citations in the infobox itself. Before asking for a citation for facts in the infobox of this article, please check whether the fact is cited later.  Thank you! -->
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = {{Pre-nominal styles|RHon|size=100%}}
| name             = The Baroness Thatcher
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|LG|OM|DStJ|PC|FRS|HonFRSC}}
| image            = Margaret Thatcher stock portrait (cropped).jpg
| alt              = Half-length portrait of Thatcher. She is wearing a black suit and pearls, with a brooch on her left lapel. Her hands are clasped in front of her, adorned with rings. The background is pale and softly lit.
| caption          = Studio portrait, {{circa|1995–96}}
| office           = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]]
| term_start       = 4 May 1979
| term_end         = 28 November 1990
| monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
<!-- Whitelaw did not acquire the title of Deputy PM. (Hennessy 2001, p. 405.) -->
| deputy           = [[Geoffrey Howe]] {{nowrap|(1989–90)}}
| predecessor      = [[James Callaghan]]
| successor        = [[John Major]]
| office1          = [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| term_start1      = 11 February 1975
| term_end1        = 4 May 1979
| monarch1         = Elizabeth II
| primeminister1   = {{Plainlist|
* [[Harold Wilson]]
* James Callaghan
}}
| deputy1          = [[William Whitelaw]]
| predecessor1     = [[Edward Heath]]
| successor1       = James Callaghan
| office2          = [[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|Leader of the Conservative Party]]
| term_start2      = 11 February 1975
| term_end2        = 28 November 1990
| deputy2          = [[The Viscount Whitelaw]]
| 1blankname2      = [[Chairman of the Conservative Party|Chairman]]
| 1namedata2       = {{Collapsible list
| titlestyle       = font-style:italic; font-weight:normal;
| title            = See list
| [[Peter Thorneycroft|The Lord Thorneycroft]]
| [[Cecil Parkinson]]
| [[John Gummer]]
| [[Norman Tebbit]]
| [[Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville|Peter Brooke]]
| [[Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking|Kenneth Baker]]
}}
| predecessor2     = Edward Heath
| successor2       = John Major
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |cont = yes |Ministerial portfolios
| titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed            = yes
| office1          = [[Secretary of State for&nbsp;Education&nbsp;and&nbsp;Science]]
| term_start1      = 20 June 1970
| term_end1        = 4 March 1974
| primeminister1   = Edward Heath
| predecessor1     = [[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]]
| successor1       = [[Reg Prentice]]
| title2           = [[Parliamentary Secretary (United Kingdom)|Parliamentary Secretary]]
| subterm2         = 1961–1964
| suboffice2       = [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry for Pensions|Ministry for Pensions]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}} }}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |cont = yes |Shadow <!--Cabinet--> portfolios
| titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed            = yes
| title1           = [[Shadow Minister]]
| subterm1         = 1967–1968
| suboffice1       = [[Ministry of Power (United Kingdom)|Fuel and Power]]
| subterm2         = 1968–1969
| suboffice2       = [[Shadow Minister for Transport|Transport]]
| subterm3         = 1974–1975
| suboffice3       = [[Shadow Treasury|Treasury]]
| title4           = [[Shadow Secretary of State]]
| subterm4         = 1969–1970
| suboffice4       = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science|Education and Science]]
| subterm5         = 1974
| suboffice5       = [[Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment|Environment]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}} }}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |cont = yes |Parliamentary offices
| titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed            = yes
| office1          = Member of the [[House of Lords]]
| status1          = [[Lord Temporal]]
| term_label1      = [[Life peer]]age
| term_start1      = 30 June 1992
| term_end1        = 8 April 2013{{refn|On 30 July 2011 it was announced that her office in the Lords had been closed.<ref name="telegraph8671195" />|group=nb}}
| parliament2      = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP2 = Finchley
| term_start2      = 8 October 1959
| term_end2        = 16 March 1992
| predecessor2     = [[John Crowder]]
| successor2       = [[Hartley Booth]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}} }}
| birth_name       = Margaret Hilda Roberts
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|df=y|1925|10|13}}
| birth_place      = [[Grantham]], Lincolnshire, England
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|df=y|2013|4|8|1925|10|13}}
| death_place      = London, England
| resting_place    = [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord |51.489057| -0.156195|region:GB_type:landmark |display=inline}}
| party            = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| spouse           = {{Marriage|[[Denis Thatcher]]|13 December 1951|26 June 2003|end=d}}
| children         = {{Flatlist|
* [[Mark Thatcher|Mark]]
* [[Carol Thatcher|Carol]]
}}
| father           = [[Alfred Roberts]]
| education        = [[Somerville College, Oxford]] ([[MA (Oxon)|MA]])
| occupation       = {{Flatlist|
* [[Barristers in England and Wales|Barrister]]
* [[chemist]]
* politician
}}
| awards           = [[List of awards and honours received by Margaret Thatcher|Full list]]
| signature        = Signature of Margaret Thatcher.svg
| signature_alt    = Cursive signature in ink
| website          = {{Official website|margaretthatcher.org|name=Foundation}}
| nickname         = {{Pslink|"Iron Lady"}}
| module           = {{Listen voice
| filename         = Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Joint Statement, 10th G7 summit.ogg
| description      = Joint Statement for the [[10th G7 summit]]
| recorded         = 9 June 1984}}
}}
<!--No citations are required in the article lead per [[MOS:LEADCITE]], as long as the content is cited in the article body, as it should be. Do not add missing-citation tags like {{cn}} to the lead. If necessary, {{not verified in body}} can be used, or the content removed.-->

{{Margaret Thatcher sidebar}}

'''Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher'''<!--NOT "Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven"-->{{refn|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|LG|OM|DStJ|PC|FRS|HonFRSC|commas=on}}|group=nb}} ({{nee|'''Roberts'''}}; 13 October 1925{{snd}}8 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from 1979 to 1990 and [[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|leader of the Conservative Party]] from 1975 to 1990. She was the [[List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure|longest-serving British prime minister]] of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented policies that came to be known as [[Thatcherism]]. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "'''Iron Lady'''", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and [[leadership style]].

Thatcher studied chemistry at [[Somerville College, Oxford]], and worked briefly as a [[research chemist]] before becoming a [[Barristers in England and Wales|barrister]]. She was [[List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election|elected Member of Parliament]] for [[Finchley (UK Parliament constituency)|Finchley]] [[1959 United Kingdom general election|in 1959]]. [[Edward Heath]] appointed her [[secretary of state for education and science]] in his [[Heath ministry|1970–1974 government]]. In 1975, she defeated Heath in the [[1975 Conservative Party leadership election|Conservative Party leadership election]] to become [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|leader of the opposition]], the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

Upon becoming prime minister following her win in the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]], Thatcher introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high inflation and Britain's struggles in the wake of the [[Winter of Discontent]] and [[Early 1980s recession|an oncoming recession]].{{refn|In her foreword to the [[List of Conservative Party (UK) general election manifestos|Conservative manifesto]] of 1979, she wrote of "a feeling of helplessness, that we are a once great nation that has somehow fallen behind".<ref name="PoliticalStuff.co.uk" />|group=nb}} Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised [[Libertarian conservatism|greater individual liberty]], the privatisation of [[state-owned companies]], and reducing the power and influence of [[Trade unions in the United Kingdom|trade unions]]. Her popularity in her first years in office waned amid the recession and rising unemployment. Victory in the 1982 [[Falklands War]] and the recovering economy brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her [[Landslide victory|landslide]] re-election [[1983 United Kingdom general election|in 1983]]. She survived an assassination attempt by the [[Provisional IRA]] in the 1984 [[Brighton hotel bombing]] and achieved a political victory against the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]] in the [[1984–85 miners' strike]]. In 1986, Thatcher oversaw the [[deregulation]] of UK [[financial market]]s, leading to [[Lawson Boom|an economic boom]] in what came to be known as the [[Big Bang (financial markets)|Big Bang]]. Thatcher was re-elected for a third time in another landslide [[1987 United Kingdom general election|in 1987]]; however, her subsequent support for the [[Community Charge]] (also known as the "poll tax") was widely unpopular, and her increasingly [[Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom|Eurosceptic]] views on the [[European Community]] were not shared by others in her cabinet. In 1990, Thatcher resigned as party leader and prime minister following a [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|challenge to her leadership]]; she was succeeded by [[John Major]], her [[chancellor of the Exchequer]].{{refn|Winning support from a majority of her party in the first round of votes, Thatcher fell four votes short of the required 15% margin to win the contest outright.  Her fall has been characterised as "a rare coup d'état at the top of the British politics: the first since [[Lloyd George]] sawed [[Asquith]] off at the knees in 1916."<ref name="Heffer" />|group=nb}}

After retiring from the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|Commons]] in 1992, she was given a [[life peer]]age as Baroness Thatcher (of [[Kesteven]] in the [[County of Lincolnshire]]) which entitled her to sit in the [[House of Lords]]. In 2013, she [[Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher|died of a stroke]] at [[the Ritz Hotel, London]], at the age of 87. A polarising figure in British politics, Thatcher is nonetheless viewed favourably in [[Historical rankings of prime ministers of the United Kingdom|historical rankings]] and public opinion of British prime ministers. Her tenure constituted a [[Political realignment#Europe|realignment]] towards [[neoliberal]] policies in Britain; the complex legacy attributed to this shift continues to be debated into the 21st century.
{{TOC limit|limit=3}}

==Early life and education==
{{Overflow|
{{wikitable| align=center
 |{{Multiple image
  |align=center
  |total_width=580
  |header=Birthplace in Grantham
  |image1=Maison natale de Margaret Thatcher, Grantham.JPG
  |alt1=The corner of a terraced suburban street. The lower storey is a corner shop, now advertising as a chiropractic clinic. The building is two storeys high, with some parts three storeys high. It was formerly Alfred Roberts's shop.
  |caption1=2009 photograph of her father's former shop<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1062417 |grade=II |access-date=7 August 2022 |location=Lincolnshire}}</ref>
  |image2=Plaque, maison natale de Margaret Thatcher.JPG
  |alt2=A plaque reading "Birth place of the Rt.Hon. Margaret Thatcher, M.P. First woman prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
  |caption2=Commemorative plaque<ref>{{Open Plaques |10728 |access-date=18 March 2017}}</ref>
  |footer=Margaret and her elder sister were raised in the bottom of two flats on North Parade.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=3}} }}
}}}}

=== Family and childhood (1925–1943) ===
Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on 13 October 1925 in [[Grantham]], Lincolnshire. Her parents were [[Alfred Roberts]] (1892–1970), from Northamptonshire, and Beatrice Ethel Stephenson (1888–1960), from Lincolnshire.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=1}} Her father's maternal grandmother, Catherine Sullivan, was born in [[County Kerry]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Majella |date=10 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's Irish roots lie in Co Kerry |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/margaret-thatchers-irish-roots-lie-in-co-kerry-29185669.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803171312/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/margaret-thatchers-irish-roots-lie-in-co-kerry-29185669.html |archive-date=3 August 2020 |access-date=18 July 2020 |work=Belfast Telegraph}}</ref>

Roberts spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned a [[tobacconist]]'s and a grocery shop. In 1938, [[Events preceding World War II in Europe|before the Second World War]], the Roberts family briefly gave sanctuary to a teenage Jewish girl who had [[Jewish refugees from German-occupied Europe in the United Kingdom|escaped Nazi Germany]]. With her {{wikt-lang|en|penfriend|pen-friending|i=-}} elder sister Muriel, Margaret saved pocket money to help pay for the teenager's journey.{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|pp=38–39}}

Alfred was an [[alderman]] and a [[Methodist local preacher]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=8}} He brought up his daughter as a strict [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist]],<ref name="Johnson">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Maureen |date=28 May 1988 |title=Bible-Quoting Thatcher Stirs Furious Debate |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> attending the [[Finkin Street Methodist Church]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Filby |first=Eliza |date=31 October 2015 |title=God and Mrs. Thatcher: The Battle for Britain's Soul |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/10/margaret-thatcher-christian-methodism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212034043/https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/10/margaret-thatcher-christian-methodism/ |archive-date=12 December 2019 |access-date=21 April 2018 |work=[[National Review]]}}</ref> but Margaret was more sceptical; the future scientist told a friend that she could not believe in [[angel]]s, having calculated that they needed a [[breastbone]] {{convert|6|feet}} long to support wings.{{r|Oxford1}} Alfred came from a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] family but stood (as was then customary in local government) as an [[Independent politician|Independent]]. He served as Mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946 and lost his position as alderman in 1952 after the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] won its first majority on Grantham Council in 1950.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=8}}

[[File:Margaret Thatcher aos 13 anos de idade.jpg|alt=Margaret Roberts, 13, in a black-and-white portrait photograph|thumb|upright|left|1938–39 portrait, aged 13]]

Roberts attended [[Huntingtower Road Primary School]] and won a scholarship to [[Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School]], a grammar school.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=5}} Her school reports showed hard work and continual improvement; her extracurricular activities included the piano, field hockey, poetry recitals, swimming and walking.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=6|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2pp=21–22}} She was [[head girl]] in 1942–43,<ref>{{Cite web |title=School aims |url=http://www.kestevengrantham.lincs.sch.uk/kg/about_school/school_aims |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128200852/http://kestevengrantham.lincs.sch.uk/kg/about_school/school_aims |archive-date=28 January 2013 |access-date=9 April 2013 |publisher=Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School}}</ref> and outside school, while the Second World War was ongoing, she voluntarily worked as a [[fire watcher]] in the local [[ARP service]].{{sfnp|Moore|2019|page=929}} Other students thought of Roberts as the "star scientist", although mistaken advice regarding cleaning ink from [[parquetry]] almost caused [[chlorine gas poisoning]]. In her [[sixth form|upper sixth year]], Roberts was accepted for a scholarship to study chemistry at [[Somerville College, Oxford]], a women's college, starting in 1944. After another candidate withdrew, Roberts entered Oxford in October 1943.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=12|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2p=23}}{{r|Oxford1}}

===Oxford (1943–1947)===
[[File:Somerville College.jpg|alt=The Hall and Maitland Building of Somerville College, Oxford, in 2006|thumb|upright|Roberts studied chemistry at [[Somerville College]] (''pictured''{{--)}} from 1943 to 1947.]]

Following her arrival at Oxford, Roberts began studies under [[X-ray crystallographer]] [[Dorothy Hodgkin]], the tutor in chemistry for Somerville College since 1934.{{sfnmp|1a1=Blundell|1y=2008|1pp=25–27|2a1=Beckett|2y=2006|2p=16|3a1=Agar|3y=2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-10 |title=Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin |url=https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/eminent/dorothy-crowfoot-hodgkin/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |publisher=Somerville College, Oxford |language=en-GB}}</ref> Hodgkin considered Roberts a "good" student, and later recalled that "one could always rely on her producing a sensible, well-read essay."{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} She opted to read for a classified [[honours degree]], entailing an additional year of supervised research.{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} As her thesis supervisor, Hodgkin assigned Roberts to work with [[Gerhard Schmidt (crystallographer)|Gerhard Schmidt]], a researcher in Hodgkin's lab, to determine the structure of the antibiotic [[peptide]] [[gramicidin S]].{{sfnmp|1a1=Campbell|1y=2000|1p=65|2a1=Agar|2y=2022}} Although the research made some progress, the peptide's structure proved more complex than anticipated, and Schmidt would only determine its full structure much later; Roberts (by then Thatcher) learned this in the 1960s while visiting the [[Weizmann Institute]], where her former research partner was then working.{{sfnp|Agar|2022}}

Roberts graduated in 1947 with a [[British undergraduate degree classification|second-class honours degree]] in chemistry, and in 1950 also received the degree of [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|Master of Arts]] (as an Oxford BA, she was entitled to the degree 21 terms after her [[Matriculation#United Kingdom|matriculation]]).<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Whittaker |first1=Freddie |last2=Waite |first2=Debbie |last3=Culliford |first3=Elizabeth |name-list-style=amp |date=9 April 2013 |title=Thatcher: college will honour its former student |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10341124.thatcher-college-will-honour-former-student |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028113352/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10341124.thatcher-college-will-honour-former-student/ |archive-date=28 October 2021 |access-date=26 October 2021 |work=Oxford Mail}}</ref> Although Hodgkin would later be critical of her former student's politics, they continued to correspond into the 1980s, and Roberts in her memoirs would describe her mentor as "ever-helpful", "a brilliant scientist and a gifted teacher".{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} As prime minister, she would keep a portrait of Hodgkin at [[10 Downing Street]].{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} Later in life, she was reportedly prouder of becoming the first prime minister with a science degree than becoming the first female prime minister.<ref name="runciman20130606">{{Cite news |last=Runciman |first=David |author-link=David Runciman |date=6 June 2013 |title=Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat |url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n11/david-runciman/rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190309071240/https://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n11/david-runciman/rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat |archive-date=9 March 2019 |access-date=11 June 2013 |work=[[London Review of Books]]}}</ref> While prime minister, she attempted to preserve Somerville as a women's college.<ref name="bowcott20161230">{{Cite news |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |date=30 December 2016 |title=Thatcher fought to preserve women-only Oxford college |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/thatcher-fought-to-preserve-women-only-oxford-college-somerville |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101004346/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/thatcher-fought-to-preserve-women-only-oxford-college-somerville?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-2 |archive-date=1 January 2017 |access-date=31 December 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Twice a week outside study, she worked in a local forces canteen.{{sfnp|Dougill|1987|page=4}}

During her time at Oxford, Roberts was noted for her isolated and serious attitude.<ref name="Oxford1">{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham |date=19 April 2013 |title=A side of Margaret Thatcher we've never seen |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10006410/A-side-of-Margaret-Thatcher-weve-never-seen.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420214300/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10006410/A-side-of-Margaret-Thatcher-weve-never-seen.html |archive-date=20 April 2018 |access-date=25 July 2017 |work=The Telegraph |ref=none}}</ref> Her first boyfriend, Tony Bray (1926–2014), recalled that she was "very thoughtful and a very good conversationalist. That's probably what interested me. She was good at general subjects".{{r|Oxford1}}<ref name="Bray">{{Cite news |date=5 August 2014 |title=Tony Bray – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11013968/Tony-Bray-obituary.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205025842/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11013968/Tony-Bray-obituary.html |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=25 July 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

She was a member of [[Wesley Memorial Church]], became a [[lay preacher]] and joined the John Wesley Society.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A short history of the John Wesley Society |url=https://www.wesleysoxford.org.uk/topics/john-wesley-society/a-short-history-of-the-john-wesley-society |access-date=28 February 2025 |website=Wesleys Oxford}}</ref><ref name="Filby" /> She also attended [[Somerville College Chapel]] and [[University Church of St Mary the Virgin|St&nbsp;Mary's]].<ref name="Filby" />

Roberts's coursework involved subjects beyond chemistry{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=47}} as she was already contemplating an entry into law and politics.<ref name="lecher20130408">{{Cite web |last=Lecher |first=Colin |date=8 April 2013 |title=How Thatcher The Chemist Helped Make Thatcher The Politician |url=http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/margaret-thatcher-politician-and-chemist-has-died |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217043947/http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/margaret-thatcher-politician-and-chemist-has-died |archive-date=17 February 2017 |access-date=22 November 2014 |magazine=[[Popular Science]]}}</ref> Her enthusiasm for politics as a girl made Bray think of her as "unusual" and her parents as "slightly austere" and "very proper".{{r|Oxford1}}{{r|Bray}} Roberts became President of the [[Oxford University Conservative Association]] in 1946.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1pp=20–21|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2p=28}} She was influenced at university by political works such as [[Friedrich Hayek]]'s ''[[The Road to Serfdom]]'' (1944),{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=30}} which condemned economic intervention by government as a precursor to an authoritarian state.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=17}}

===Post-Oxford career (1947–1951)===
After graduating, Roberts secured a position as a research chemist for British Xylonite ([[BX Plastics]]) following a series of interviews arranged by Oxford; she subsequently moved to [[Colchester]] in Essex to work at the firm.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=17|2a1=Agar|2y=2011}} Little is known about her brief time there.{{sfnp|Agar|2011}} By her own account, she was initially enthusiastic about the position, as she had been intended to function as a personal assistant to the company's head of research and development, providing opportunities to learn about [[operations management]]: "But on my arrival it was decided that there was not enough to do in that capacity."{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} Instead, she seems to have researched methods of attaching [[polyvinyl chloride]] (PVC) to metals.{{sfnp|Agar|2011}} While with the firm, she joined the [[Association of Scientific Workers]].{{sfnp|Agar|2011}} In 1948, she applied for a job at [[Imperial Chemical Industries]] (ICI) but was rejected after the personnel department assessed her as "headstrong, obstinate and dangerously self-opinionated".<ref name="BBC2013">{{Cite news |date=8 April 2013 |title=In quotes: Margaret Thatcher |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10377842 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408090853/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10377842 |archive-date=8 April 2019 |access-date=12 April 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Jon Agar in ''[[Notes and Records]]'' argues that her understanding of modern scientific research later impacted her views as prime minister.{{sfnp|Agar|2011}}

Roberts joined the local [[Conservative Association]] and attended the party conference at [[Llandudno]], Wales, in 1948, as a representative of the University Graduate Conservative Association.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=22}}  Meanwhile, she became a high-ranking affiliate of the [[Vermin Club]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Charles |date=5 February 2009 |title=Golly: now we know what's truly offensive |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205043254/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=29 April 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref name="Vermin">{{Cite magazine |last=J.C. |date=21 October 2012 |title=Gaffe-ology: why Mitchell had to go |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2012/10/political-crises |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021232133/https://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2012/10/political-crises |archive-date=21 October 2019 |access-date=29 April 2017 |magazine=[[The Economist]] |quote=In 1948 Aneurin Bevan called the Conservative Party 'lower than vermin' [...] The Tories embraced the phrase; some formed the Vermin Club in response (Margaret Thatcher was a member).}}</ref> a group of grassroots Conservatives formed in response to a derogatory comment made by [[Aneurin Bevan]].{{r|Vermin}} One of her Oxford friends was also a friend of the Chair of the [[Dartford]] Conservative Association in [[Kent]], who were looking for candidates.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=22}} Officials of the association were so impressed by her that they asked her to apply, even though she was not on the party's approved list; she was selected in January 1950 (aged 24) and added to the approved list [[wikt:post ante|''post ante'']].{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=36}}

At a dinner following her formal adoption as Conservative candidate for Dartford in February 1949, she met divorcé [[Denis Thatcher]], a successful and wealthy businessman, who drove her to her Essex train.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=22|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2p=36}} After their first meeting, she described him to Muriel as "not a very attractive creature – very reserved but quite nice".{{r|Oxford1}} In preparation for the election, Roberts moved to Dartford, while she supported herself by working as a research chemist for [[J. Lyons and Co.]] in [[Hammersmith]], reportedly as part of a team developing [[emulsifier]]s for [[ice cream]].{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=22|2a1=''New Scientist''|2y=1983}} As the work was more theoretical in nature than during her prior role with BX Plastics, Roberts found it "more satisfying".{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} While at Lyons, she worked under the supervision of Hans Jellinek, who headed the company's physical chemistry section.{{sfnmp|1a1=Agar|1y=2022|2a1=Jellinek|2y=1979}} Jellinek assigned her to research the [[saponification]] of α-monostearin ([[glycerol monostearate]]), which has properties as an emulsifier, stabiliser and food preservative. Agar has noted the research may have been connected with the emulsification of ice cream, but only as a possibility.{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} In September 1951, their research was published in the ''[[Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture]]'', a recently launched publication of the [[Society of Chemical Industry]],{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} as "The saponification of α-monostearin in a monolayer".{{sfnp|Jellinek|Roberts|1951}} This would be Roberts's sole scientific publication.{{sfnp|Agar|2022}} In 1979, following his former assistant's election as prime minister, Jellinek, by then a professor of physical chemistry at [[Clarkson University]] in the United States, said she had done "a very good job" on the project, "showing great determination".{{sfnp|Jellinek|1979}} She sent Jellinek a congratulatory letter upon his retirement in 1984, and another letter shortly before his death two years later.{{sfnp|Kerker|1987}}

Roberts married at [[Wesley's Chapel]] and her children were baptised there,<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Death of a Member: Baroness Thatcher |house=House of Lords |date=10 April 2013 |volume=744 |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2013-04-10/debates/1304101000196/DeathOfAMemberBaronessThatcher |page=1154 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> but she and her husband began attending [[Church of England]] services and would later convert to [[Anglicanism]].<ref name="Belz">{{Cite news |last=Belz |first=Mindy |date=4 May 2013 |title=Weather maker |url=https://world.wng.org/2013/04/weather_maker |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203055950/https://world.wng.org/2013/04/weather_maker |archive-date=3 February 2019 |access-date=10 January 2017 |work=[[World (magazine)|World]]}}</ref><ref name="Filby">{{Cite news |last=Filby |first=Eliza |date=14 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: her unswerving faith shaped by her father |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9992424/Margaret-Thatcher-her-unswerving-faith-shaped-by-her-father.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205050323/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9992424/Margaret-Thatcher-her-unswerving-faith-shaped-by-her-father.html |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=10 January 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

==Early political career==
In the [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]] and [[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951]] general elections, Roberts was the Conservative candidate for the Labour seat of [[Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)|Dartford]]. The local party selected her as its candidate because, though not a dynamic public speaker, Roberts was well-prepared and fearless in her answers. A prospective candidate, [[Bill Deedes]], recalled: "Once she opened her mouth, the rest of us began to look rather second-rate."{{r|runciman20130606}} She attracted media attention as the youngest and the only female candidate;{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1pp=23–24|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2p=37}} in 1950, she was the youngest Conservative candidate in the country.{{sfnp|Jackson|Saunders|2012|p=3}} She lost on both occasions to [[Norman Dodds]] but reduced the Labour majority by 6,000 and then a further 1,000.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|pp=23–24}} During the campaigns, she was supported by her parents and by her future husband Denis Thatcher, whom she married in December 1951.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|pp=23–24}}<ref name="Denis Thatcher">{{Cite news |date=27 June 2003 |title=Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1434154/Sir-Denis-Thatcher-Bt.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114083041/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1434154/Sir-Denis-Thatcher-Bt.html |archive-date=14 January 2012 |access-date=6 January 2012 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> She trained at the [[Inns of Court School of Law]] (now part of The City Law School)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-08-24 |title=Law school to merge with City |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/law-school-to-merge-with-city/164514.article |url-access=registration |access-date=17 February 2025 |website=[[Times Higher Education]]}}</ref> and qualified as a [[Barristers in England and Wales|barrister]] in 1953 (specialising in taxation).{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=35}} Denis funded his wife's studies for the [[bar association|bar]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=25}} Later that same year, their twins [[Carol Thatcher|Carol]] and [[Mark Thatcher|Mark]] were born, delivered prematurely by Caesarean section.{{sfnmp|1a1=Ogden|1y=1990|1p=70|2a1=Beckett|2y=2006|2p=26|3a1=Aitken|3y=2013|3p=74}}

===Member of Parliament (1959–1970)===
In 1954, Thatcher was defeated when she sought selection to be the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] candidate for the [[1955 Orpington by-election|Orpington by-election]] of January 1955. She chose not to stand as a candidate in the [[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955 general election]], in later years, stating: "I really just felt the twins were [...] only two, I really felt that it was too soon. I couldn't do that."{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=100}} Afterwards, Thatcher began looking for a Conservative safe seat and was selected as the candidate for [[Finchley (UK Parliament constituency)|Finchley]] in April 1958 (narrowly beating [[Ian Montagu Fraser]]). She was elected as MP for the seat after a hard campaign in the [[1959 United Kingdom general election|1959 election]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=27}}<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=41842 |date=13 October 1959 |page=6433}}</ref> Benefiting from her fortunate result in a lottery for [[backbencher]]s to propose new legislation,{{r|runciman20130606}} Thatcher's maiden speech was, unusually, in support of her [[private member's bill]], the [[Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960]], requiring local authorities to hold their council meetings in public; the bill was successful and became law.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 February 1960 |title=HC S 2R [Public Bodies (Admission of the Press to Meetings) Bill] (Maiden Speech) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/101055 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109151758/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/101055 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |access-date=8 April 2013 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>{{sfnp|Aitken|2013|p=91}} In 1961 she went against the Conservative Party's official position by voting for the restoration of [[birching]] as a [[judicial corporal punishment]].{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=134}}

====On the frontbenches====
Thatcher's talent and drive caused her to be mentioned as a future prime minister in her early 20s{{r|runciman20130606}} although she herself was more pessimistic, stating as late as 1970: "There will not be a woman prime minister in my lifetime – the male population is too prejudiced."<ref name="sandbrook20130409">{{Cite news |last=Sandbrook |first=Dominic |author-link=Dominic Sandbrook |date=9 April 2013 |title=Viewpoint: What if Margaret Thatcher had never been? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22076886 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608091711/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22076886 |archive-date=8 June 2013 |access-date=16 June 2013 |work=BBC News Magazine}}</ref> In October 1961 she was promoted to the [[frontbench]] as [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry for Pensions]] by [[Harold Macmillan]].{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=4}} Thatcher was the youngest woman in history to receive such a post, and among the first [[List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election|MPs elected in 1959]] to be promoted.{{sfnp|Scott-Smith|2003}} After the Conservatives lost the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 election]], she became spokeswoman on housing and land. In that position, she advocated her party's policy of giving tenants the [[right to buy]] their [[council house]]s.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=64}} She moved to the [[Shadow Treasury]] team in 1966 and, as Treasury spokeswoman, opposed Labour's mandatory price and income controls, arguing they would unintentionally produce effects that would distort the economy.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=64}}

[[Jim Prior]] suggested Thatcher as a [[Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)|Shadow Cabinet]] member after the Conservatives' [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966 defeat]], but party leader [[Edward Heath]] and Chief Whip [[William Whitelaw]] eventually chose [[Mervyn Pike]] as the [[First Heath shadow cabinet|Conservative shadow cabinet]]'s sole woman member.{{sfnp|Scott-Smith|2003}} At the 1966 Conservative Party conference, Thatcher criticised the high-tax policies of the [[Labour government, 1964–1970|Labour government]] as being steps "not only towards Socialism, but towards Communism", arguing that lower taxes served as an incentive to hard work.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=64}} Thatcher was one of the few Conservative MPs to support [[Leo Abse]]'s bill to decriminalise male homosexuality.<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Sexual Offences (No. 2) |house=House of Commons |date=5 July 1966 |volume=731 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/jul/05/sexual-offences-no-2 |page=267 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> She voted in favour of [[David Steel]]'s bill to legalise abortion,{{sfnp|Thatcher|1995|p=150}}<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill |house=House of Commons |date=22 July 1966 |volume=732 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/jul/22/medical-termination-of-pregnancy-bill |page=1165 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> as well as a ban on [[hare coursing]].<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Hare Coursing Bill |house=House of Commons |date=14 May 1970 |volume=801 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1970/may/14/hare-coursing-bill |access-date=22 October 2020 |pages=1599–1603}}</ref> She supported the retention of capital punishment<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Capital Punishment |house=House of Commons |date=24 June 1969 |volume=785 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1969/jun/24/capital-punishment |page=1235 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> and voted against the relaxation of divorce laws.<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Divorce Reform Bill |house=House of Commons |date=9 February 1968 |volume=758 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/feb/09/divorce-reform-bill |access-date=22 October 2020 |pages=904–907}}</ref>{{sfnp|Thatcher|1995|p=151}}

====In the Shadow Cabinet====
In 1967, the [[Embassy of the United States, London|United States Embassy]] chose Thatcher to take part in the [[International Visitor Leadership Program]] (then called the Foreign Leader Program), a professional exchange programme that allowed her to spend about six weeks visiting various US cities and political figures as well as institutions such as the [[International Monetary Fund]]. Although she was not yet a Shadow Cabinet member, the embassy reportedly described her to the [[State Department]] as a possible future prime minister. The description helped Thatcher meet with prominent people during a busy itinerary focused on economic issues, including [[Paul Samuelson]], [[Walt Rostow]], [[Pierre-Paul Schweitzer]] and [[Nelson Rockefeller]]. Following the visit, Heath appointed Thatcher to the Shadow Cabinet{{sfnp|Scott-Smith|2003}} as fuel and power spokeswoman.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's timeline: From Grantham to the House of Lords, via Arthur Scargill and the Falklands War |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatchers-timeline-from-grantham-to-the-house-of-lords-via-arthur-scargill-and-the-8564555.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104013802/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatchers-timeline-from-grantham-to-the-house-of-lords-via-arthur-scargill-and-the-8564555.html |archive-date=4 November 2016 |access-date=2 November 2016 |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> Before the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]], she was promoted to shadow transport spokeswoman and later to education.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=65}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 November 1968 |title=Maudling leads Tory General Election drive |url={{GBurl|tX9AAAAAIBAJ|p=1&article_id=4653,2776284}} |work=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |page=1 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Warden |first=John |date=22 October 1969 |title=Shadow Cabinet's Three Changes |url={{GBurl|E5JAAAAAIBAJ|p=24&article_id=2828,4200705}} |work=The Glasgow Herald |page=24 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1968, [[Enoch Powell]] delivered his [[Rivers of Blood speech|"Rivers of Blood" speech]] in which he strongly criticised [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] immigration to the United Kingdom and the then-proposed [[Race Relations Act 1968|Race Relations Bill]]. When Heath telephoned Thatcher to inform her that he would sack Powell from the Shadow Cabinet, she recalled that she "really thought that it was better to let things cool down for the present rather than heighten the crisis". She believed that his main points about Commonwealth immigration were correct and that the selected quotations from his speech had been taken out of context.{{sfnp|Aitken|2013|page=117}}  In a 1991 interview for ''[[Today (UK newspaper)|Today]]'', Thatcher stated that she thought Powell had "made a valid argument, if in sometimes regrettable terms".<ref name="Sandford">{{Cite magazine |last=Sandford |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Sandford (biographer) |date=4 December 2017 |orig-date=June 2012 issue |title=To See and to Speak |url=https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/article/to-see-and-to-speak/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027040342/https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/article/to-see-and-to-speak/ |archive-date=27 October 2020 |access-date=23 October 2020 |magazine=[[Chronicles (magazine)|Chronicles]]}}</ref>

Around this time, she gave her first Commons speech as a shadow transport minister and highlighted the need for investment in [[British Rail]]. She argued: "[I]f we build bigger and better roads, they would soon be saturated with more vehicles and we would be no nearer solving the problem."{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=189}}  Thatcher made her first visit to the [[Soviet Union]] in the summer of 1969 as the Opposition transport spokeswoman, and in October, delivered a speech celebrating her ten years in Parliament. In early 1970, she told ''The Finchley Press'' that she would like to see a "reversal of the permissive society".{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|pp=190–191}}

===Education Secretary (1970–1974)===
[[File:Girls at Baldock County Council School in Hertfordshire enjoy a drink of milk during a break in the school day in 1944. D20552.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Girls at Baldock County Council School in Hertfordshire enjoying a drink of milk during a break in the school day in 1944|Thatcher abolished free milk for children aged 7–11 (''pictured''{{--)}} in 1971 as [[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|her predecessor]] had done for older children in 1968.]]
The Conservative Party, led by Edward Heath, won the 1970 general election, and Thatcher was appointed to the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] as [[Secretary of State for Education and Science]]. Thatcher caused controversy when, after only a few days in office, she withdrew Labour's [[Circular 10/65]], which attempted to force [[Comprehensive school (England and Wales)|comprehensivisation]], without going through a consultation process. She was highly criticised for the speed at which she carried this out.{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=222}} Consequently, she drafted her own new policy ([[Circular 10/70]]), which ensured that local authorities were not forced to go comprehensive. Her new policy was not meant to stop the development of new comprehensives; she said: "We shall [...] expect plans to be based on educational considerations rather than on the comprehensive principle."{{sfnp|Moore|2013|p=215}}

Thatcher supported [[Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild|Lord Rothschild]]'s 1971 proposal for market forces to affect government funding of research. Although many scientists opposed the proposal, her research background probably made her sceptical of their claim that outsiders should not interfere with funding.{{r|lecher20130408}} The department evaluated proposals for more local education authorities to close grammar schools and to adopt [[comprehensive school|comprehensive secondary education]]. Although Thatcher was committed to a tiered [[secondary modern]]-grammar school system of education and attempted to preserve grammar schools,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=14}} during her tenure as education secretary, she turned down only 326 of 3,612 proposals (roughly 9 per cent){{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=224}} for schools to become comprehensives; the proportion of pupils attending comprehensive schools consequently rose from 32 per cent to 62 per cent.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|pp=248–249}} Nevertheless, she managed to save 94 grammar schools.{{sfnp|Moore|2013|p=215}}

{{anchor|Milk Snatcher}}
During her first months in office, she attracted public attention due to the government's attempts to cut spending. She gave priority to academic needs in schools,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=14}} while administering public expenditure cuts on the state education system, resulting in the abolition of [[Education Act 1944|free milk for school children]] aged seven to eleven.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=76}} She held that few children would suffer if schools were charged for milk but agreed to provide younger children with {{convert|0.3|imppt}} <!-- pint --> daily for nutritional purposes.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=76}} She also argued that she was simply carrying on with what the Labour government had started since they had stopped giving free milk to secondary schools.{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=231}} Milk would still be provided to those children that required it on medical grounds, and schools could still sell milk.{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=231}} The aftermath of the milk row hardened her determination; she told the editor-proprietor Harold Creighton of ''[[The Spectator]]'': "Don't underestimate me, I saw how they broke [[Keith Joseph|Keith {{interp|Joseph}}]], but they won't break me."{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=288}}

Cabinet papers later revealed that she opposed the policy but had been forced into it by the Treasury.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hickman |first=Martin |date=9 August 2010 |title=Tories move swiftly to avoid 'milk-snatcher' tag |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-move-swiftly-to-avoid-milksnatcher-tag-2047372.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517184554/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-move-swiftly-to-avoid-milksnatcher-tag-2047372.html |archive-date=17 May 2013 |access-date=9 April 2013 |work=The Independent}}</ref> Her decision provoked a storm of protest from Labour and the press,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=15}} leading to her being notoriously nicknamed "Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher".{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=76}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Rebecca |date=8 August 2010 |title=How Margaret Thatcher became known as 'Milk Snatcher' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7932963/How-Margaret-Thatcher-became-known-as-Milk-Snatcher.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118071518/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7932963/How-Margaret-Thatcher-became-known-as-Milk-Snatcher.html |archive-date=18 January 2012 |access-date=9 April 2013 |work=The Sunday Telegraph}}</ref> She reportedly considered leaving politics in the aftermath and later wrote in her autobiography: "I learned a valuable lesson. I had incurred the maximum of political odium for the minimum of political benefit."{{sfnmp|1a1=Reitan|1y=2003|1p=15|2a1=Thatcher|2y=1995|2p=182}}

===Leader of the Opposition (1975–1979)===
{{See also|Thatcher shadow cabinet}}
{{External media
| topic=1975 speech to the [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]]
| headerimage=[[File:Thatcher-loc.jpg|frameless|upright=0.77 |border |Thatcher sitting in a black-and-white photograph]]
| caption=Thatcher in late 1975
| audio1={{Cite speech |title=National Press Club Luncheon Speakers: Margaret Thatcher |url=http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/thatcher.html}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Press Club Luncheon Speakers: Margaret Thatcher (Recorded Sound Research Center, Library of Congress) |url=http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/thatcher.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927213633/http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/thatcher.html |archive-date=27 September 2018 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref> (Starts at 7:39, finishes at 28:33.)<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 September 1975 |title=Speech to the National Press Club |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102770 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029044318/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102770 |archive-date=29 October 2016 |access-date=28 October 2016 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>
}}
The [[Heath government]] continued to experience difficulties with [[1973 oil crisis|oil embargoes]] and union demands for wage increases in 1973, subsequently losing the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 general election]].{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=15}} Labour formed [[Labour government, 1974–1979|a minority government]] and went on to win a narrow majority in the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974 general election]]. Heath's leadership of the Conservative Party looked increasingly in doubt.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 November 1974 |title=Heath agrees to change rules on leadership |url={{GBurl|NOw-AAAAIBAJ|p=1&article_id=4563,1637862}} |work=The Glasgow Herald |page=1 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Thatcher was not initially seen as the obvious replacement, but she eventually became the main challenger, promising a fresh start.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=16}} Her main support came from the parliamentary [[1922 Committee]]{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=16}} and ''The Spectator'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cosgrave |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Cosgrave |date=25 January 1975 |title=Clear choice for the Tories |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/clear-choice-for-the-tories/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025145009/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/clear-choice-for-the-tories/ |archive-date=25 October 2017 |access-date=13 July 2017 |publication-date=13 April 2013 |magazine=The Spectator}}</ref> but Thatcher's time in office gave her the reputation of a pragmatist rather than that of an ideologue.{{r|runciman20130606}} She [[1975 Conservative Party leadership election|defeated Heath]] on the first ballot, and he resigned from the leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naughton |first=Philippe |date=18 July 2005 |title=Thatcher leads tributes to Sir Edward Heath |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/thatcher-leads-tributes-to-sir-edward-heath-353gzwv3fdh |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210913173244/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thatcher-leads-tributes-to-sir-edward-heath-353gzwv3fdh |archive-date=13 September 2021 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref> In the second ballot she defeated Whitelaw, Heath's preferred successor. Thatcher's election had a polarising effect on the party; her support was stronger among MPs on the right, and also among those from southern England, and those who had not attended public schools or [[Oxbridge]].{{sfnp|Cowley|Bailey|2000}}

Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]] on 11 February 1975;<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 February 1975 |title=Press Conference after winning Conservative leadership (Grand Committee Room) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=102452 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218065547/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=102452 |archive-date=18 February 2012 |access-date=29 September 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> she appointed Whitelaw as her [[Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|deputy]]. Heath was never reconciled to Thatcher's leadership of the party.{{sfnp|Moore|2013|pages=394–395, 430}}

Television critic [[Clive James]], writing in ''[[The Observer]]'' prior to her election as Conservative Party leader, compared her voice of 1973 to "a cat sliding down a blackboard".{{refn|{{harvtxt|James|1977|pp=119–120}}: <q>The hang-up has always been the voice. Not the timbre so much as, well, the {{em|tone}} – the condescending explanatory whine which treats the squirming interlocutor as an eight-year-old child with personality deficiencies. It has been fascinating, recently, to watch her striving to eliminate this. BBC2 ''News Extra'' on Tuesday night rolled a clip from May 1973 demonstrating the Thatcher sneer at full pitch. (She was saying that she wouldn't {{em|dream}} of seeking the leadership.) She sounded like a cat sliding down a blackboard.</q><ref>{{Cite news |last=James |first=Clive |date=9 February 1975 |title=Getting Mrs T into focus |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52299047/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173045/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52299047/2-c-mt-on-tv/ |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=The Observer |page=26 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>|group=nb}} Thatcher had already begun to work on her presentation on the advice of [[Gordon Reece]], a former television producer. By chance, Reece met the actor [[Laurence Olivier]], who arranged lessons with the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]'s voice coach.{{sfnp|Thatcher|1995|p=267}}<ref name="Moore Vanity">{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Charles |date=December 2011 |title=The Invincible Mrs. Thatcher |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/12/margaret-thatcher-201112 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218073039/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/12/margaret-thatcher-201112 |archive-date=18 February 2012 |access-date=25 February 2012 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref>{{refn|Thatcher succeeded in completely suppressing her Lincolnshire dialect except when under stress, notably after provocation from [[Denis Healey]] in the Commons in 1983, when she accused the [[Shadow Cabinet of Michael Foot|Labour frontbench]] of being [[wikt:frit#Etymology 2|''frit'']].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=A miracle recovery for Finchley mother of two |date=22 April 1983 |page=28 |issue=61513 |department=News |last=Johnson |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Johnson (journalist)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 April 1983 |title=PM taunts Labour over early election |work=The Guardian |page=5 |quote=Amid uproar from both sides of the house, Mrs Thatcher shouted: 'So you are afraid of an election are you? Afraid, Afraid, Afraid. Frightened, frit – couldn't take it. Couldn't stand it.'}}</ref>|group=nb}}

Thatcher began attending lunches regularly at the [[Institute of Economic Affairs]] (IEA), a think tank founded by {{wikt-lang|en|Hayekian|i=-}} poultry magnate [[Antony Fisher]]; she had been visiting the IEA and reading its publications since the early 1960s. There she was influenced by the ideas of [[Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross|Ralph Harris]] and [[Arthur Seldon]] and became the face of the ideological movement opposing the [[British welfare state]]. [[Keynesian economics]], they believed, was weakening Britain. The institute's pamphlets proposed less government, lower taxes, and more freedom for business and consumers.{{sfnp|Beckett|2010|loc=chpt. 11}}

[[File:President Gerald Ford Meeting with Great Britain's Conservative Party Leader Margaret Thatcher in the Oval Office.jpg|thumb|alt=Thatcher sitting with Gerald Ford|With President [[Gerald Ford]] in the [[Oval&nbsp;Office]], 1975]]
Thatcher intended to promote [[neoliberal]] economic ideas at home and abroad. Despite setting the direction of her foreign policy for a Conservative government, Thatcher was distressed by her repeated failure to shine in the House of Commons. Consequently, Thatcher decided that as "her voice was carrying little weight at home", she would "be heard in the wider world".{{sfnp|Campbell |2000|p=344}} Thatcher undertook visits across the Atlantic, establishing an international profile and promoting her economic and foreign policies. She toured the United States in 1975 and met President [[Gerald Ford]],<ref>{{Cite wikisource |title=President Ford–Margaret Thatcher memcon |date=18 September 1975 |wslink=President Ford–Margaret Thatcher memcon (18 September 1975)}}</ref> visiting again in 1977, when she met President [[Jimmy Carter]].{{sfnp|Cooper|2010|pp=25–26}} Among other foreign trips, she met Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] during a visit to [[Pahlavi Iran|Iran]] in 1978.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Press Conference concluding visit to Iran |date=1 May 1978 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103489 |access-date=13 April 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414010627/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103489 |archive-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> Thatcher chose to travel without being accompanied by her [[shadow foreign secretary]], [[Reginald Maudling]], in an attempt to make a bolder personal impact.{{sfnp|Cooper|2010|pp=25–26}}

In domestic affairs, Thatcher opposed [[Scottish devolution]] ([[Home rule#Scotland|home rule]]) and the creation of a [[Scottish Assembly]]. She instructed Conservative MPs to vote against the Scotland and Wales Bill in December 1976, which was successfully defeated, and then when new Bills were proposed, she supported amending the legislation to allow the English to vote in the [[1979 Scottish devolution referendum|1979 referendum]] on Scottish devolution.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 April 2008 |title=How Thatcher tried to thwart devolution |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/how-thatcher-tried-to-thwart-devolution-1-1165673 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016012202/http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/how-thatcher-tried-to-thwart-devolution-1-1165673 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |access-date=20 April 2013 |work=The Scotsman}}</ref>

Britain's economy during the 1970s was so weak that then Foreign Secretary [[James Callaghan]] warned his fellow Labour Cabinet members in 1974 of the possibility of "a breakdown of democracy", telling them: "If I were a young man, I would emigrate."{{sfnp|Beckett|2010|loc=chpt. 7}} In mid-1978, the economy began to recover, and opinion polls showed Labour in the lead, with a general election being expected later that year and a Labour win a serious possibility. Now prime minister, Callaghan surprised many by announcing on 7 September that there would be no general election that year and that he would wait until 1979 before going to the polls. Thatcher reacted to this by branding the Labour government "chickens", and Liberal Party leader David Steel joined in, criticising Labour for "running scared".<ref>{{Cite news |title=7 September 1978: Callaghan accused of running scared |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/7/newsid_2502000/2502781.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410202005/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/7/newsid_2502000/2502781.stm |archive-date=10 April 2012 |access-date=13 January 2012 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=[[BBC News Online]]}}</ref>

The Labour government then faced fresh public unease about the direction of the country and a damaging series of strikes during the winter of 1978–79, dubbed the "[[Winter of Discontent]]". The Conservatives attacked the Labour government's unemployment record, using advertising with the slogan "[[Labour Isn't Working]]". A [[1979 United Kingdom general election|general election]] was called after the Callaghan ministry [[1979 vote of no confidence in the Callaghan ministry|lost a motion of no confidence]] in early 1979. The Conservatives won a 44-seat majority in the House of Commons, and Thatcher became the first female British prime minister.{{sfnp|Butler|Kavanagh|1980|page=199}}

===="Iron Lady"====
{{Main|Britain Awake}}
{{External media |topic=1976 speech to Finchley Conservatives |video1={{Cite speech |title=Speech to Finchley Conservatives'' (admits to being an "Iron Lady")'' |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111324 |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}<ref name="Iron Lady" />}}
{{blockquote|I stand before you tonight in my ''Red Star'' chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up and my fair hair gently waved, the Iron Lady of the Western world.{{r|Iron Lady}}|Thatcher embracing her Soviet nickname in 1976}}

In 1976, Thatcher gave her "Britain Awake" foreign policy speech which lambasted the Soviet Union, saying it was "bent on world dominance".<ref name="britain-awake">{{Cite web |date=19 January 1976 |title=Speech at Kensington Town Hall ('Britain Awake') (The Iron Lady) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102939 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017152319/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102939 |archive-date=17 October 2010 |access-date=2 November 2008 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |quote=[[Helsinki Accords|At Helsinki]] we endorsed the status quo in Eastern Europe. In return we had hoped for the freer movement of people and ideas across the Iron Curtain. So far we have got nothing of substance.}}</ref> The Soviet Army journal ''[[Krasnaya Zvezda|Red Star]]'' reported her stance in a piece headlined "Iron Lady Raises Fears",<ref name="Gavrilov">{{Cite news |last=Gavrilov |first=Yuri |date=24 January 1976 |title=The 'Iron Lady' Sounds the Alarm |work=Red Star |pages=3, 17 |volume=28 |issue=1–13 |translator={{text|''The Current Digest of the Soviet Press''}}}}</ref> alluding to her remarks on the [[Iron Curtain]].<ref name="britain-awake" /> ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' covered the ''Red Star'' article the next day,<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 January 1976 |title=Maggie, the 'Iron Lady' |url=http://gale.cengage.co.uk/images/upload/NewsVault/Thatcher/15-Maggie-the-Iron-Lady.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029044402/http://gale.cengage.co.uk/images/upload/NewsVault/Thatcher/15-Maggie-the-Iron-Lady.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2016 |access-date=28 October 2016 |newspaper=The Sunday Times}}</ref> and Thatcher embraced the [[wikt:epithet|epithet]] a week later; in a speech to Finchley Conservatives she likened it to the [[Duke of Wellington]]'s nickname "{{title case|iron duke}}".<ref name="Iron Lady">{{Cite web |date=31 January 1976 |title=Speech to Finchley Conservatives (admits to being an 'Iron Lady') |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102947 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924182918/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102947 |archive-date=24 September 2016 |access-date=17 October 2016 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> The [[Iron (metaphor)|"Iron" metaphor]] followed her throughout the rest of her career,{{sfnmp|1a1=Atkinson|1y=1984|1p=115|2a1=Kaplan|2y=2000|2p=60}} and would become a generic [[sobriquet]] for other strong-willed female politicians.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macpherson |first=Fiona |author-link=Fiona Macpherson |date=10 April 2013 |title=The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher's linguistic legacy |url=https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/04/10/margaretthatcher |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616153939/https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/04/10/margaretthatcher/ |archive-date=16 June 2018 |access-date=20 May 2018 |website=[[OxfordDictionaries.com]] |quote=While it has been applied to other women since (from politicians to tennis players), the resonance with Margaret Thatcher remains the strongest.}}</ref>

==Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–1990)==
{{Main|Premiership of Margaret Thatcher}}
{{Further|First Thatcher ministry|second Thatcher ministry|third Thatcher ministry}}
{{External media
| topic=1979 remarks on becoming prime minister
| headerimage=[[File:10 Downing Street 235.jpg|frameless|upright=1 |border]]
| caption=[[10 Downing Street]], {{circa|1979}}
| video1={{Cite speech |title=Remarks on becoming Prime Minister'' (St Francis's prayer)'' |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/115355 |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}<ref name="Prayer" />
}}
Thatcher became prime minister on 4 May 1979. Arriving at [[Downing Street]] she said, paraphrasing the [[Prayer of Saint Francis]]:

{{poemquote|
Where there is discord, may we bring harmony;
Where there is error, may we bring truth;
Where there is doubt, may we bring faith;
And where there is despair, may we bring hope.<ref name="Prayer">{{Cite web |date=4 May 1979 |title=Remarks on becoming Prime Minister (St&nbsp;Francis's prayer) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104078 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322015853/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104078 |archive-date=22 March 2017 |access-date=21 March 2017 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>
}}

In office throughout the 1980s, Thatcher was frequently referred to as the most powerful woman in the world.{{sfnmp|1a1=Bern|1y=1987|1p=43|2a1=Ogden|2y=1990|2pp=9, 12}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sheehy |first=Gail |author-link=Gail Sheehy |year=1989 |title=Gail Sheehy on the most powerful woman in the world |magazine=Vanity Fair |page=102 |volume=52}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Eisner |first=Jane |author-link=Jane Eisner |date=7 June 1987 |title=The most powerful woman in the world |magazine=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] Magazine |page=1 |asin=B006RKBPBK}}</ref>

===Domestic affairs===
====Minorities====
Thatcher was the Opposition leader and prime minister at a time of increased racial tension in Britain. During the [[1977 United Kingdom local elections|1977 local elections]], ''[[The Economist]]'' commented: "The Tory tide swamped the smaller parties{{snd}}specifically the [[National Front (UK)|National Front {{interp|NF}}]], which suffered a clear decline from last year."<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 May 1977 |title=Votes go to Tories, and nobody else |newspaper=The Economist |pages=24–28 |volume=263 |issue=6976}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 March 1978 |title=Conservative Campaign Guide Supplement 1978 |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/110797 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019154057/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/110797 |archive-date=19 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |page=[https://c59574e9047e61130f13-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/93030FB632E147999D4BEB655587A134.pdf#page270 270]}}</ref> Her standing in the polls had risen by 11% after a 1978 interview for ''[[World in Action]]'' in which she said "the British character has done so much for democracy, for law and done so much throughout the world that if there is any fear that it might be swamped people are going to react and be rather hostile to those coming in", as well as "in many ways {{interp|minorities}} add to the richness and variety of this country. The moment the minority threatens to become a big one, people get frightened".<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 January 1978 |title=TV Interview for Granada World in Action ('rather swamped') |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103485 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717144335/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103485 |archive-date=17 July 2017 |access-date=23 July 2017 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Mrs Thatcher fears people might become hostile if immigrant flow is not cut |date=31 January 1978 |page=2 |issue=60224 |department=News}}</ref> In the 1979 general election, the Conservatives had attracted votes from the NF, whose support almost collapsed.{{sfnmp|1a1=Reitan|1y=2003|1p=26|2a1=Ward|2y=2004|2p=128}} In a July 1979 meeting with Foreign Secretary [[Lord Carrington]] and Home Secretary William Whitelaw, Thatcher objected to the number of Asian immigrants, in the context of limiting the total of [[Vietnamese boat people]] allowed to settle in the UK to fewer than 10,000 over two years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swaine |first=Jon |date=30 December 2009 |title=Margaret Thatcher complained about Asian immigration to Britain |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6906503/Margaret-Thatcher-complained-about-Asian-immigration-to-Britain.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525084645/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6906503/Margaret-Thatcher-complained-about-Asian-immigration-to-Britain.html |archive-date=25 May 2010 |access-date=20 January 2011 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

====The Queen====

As prime minister, Thatcher met weekly with [[Queen Elizabeth II]] to discuss government business, and their relationship came under scrutiny.{{sfnmp|1a1=Reitan|1y=2003|1p=28|2a1=Seward|2y=2001|2p=154}} {{harvtxt|Campbell|2011a|page=464}} states:

{{blockquote|One question that continued to fascinate the public about the phenomenon of a woman Prime Minister was how she got on with the Queen. The answer is that their relations were punctiliously correct, but there was little love lost on either side. As two women of very similar age – Mrs Thatcher was six months older – occupying parallel positions at the top of the social pyramid, one the head of government, the other head of state, they were bound to be in some sense rivals. Mrs Thatcher's attitude to the Queen was ambivalent. On the one hand she had an almost mystical reverence for the institution of the monarchy [...] Yet at the same time she was trying to modernise the country and sweep away many of the values and practices which the monarchy perpetuated.}}

[[Michael Shea (diplomat)|Michael Shea]], the Queen's press secretary, in 1986 leaked stories of a deep rift to ''The Sunday Times''. He said that she felt Thatcher's policies were "uncaring, confrontational and socially divisive".{{sfnp|Pimlott|1996|pp=460–463, 484, 509–514}} Thatcher later wrote: "I always found the Queen's attitude towards the work of the Government absolutely correct [...] stories of clashes between 'two powerful women' were just too good not to make up."{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|p=18}}

====Economy and taxation====
{{See also|June 1979 United Kingdom budget|l1=1979 budget}}
{{Margaret Thatcher/datatable}}
Thatcher's economic policy was influenced by [[monetarist]] thinking and economists such as [[Milton Friedman]] and [[Alan Walters]].{{sfnp|Childs|2006|p=185}} Together with her first [[Chancellor of the Exchequer|chancellor]], [[Geoffrey Howe]], she lowered direct taxes on income and increased indirect taxes.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=30}} She increased interest rates to slow the growth of the money supply, and thereby lower inflation;{{sfnp|Childs|2006|p=185}} introduced cash limits on public spending and reduced expenditure on social services such as education and housing.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=30}} Cuts to higher education led to Thatcher being the first [[Oxonian]] post-war prime minister without an honorary doctorate from Oxford University after a 738–319 vote of the governing assembly and a student petition.<ref>{{Cite news |title=29 January 1985: Thatcher snubbed by Oxford dons |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/29/newsid_2506000/2506019.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724131128/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/29/newsid_2506000/2506019.stm |archive-date=24 July 2013 |access-date=9 April 2007 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref>

Some Heathite Conservatives in the Cabinet, the so-called "[[wets]]", expressed doubt over Thatcher's policies.<ref>{{Cite news |title=10 October 1980: Thatcher 'not for turning' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/10/newsid_2541000/2541071.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724131113/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/10/newsid_2541000/2541071.stm |archive-date=24 July 2013 |access-date=21 December 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> The [[1981 England riots]] resulted in the British media discussing the need for a [[Flip-flop (politics)|policy U-turn]]. At the 1980 Conservative Party conference, Thatcher addressed the issue directly with a speech written by the playwright [[Ronald Millar]],{{sfnp|Jones|2007|p=224}} that notably included the following lines:{{blockquote|To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the "U" turn, I have only one thing to say. "You turn if you want to. [[The lady's not for turning]]."<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 October 1980 |title=Speech to Conservative Party Conference ('the lady's not for turning') |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104431 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105144306/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104431 |archive-date=5 January 2018 |access-date=31 March 2018 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>}}

{{See also|1981 United Kingdom budget|l1=1981 budget}}
Thatcher's job approval rating fell to 23% by December 1980, lower than recorded for any previous prime minister.{{sfnp|Thornton|2004|p=18}} As the [[Early 1980s recession|recession of the early 1980s]] deepened, she increased taxes,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=31}} despite concerns expressed in a March 1981 statement signed by 364 leading economists,<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 March 1981 |title=An avalanche of economists |url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/263/101/138526786w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS285575295&dyn=75!xrn_1_0_CS285575295&hst_1?sw_aep=mclib |url-access=limited |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714012618/http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/mclib?http_rc=400&class=session&sev=temp&type=session&cause=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/263/101/138526786w16/purl%3Drc1_TTDA_0_CS285575295%26dyn%3D75!xrn_1_0_CS285575295%26hst_1%3Fsw_aep%3Dmclib&cont=&msg=No+Session+cookies&sserv=no |archive-date=14 July 2012 |access-date=12 January 2011 |work=[[The Times]] |page=17}}</ref> which argued there was "no basis in economic theory [...] for the Government's belief that by deflating demand they will bring inflation permanently under control", adding that "present policies will deepen the depression, erode the industrial base of our economy and threaten its social and political stability".<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 1981 |title=Economy: Letter of the 364 economists critical of monetarism (letter sent to academics and list of signatories) |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/121217 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401144432/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/121217 |archive-date=1 April 2018 |access-date=31 March 2018 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

[[File:Margaret Thatcher visiting Salford.jpg|thumb|alt=photograph|Visiting [[Salford University]] in 1982]]
By 1982, the UK began to experience signs of economic recovery;{{sfnp|Floud|Johnson|2004|p=392}} inflation was down to 8.6% from a high of 18%, but unemployment was over 3&nbsp;million for the first time since the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite news |title=26 January 1982: UK unemployment tops three million |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/26/newsid_2506000/2506335.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221074348/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/26/newsid_2506000/2506335.stm |archive-date=21 February 2018 |access-date=16 April 2010 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> By 1983, overall economic growth was stronger, and inflation and mortgage rates had fallen to their lowest levels in 13 years, although manufacturing employment as a share of total employment fell to just over 30%,{{sfnp|Rowthorn|Wells|1987|page=234}} with total unemployment remaining high, peaking at 3.3&nbsp;million in 1984.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Grady |first=Sean |date=16 March 2009 |title=Unemployment among young workers hits 15 per cent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/unemployment-among-young-workers-hits-15-per-cent-1645728.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724123849/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/unemployment-among-young-workers-hits-15-per-cent-1645728.html |archive-date=24 July 2013 |access-date=21 November 2010 |work=The Independent}}</ref>

During the 1982 Conservative Party Conference, Thatcher said: "We have done more to roll back the frontiers of socialism than any previous Conservative Government."<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 October 1982 |title=Speech to Conservative Party Conference |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105032 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073302/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105032 |archive-date=8 April 2018 |access-date=7 April 2018 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> She said at the Party Conference the following year that the British people had completely rejected [[state socialism]] and understood "the state has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves [...] There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers' money."<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 October 1983 |title=Speech to Conservative Party Conference |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105454 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408010401/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105454 |archive-date=8 April 2018 |access-date=7 April 2018 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

By 1987, unemployment was falling, the economy was stable and strong, and inflation was low. Opinion polls showed a comfortable Conservative lead, and [[1987 United Kingdom local elections|local council election]] results had also been successful, prompting Thatcher to call a general election for 11 June that year, despite the deadline for an election still being 12 months away. The [[1987 United Kingdom general election|election]] saw Thatcher re-elected for a third successive term.<ref>{{Cite news |title=11 June 1987 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/ge87.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203222938/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/ge87.shtml |archive-date=3 December 2011 |access-date=14 November 2011 |work=Politics 97 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref>

Thatcher had been firmly opposed to British membership of the [[Exchange Rate Mechanism]] (ERM, a precursor to [[European Economic and Monetary Union]]), believing that it would constrain the British economy,<ref name="ecc">{{Cite news |last=Riddell |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Riddell |date=23 November 1987 |title=Thatcher stands firm against full EMS role |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106969 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420095953/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106969 |archive-date=20 April 2008 |access-date=8 October 2008 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> despite the urging of both Chancellor of the Exchequer [[Nigel Lawson]] and Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe;{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|p=712}} in October 1990 she was persuaded by [[John Major]], Lawson's successor as chancellor, to join the ERM at what proved to be too high a rate.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=484}}

Thatcher reformed local government taxes by replacing [[Rates (tax)|domestic rates]] (a tax based on the nominal rental value of a home) with the [[Community Charge]] (or poll tax) in which the same amount was charged to each adult resident.<ref name="polltax">{{Cite news |last=Passell |first=Peter |date=23 April 1990 |title=Furor Over British Poll Tax Imperils Thatcher Ideology |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DD1030F930A15757C0A966958260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602032717/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/23/business/furor-over-british-poll-tax-imperils-thatcher-ideology.html |archive-date=2 June 2013 |access-date=30 October 2008 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The new tax was introduced in Scotland in 1989 and in England and Wales the following year,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|pp=87–88}} and proved to be among the most unpopular policies of her premiership.{{r|polltax}} Public disquiet culminated in a 70,000 to 200,000-strong<ref name="trafalgarsq num">{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=David |date=25 March 2010 |title=The Battle of Trafalgar Square: The poll tax riots revisited |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-battle-of-trafalgar-square-the-poll-tax-riots-revisited-1926873.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119102840/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-battle-of-trafalgar-square-the-poll-tax-riots-revisited-1926873.html |archive-date=19 January 2018 |access-date=8 April 2013 |work=The Independent}}</ref> demonstration in London in March 1990; the demonstration around [[Trafalgar Square]] deteriorated into [[Poll tax riots|riots]], leaving 113 people injured and 340 under arrest.<ref name="otd pt">{{Cite news |title=31 March 1990: Violence flares in poll tax demonstration |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_2530000/2530763.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409013226/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_2530000/2530763.stm |archive-date=9 April 2013 |access-date=30 October 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> The Community Charge was abolished in 1991 by her successor, John Major.{{r|otd pt}} It has since transpired that Thatcher herself had failed to register for the tax and was threatened with financial penalties if she did not return her form.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Narwan |first=Gurpreet |date=30 December 2016 |title=Threat of fine for unpaid poll tax sent to No 10 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/threat-of-fine-for-unpaid-poll-tax-sent-to-no-10-szqwdrlb6 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210821195006/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/threat-of-fine-for-unpaid-poll-tax-sent-to-no-10-szqwdrlb6 |archive-date=21 August 2021 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

====Industrial relations====
{{See also|GCHQ trade union ban|Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service|label2=the GCHQ case}}

Thatcher believed that the [[Trade unions in the United Kingdom|trade unions]] were harmful to both ordinary trade unionists and the public.{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|pp=89–90}} She was committed to reducing the power of the unions, whose leadership she accused of undermining parliamentary democracy and economic performance through strike action.{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|pp=97–98, 339–340}} Several unions launched strikes in response to legislation introduced to limit their power, but resistance eventually collapsed.<ref name="thatcher-cw">{{Cite news |title=Margaret Thatcher |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/thatcher |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703072749/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/thatcher |archive-date=3 July 2008 |access-date=29 October 2008 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> Only 39% of union members voted Labour in the 1983 general election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Revzin |first=Philip |date=23 November 1984 |title=British Labor Unions Begin to Toe the Line, Realizing That the Times Have Changed |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> According to the BBC's political correspondent in 2004, Thatcher "managed to destroy the power of the trade unions for almost a generation".<ref name="bbcstrike">{{Cite news |last=Wilenius |first=Paul |date=5 March 2004 |title=Enemies within: Thatcher and the unions |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3067563.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430144439/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3067563.stm |archive-date=30 April 2009 |access-date=29 October 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The [[miners' strike of 1984–85]] was the biggest and most devastating confrontation between the unions and the Thatcher government.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Henry |first=John |date=5 March 2009 |title=When miners took on the government |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/7923138.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521105409/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/7923138.stm |archive-date=21 May 2018 |access-date=20 May 2018 |work=BBC News |location=Yorkshire}}</ref>

[[File:Miners strike rally London 1984.jpg|alt=photograph|thumb|Pro-strike rally in London, 1984]]
In March 1984, the [[National Coal Board]] (NCB) proposed to close 20 of the 174 state-owned mines and cut 20,000 jobs out of 187,000.<ref name="Glass">{{Cite news |last=Glass |first=Robert |date=16 December 1984 |title=The Uncivilized Side of Britain Rears its Ugly Head |work=The Record |page=37}}</ref><ref name="Black">{{Cite news |last=Black |first=David |date=21 February 2009 |title=Still unbowed, ex-miners to mark 25 years since the start of the strike |url=http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/still-unbowed-ex-miners-mark-25-4488387 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812022044/http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/still-unbowed-ex-miners-mark-25-4488387 |archive-date=12 August 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=The Journal}}</ref>{{r|pits-closed}} Two-thirds of the country's miners, led by the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]] (NUM) under [[Arthur Scargill]], went on strike in protest.{{r|Glass}}<ref name="thatcher-num">{{Cite news |last=Hannan |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Hannan (presenter) |date=6 March 2004 |title=Iron Lady versus union baron |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3537463.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226200523/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3537463.stm |archive-date=26 February 2009 |access-date=20 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="Jones">{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Alan |date=3 March 2009 |title=A History of the Miners' Strike |agency=Press Association}}</ref> However, Scargill refused to hold a ballot on the strike,{{sfnp|Adeney|Lloyd|1988|pages=88–89}} having previously lost three ballots on a national strike (in January and October 1982, and March 1983).{{sfnp|Adeney|Lloyd|1988|page=169}} This led to the strike being declared illegal by the [[High Court of Justice]].{{sfnp|Adeney|Lloyd|1988|page=170}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=28 September 1984: Pit dispute 'illegal' says judge |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/28/newsid_2540000/2540813.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002235052/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/28/newsid_2540000/2540813.stm |archive-date=2 October 2018 |access-date=26 December 2012 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref>

Thatcher refused to meet the union's demands and compared the miners' dispute to the [[Falklands War]], declaring in a speech in 1984: "We had to fight the enemy without in the Falklands. We always have to be aware of the enemy within, which is much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty."{{sfnp|Khabaz|2006|p=226}} Thatcher's opponents characterised her words as indicating contempt for the working class and have been employed in criticism of her ever since.{{sfnp|Moore|2015|p=164}}

After a year out on strike in March 1985, the NUM leadership conceded without a deal. The cost to the economy was estimated to be at least £1.5&nbsp;billion, and the strike was blamed for much of the [[Pound sterling|pound]]'s fall against the US dollar.<ref name="Harper">{{Cite news |last=Harper |first=Timothy |date=5 March 1985 |title=Miners return to work today. Bitter coal strike wrenched British economy, society |work=The Dallas Morning News |page=8}}</ref> Thatcher reflected on the end of the strike in her statement that "if anyone has won", it was "the miners who stayed at work" and all those "that have kept Britain going".{{sfnp|Moore|2015|p=178}}

The government closed 25 unprofitable coal mines in 1985, and by 1992 a total of 97 mines had been closed;{{r|pits-closed}} those that remained were privatised in 1994.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 March 2004 |title=UK Coal sees loss crumble to £1m |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3531819.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131203228/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3531819.stm |archive-date=31 January 2011 |access-date=20 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The resulting closure of 150 coal mines, some of which were not losing money, resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and had the effect of devastating entire communities.<ref name="pits-closed">{{Cite news |date=5 March 2004 |title=Watching the pits disappear |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3514549.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702053420/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3514549.stm |archive-date=2 July 2008 |access-date=20 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Strikes had helped bring down Heath's government, and Thatcher was determined to succeed where he had failed. Her strategy of preparing fuel stocks, appointing hardliner [[Ian MacGregor]] as NCB leader and ensuring that police were adequately trained and equipped with riot gear contributed to her triumph over the striking miners.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=411}}

The number of stoppages across the UK peaked at 4,583 in 1979, when more than 29&nbsp;million working days had been lost. In 1984, the year of the miners' strike, there were 1,221, resulting in the loss of more than 27&nbsp;million working days. Stoppages then fell steadily throughout the rest of Thatcher's premiership; in 1990, there were 630 and fewer than 2&nbsp;million working days lost, and they continued to fall thereafter.{{sfnp|Butler|1994|p=375}} Thatcher's tenure also witnessed a sharp decline in trade union density, with the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union falling from 57.3% in 1979 to 49.5% in 1985.{{sfnp|Laybourn|1992|page=208}} In 1979 up until Thatcher's final year in office, trade union membership also fell, from 13.5&nbsp;million in 1979 to fewer than 10&nbsp;million.{{sfnp|Barrell|1994|p=127}}

====Privatisation====
The policy of [[privatisation]] has been called "a crucial ingredient of Thatcherism".{{sfnp|Seldon|Collings|2000|p=27}} After the 1983 election, the sale of state utilities accelerated;{{sfnp|Feigenbaum|Henig|Hamnett|1998|p=71}} more than £29&nbsp;billion was raised from the sale of nationalised industries, and another £18&nbsp;billion from the sale of council houses.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=428}} The process of privatisation, especially the preparation of nationalised industries for privatisation, was associated with marked improvements in performance, particularly in terms of [[labour productivity]].{{sfnp|Parker|Martin|1995}}

Some of the privatised industries, including gas, [[Water privatisation in England and Wales|water]], and electricity, were [[natural monopolies]] for which privatisation involved little increase in competition. The privatised industries that demonstrated improvement sometimes did so while still under state ownership. [[British Steel Corporation]] had made great gains in profitability while still a nationalised industry under the government-appointed MacGregor chairmanship, which faced down trade-union opposition to close plants and halve the workforce.{{sfnp|Kirby|2006}} Regulation was also significantly expanded to compensate for the loss of direct government control, with the foundation of regulatory bodies such as [[Oftel]] ([[Telecommunications Act 1984|1984]]), [[Ofgas]] ([[Gas Act 1986|1986]]), and the [[National Rivers Authority]] ([[Water Act 1989|1989]]).{{sfnp|Veljanovski|1990|pp=291–304}} There was no clear pattern to the degree of competition, regulation, and performance among the privatised industries.{{sfnp|Parker|Martin|1995}}

In most cases, privatisation benefited consumers in terms of lower prices and improved efficiency but results overall have been mixed.{{sfnp|McAleese|2004|pp=169–70}} Not all privatised companies have had successful share price trajectories in the longer term.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simon |first=Emma |date=12 April 2013 |title=Thatcher's legacy: how has privatisation fared? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/shares-and-stock-tips/9989430/Thatchers-legacy-how-has-privatisation-fared.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015222606/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/shares-and-stock-tips/9989430/Thatchers-legacy-how-has-privatisation-fared.html |archive-date=15 October 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> A 2010 review by the free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs states: "[I]t does seem to be the case that once competition and/or effective regulation was introduced, performance improved markedly [...] But I hasten to emphasise again that the literature is not unanimous."<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 November 2000 |title=A Review of Privatisation and Regulation Experience in Britain |url=https://iea.org.uk/publications/research/a-review-of-privatisation-and-regulation-experience-in-britain |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220033519/https://iea.org.uk/publications/research/a-review-of-privatisation-and-regulation-experience-in-britain |archive-date=20 February 2018 |access-date=19 February 2018 |publisher=Institute of Economic Affairs}}</ref>

Thatcher always resisted [[privatisation of British Rail|privatising British Rail]] and was said to have told Transport Secretary [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]]: "Railway privatisation will be the [[wikt:Waterloo#Noun|Waterloo]] of this government. Please never mention the railways to me again." Shortly before her resignation in 1990, she accepted the arguments for privatisation, which her successor John Major implemented in 1994.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=495}}

The privatisation of public assets was combined with [[Deregulation#United Kingdom|financial deregulation]] to fuel economic growth. Chancellor Geoffrey Howe abolished the UK's exchange controls in 1979,<ref name="Robertson">{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=Jamie |date=27 October 2016 |title=How the Big Bang changed the City of London for ever |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37751599 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816022757/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37751599 |archive-date=16 August 2017 |access-date=19 June 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> which allowed more capital to be invested in foreign markets, and the [[Big Bang (financial markets)|Big Bang]] of 1986 removed many restrictions on the [[London Stock Exchange]].{{r|Robertson}}

====Northern Ireland====
[[File:Margaret Thatcher on a visit to Northern Ireland.jpg|thumb|alt=Margaret and Denis Thatcher on a visit to Northern Ireland|Visiting Northern Ireland in 1982]]
In 1980 and 1981, [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (PIRA) and [[Irish National Liberation Army]] (INLA) prisoners in Northern Ireland's [[Maze Prison]] carried out [[1981 Irish hunger strike|hunger strikes]] to regain the status of political prisoners that had been removed in 1976 by the preceding Labour government.{{r|strike}} [[Bobby Sands]] began the 1981 strike, saying that he would fast until death unless prison inmates won concessions over their living conditions.<ref name="strike">{{Cite news |title=3 October 1981: IRA Maze hunger strikes at an end |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/3/newsid_2451000/2451503.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113034637/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/3/newsid_2451000/2451503.stm |archive-date=13 January 2018 |access-date=5 January 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> Thatcher refused to countenance a return to political status for the prisoners, having declared "Crime is crime is crime; it is not political".{{r|strike}} Nevertheless, the British government privately contacted republican leaders in a bid to bring the hunger strikes to an end.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Liam |date=5 April 2009 |title=Was Gerry Adams complicit over hunger strikers? |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111769 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111220938/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111769 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=The Sunday Times |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> After the deaths of Sands and nine others, the strike ended. Some rights were restored to paramilitary prisoners, but not official recognition of political status.{{r|CAIN-hs}} Violence in Northern Ireland escalated significantly during the hunger strikes.{{sfnp|English|2005|pp=207–08}}

Thatcher narrowly escaped injury in an IRA [[Brighton hotel bombing|assassination attempt]] at a Brighton hotel early in the morning on 12 October 1984.<ref name="bbc-bomb">{{Cite news |title=12 October 1984: Tory Cabinet in Brighton bomb blast |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/12/newsid_2531000/2531583.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308094001/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/12/newsid_2531000/2531583.stm |archive-date=8 March 2017 |access-date=29 October 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> Five people were killed, including the wife of minister [[John Wakeham]]. Thatcher was staying at the hotel to prepare for the Conservative Party conference, which she insisted should open as scheduled the following day.{{r|bbc-bomb}} She delivered her speech as planned,{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|pp=379–383}} though rewritten from her original draft,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Travis |first=Alan |date=3 October 2014 |title=Thatcher was to call Labour and miners 'enemy within' in abandoned speech |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/03/thatcher-labour-miners-enemy-within-brighton-bomb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228014646/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/03/thatcher-labour-miners-enemy-within-brighton-bomb |archive-date=28 February 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> in a move that was supported across the political spectrum and enhanced her popularity with the public.{{sfnp|Lanoue|Headrick|1998}}

On 6 November 1981, Thatcher and [[Taoiseach]] (Irish prime minister) [[Garret FitzGerald]] had established the Anglo-Irish Inter-Governmental Council, a forum for meetings between the two governments.<ref name="CAIN-hs">{{Cite web |title=The Hunger Strike of 1981 – A Chronology of Main Events |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206165221/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm |archive-date=6 December 2010 |access-date=27 January 2011 |website=[[Conflict Archive on the Internet]] |publisher=Ulster University}}</ref> On 15 November 1985, Thatcher and FitzGerald signed the Hillsborough [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]], which marked the first time a British government had given the Republic of Ireland an advisory role in the governance of Northern Ireland. In protest, the [[Ulster Says No]] movement led by [[Ian Paisley]] attracted 100,000 to a rally in Belfast,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anglo Irish Agreement Chronology |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/aia/chron.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206111841/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/aia/chron.htm |archive-date=6 December 2010 |access-date=27 January 2011 |website=Conflict Archive on the Internet |publisher=Ulster University}}</ref> [[Ian Gow]], later assassinated by the PIRA, resigned as [[Minister of State]] in [[HM Treasury]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=15 November 1985: Anglo-Irish agreement signed |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/15/newsid_2539000/2539849.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307120742/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/15/newsid_2539000/2539849.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=4 May 2010 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref>{{sfnp|Moloney|2002|p=336}} and all 15 Unionist MPs resigned their parliamentary seats; only one was not returned in the subsequent [[List of United Kingdom by-elections (1979–2010)|by-elections]] on 23 January 1986.{{sfnp|Cochrane|1997|p=143}}

===Environment===
Thatcher supported an active [[climate protection]] policy; she was instrumental in the passing of the [[Environmental Protection Act 1990]],{{sfnp|Tewdwr-Jones|2003|page=47}} the founding of the [[Hadley Centre for Climate Research and Prediction]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 May 1990 |title=Speech opening Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108102 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613090256/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108102 |archive-date=13 June 2017 |access-date=17 June 2017 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> the establishment of the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]],<ref name="Harrabin">{{Cite news |last=Harrabin |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Harrabin |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: How PM legitimised green concerns |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22069768 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810032718/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22069768 |archive-date=10 August 2017 |access-date=17 June 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and the ratification of the [[Montreal Protocol]] on preserving the [[Ozone layer|ozone]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bourke |first=India |date=14 October 2016 |title=Will Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan be the unlikely saviours of the world from climate change? |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/energy/2016/10/will-margaret-thatcher-and-ronald-reagan-be-unlikely-saviours-world-climate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206102436/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/energy/2016/10/will-margaret-thatcher-and-ronald-reagan-be-unlikely-saviours-world-climate |archive-date=6 December 2018 |access-date=6 December 2018 |magazine=[[New Statesman]]}}</ref>

Thatcher helped to put [[climate change]], [[acid rain]] and general pollution in the British mainstream in the late 1980s,{{r|Harrabin}}{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|page=642}} calling for a global treaty on climate change in 1989.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 September 2013 |title=A brief history of climate change |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15874560 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726033727/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15874560 |archive-date=26 July 2017 |access-date=17 June 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Her speeches included one to the [[Royal Society]] in 1988,<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 September 1988 |title=Speech to the Royal Society |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107346 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406101350/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107346 |archive-date=6 April 2016 |access-date=27 April 2016 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> followed by another to the [[UN General Assembly]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |date=8 November 1989 |title=Speech to United Nations General Assembly (Global Environment) |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107817 |access-date=29 September 2025 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> However, by the 2003 release of her book ''[[Statecraft (book)|Statecraft]]'', she had revised her opinion on climate change.{{r|Harrabin}}

===Foreign affairs===
{{multiple image
|direction=vertical
|image1=Jimmy Carter and Margaret Thatcher in 1979 (cropped).jpg
|alt1=Thatcher sitting with Jimmy Carter
|caption1=With President [[Jimmy Carter]] in the Oval Office, 1979
|image2=President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom.jpg
|alt2=Thatcher sitting with Ronald Reagan
|caption2=With President [[Ronald Reagan]] in the Oval Office, 1988
|image3=Thatcher and Bush - 1990 - P14935-18A.jpg
|alt3=Thatcher standing with George H. W. Bush
|caption3=With President [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1990
}}
Thatcher appointed Lord Carrington, an ennobled member of the party and former [[Secretary of State for Defence]], to run the [[Foreign Office]] in 1979.{{sfnp|Sked|Cook|1993|pages=364–422}} Although considered a "wet", he avoided domestic affairs and got along well with Thatcher. One issue was what to do with [[Rhodesia]], where the white minority had determined to rule the prosperous, black-majority breakaway colony in the face of overwhelming international criticism. With the 1975 [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] collapse in the continent, South Africa (which had been Rhodesia's chief supporter) realised that their ally was a liability; black rule was inevitable, and the Thatcher government brokered a peaceful solution to end the [[Rhodesian Bush War]] in December 1979 via the [[Lancaster House Agreement]]. The conference at Lancaster House was attended by Rhodesian prime minister [[Ian Smith]], as well as by the key black leaders: [[Muzorewa]], [[Mugabe]], [[Joshua Nkomo|Nkomo]] and [[Tongogara]]. The result was the new Zimbabwean nation under black rule in 1980.{{sfnmp|1a1=Lewis|1y=1980|2a1=Soames|2y=1980}}

====Cold War====
Thatcher's first foreign-policy crisis came with the 1979 [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]]. She condemned the invasion, said it showed the bankruptcy of a [[détente]] policy and helped convince some British athletes to boycott the [[1980 Moscow Olympics]]. She gave weak support to US president Jimmy Carter who tried to punish the USSR with economic sanctions. Britain's economic situation was precarious, and most of NATO was reluctant to cut trade ties.{{sfnp|Lahey|2013}} Thatcher nevertheless gave the go-ahead for [[Whitehall]] to approve [[MI6]] (along with the SAS) to undertake [[United Kingdom in the Soviet–Afghan War|"disruptive action" in Afghanistan]].{{sfnp|Dorril|2002|p={{nowrap|{{plainlink|https://archive.org/details/mi6insidecovertw00dorr/page/752|752}} {{closed access}}}}}} As well as working with the CIA in [[Operation Cyclone]], they also supplied weapons, training and intelligence to the ''[[mujaheddin]]''.{{sfnp|Cormac|2018|pages=233–36}}

The ''[[Financial Times]]'' reported in 2011 that her government had secretly supplied [[Iraq under Saddam Hussein]] with [[British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war|"non-lethal" military equipment since 1981]].<ref name="Thatcher Hussein secret">{{Cite web |last=Stothard |first=Michael |date=30 December 2011 |title=UK secretly supplied Saddam |url=https://www.ft.com/content/52add2c4-30b4-11e1-9436-00144feabdc0 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701032514/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/52add2c4-30b4-11e1-9436-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=1 July 2016 |access-date=11 October 2015 |newspaper=Financial Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Leigh |first1=David |author-link1=David Leigh (journalist) |last2=Evans |first2=Rob |name-list-style=amp |date=27 February 2003 |title=How £1bn was lost when Thatcher propped up Saddam |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/28/iraq.politics1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811011113/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/28/iraq.politics1 |archive-date=11 August 2017 |access-date=2 August 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Having withdrawn formal recognition from the [[Pol Pot regime]] in 1979,<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Kampuchea |house=House of Commons |date=16 May 1985 |volume=79 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1985/may/16/kampuchea |column_start=486 |column_end=490 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> the Thatcher government backed the [[Khmer Rouge]] keeping their UN seat after they were ousted from power in Cambodia by the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]]. Although Thatcher denied it at the time,<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Cambodia |house=House of Commons |date=26 October 1990 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198990/cmhansrd/1990-10-26/Debate-3.html |column_start=655 |column_end=667 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> it was revealed in 1991 that, while not directly training any Khmer Rouge,{{sfnp|Neville|2016|p=20}} from 1983 the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS) was sent to secretly train "the armed forces of the [[Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea|Cambodian non-communist resistance]]" that remained loyal to Prince [[Norodom Sihanouk]] and his former prime minister [[Son Sann]] in the fight against the [[People's Republic of Kampuchea|Vietnamese-backed puppet regime]].<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Cambodia |house=House of Commons |date=22 July 1991 |volume=195 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1991/jul/22/cambodia |column_start=863 |column_end=883 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 January 2000 |title=Butcher of Cambodia set to expose Thatcher's role |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/09/cambodia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144544/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/09/cambodia |archive-date=12 June 2018 |access-date=26 May 2011 |work=The Observer}}</ref>

Thatcher was one of the first Western leaders to respond warmly to reformist Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]. Following Reagan–Gorbachev summit meetings and reforms enacted by Gorbachev in the USSR, she declared in November 1988 that "[w]e're not in a Cold War now" but rather in a "new relationship much wider than the Cold War ever was".<ref name="reforms1988">{{Cite news |date=18 November 1988 |title=Gorbachev Policy Has Ended The Cold War, Thatcher Says |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2DC1738F93BA25752C1A96E948260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173109/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/18/world/gorbachev-policy-has-ended-the-cold-war-thatcher-says.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=30 October 2008 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> She went on a state visit to the Soviet Union in 1984 and met with Gorbachev and Council of Ministers chairman [[Nikolai Ryzhkov]].{{sfnp|Zemcov|Farrar|1989|page=138}}

====Ties with the US====
[[File:Reagan-Thatcher cabinet talks.jpg|thumb|alt=photograph|upright=1.2|Meeting [[Reagan's cabinet]] with ministers in the [[White House Cabinet Room]], 1981]]
Despite opposite personalities, Thatcher bonded quickly with US president [[Ronald Reagan]].{{refn|{{harvtxt|Cannadine|2017}}: <q>In many ways they were very different figures: he was sunny, genial, charming, relaxed, upbeat, and with little intellectual curiosity or command of policy detail; she was domineering, belligerent, confrontational, tireless, hyperactive, and with an unrivalled command of facts and figures. But the chemistry between them worked. Reagan had been grateful for her interest in him at a time when the British establishment refused to take him seriously; she agreed with him about the importance of creating wealth, cutting taxes, and building up stronger defences against Soviet Russia; and both believed in liberty and free-market freedom, and in the need to outface what [[Evil Empire speech|Reagan would later call 'the evil empire']].</q>|group=nb}} She gave strong support to the [[Reagan administration]]'s [[Reagan Doctrine|Cold War policies]] based on their shared [[Anti-communism|distrust of communism]].{{r|thatcher-cw}} A sharp disagreement came in 1983 when Reagan did not consult with her on the [[invasion of Grenada]].{{sfnp|Williams|2001}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 June 2004 |title=Ronald Reagan |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628180545/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111260 |archive-date=28 June 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |type=Obituary |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation |newspaper=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

During her first year as prime minister, she supported [[NATO]]'s decision to deploy US nuclear [[BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile|cruise]] and [[Pershing II]] missiles in Western Europe,{{r|thatcher-cw}} permitting the US to station more than 160 cruise missiles at [[RAF Greenham Common]], starting in November 1983 and triggering mass protests by the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]].{{r|thatcher-cw}} She bought the [[Trident nuclear missile]] submarine system from the US to replace Polaris, tripling the UK's nuclear forces<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=28 July 1980 |title=Trident is go |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922079,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904225816/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922079,00.html |archive-date=4 September 2008 |access-date=16 January 2011 |magazine=Time}}</ref> at an eventual cost of more than £12&nbsp;billion (at 1996–97 prices).<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 November 1999 |title=Vanguard Class Ballistic Missile Submarine |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/uk/slbm/vanguard.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123230232/http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/uk/slbm/vanguard.htm |archive-date=23 November 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]]}}</ref> Thatcher's preference for defence ties with the US was demonstrated in the [[Westland affair]] of 1985–86 when she acted with colleagues to allow the struggling helicopter manufacturer [[Westland Helicopters|Westland]] to refuse a takeover offer from the Italian firm [[Agusta]] in favour of the management's preferred option, a link with [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]. Defence Secretary [[Michael Heseltine]], who had supported the Agusta deal, resigned from the government in protest.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=419}}

In April 1986 she permitted US [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark|F-111s]] to use [[Royal Air Force]] bases for the [[1986 United States bombing of Libya|bombing of Libya]] in retaliation for the [[West Berlin discotheque bombing|Libyan bombing of a Berlin discothèque]],<ref name="Cannon">{{Cite news |last=Cannon |first=Lou |author-link=Lou Cannon |date=15 April 1986 |title=Reagan Acted Upon 'Irrefutable' Evidence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/15/reagan-acted-upon-irrefutable-evidence/61170c59-b355-4e0a-8ab5-411bba4879e8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906092229/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/15/reagan-acted-upon-irrefutable-evidence/61170c59-b355-4e0a-8ab5-411bba4879e8/ |archive-date=6 September 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> citing the right of self-defence under [[Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter|Article 51 of the UN Charter]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Riddell |first=Peter |date=16 April 1986 |title=Thatcher Defends US Use Of British Bases in Libya bombing raid |work=Financial Times |page=1}}</ref>{{refn|<q>The United States has more than 330,000 members of her forces in Europe to defend our liberty. Because they are here, they are subject to terrorist attack. It is inconceivable that they should be refused the right to use American aircraft and American pilots in the inherent right of self-defence, to defend their own people.</q><ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Engagements |house=House of Commons |date=15 April 1986 |volume=95 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/apr/15/engagements |access-date=22 October 2020 |pages=723–728}}</ref>|group=nb}} Polls suggested that fewer than one in three British citizens approved of her decision.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lejeune |first=Anthony |date=23 May 1986 |title=A friend in need |work=National Review |page=27 |volume=38 |issue=1}}</ref>

Thatcher was in the US on a state visit when Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invaded Kuwait]] in August 1990.<ref name="gw-pbs">{{Cite web |title=Oral History: Margaret Thatcher |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/thatcher/1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202075000/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/thatcher/1.html |archive-date=2 December 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> During her talks with President [[George H. W. Bush]], who succeeded Reagan in 1989, she recommended intervention,{{r|gw-pbs}} and put pressure on Bush to deploy troops in the Middle East to drive the [[Iraqi Army]] out of Kuwait.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Lewis |date=7 August 1992 |title=Abroad at Home; Will Bush Take Real Action? |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEED9113AF934A3575BC0A964958260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173131/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/07/opinion/abroad-at-home-will-bush-take-real-action.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Bush was apprehensive about the plan, prompting Thatcher to remark to him during a telephone conversation: "This was no time to go wobbly!"<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 August 1990 |title=Gulf War: Bush–Thatcher phone conversation (no time to go wobbly) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/commentary/displaydocument.asp?docid=110711 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420093131/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/commentary/displaydocument.asp?docid=110711 |archive-date=20 April 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tisdall |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Tisdall |date=8 April 2013 |title=No-nonsense Iron Lady punched above UK's weight on world stage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-iron-lady-world-stage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731063611/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-iron-lady-world-stage |archive-date=31 July 2017 |access-date=18 June 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Thatcher's government supplied military forces to the international coalition in the build-up to the [[Gulf War]], but she had resigned by the time hostilities began on 17 January 1991.{{sfnp|Aitken|2013|pp=600–601}}<ref name="grice">{{Cite news |last=Grice |first=Andrew |date=13 October 2005 |title=Thatcher reveals her doubts over basis for Iraq war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thatcher-reveals-her-doubts-over-basis-for-iraq-war-319542.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025132508/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thatcher-reveals-her-doubts-over-basis-for-iraq-war-319542.html |archive-date=25 October 2017 |access-date=22 September 2016 |work=The Independent}}</ref> She applauded the coalition victory on the backbenches, while warning that "the victories of peace will take longer than the battles of war".<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=The Gulf |house=House of Commons |date=28 February 1991 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1991/feb/28/the-gulf#column_1120 |column=1120 |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> It was disclosed in 2017 that Thatcher had suggested threatening Saddam with [[chemical weapon]]s after the invasion of Kuwait.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 July 2017 |title=Margaret Thatcher suggested threatening Saddam with chemical weapons |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40667031 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722005112/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40667031 |archive-date=22 July 2017 |access-date=22 July 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mance |first=Henry |date=20 July 2017 |title=Thatcher wanted to threaten Saddam with chemical weapons |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2d78a20-6bcd-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170720180853/https://www.ft.com/content/e2d78a20-6bcd-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 |archive-date=20 July 2017 |access-date=31 July 2017 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

====Crisis in the South Atlantic====
{{See also|Rejoice (Margaret Thatcher)|label1="Rejoice"|Sinking of the ARA General Belgrano|label2=sinking of the ARA ''General Belgrano''|Diana Gould–Margaret Thatcher exchange|label3=the Diana Gould exchange}}
On 2 April 1982, the [[National Reorganization Process|military junta in Argentina]] ordered the invasion of the [[Crown colony]] of the [[Falkland Islands]] and its dependency of [[South Georgia]], [[Events leading to the Falklands War|beginning the Falklands War]].{{sfnp|Smith|1989|p=21}} The subsequent crisis was "a defining moment of {{interp|Thatcher's}} premiership".{{sfnp|Jackling|2005|p=230}} At the suggestion of Harold Macmillan and [[Robert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster|Robert Armstrong]],{{sfnp|Jackling|2005|p=230}} she set up and chaired a small [[War cabinet#Falklands War|War Cabinet]] to oversee the conduct of the war,{{sfnp|Hastings|Jenkins|1983|pp=80–81}} which by 5–6 April had authorised and dispatched [[British naval forces in the Falklands War|a naval task force]] to retake the islands.{{sfnp|Hastings|Jenkins|1983|p=95}} [[Argentine surrender in the Falklands War|Argentina surrendered]] on 14 June and ''Operation Corporate'' was hailed a success, notwithstanding the deaths of 255 British servicemen and three Falkland Islanders. Argentine fatalities totalled 649, half of them aboard {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}} that was torpedoed and sunk by {{HMS|Conqueror|S48|6}} on 2 May.<ref name="liberation">{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Michael |date=15 June 2007 |title=The Falklands: 25 years since the Iron Lady won her war |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/the-falklands-25-years-since-the-iron-lady-won-her-war-v3dp2zx3h5h |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210913174010/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-falklands-25-years-since-the-iron-lady-won-her-war-v3dp2zx3h5h |archive-date=13 September 2021 |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

Thatcher was criticised for the neglect of the Falklands' defence that led to the war, and especially by Labour MP [[Tam Dalyell]] in Parliament for the decision to torpedo the ''General Belgrano'', but overall, she was considered a competent and committed war leader.{{sfnp|Hastings|Jenkins|1983|pp=335–336}} The "[[Falklands factor]]", an economic recovery beginning early in 1982, and a bitterly divided opposition, all contributed to Thatcher's second election victory in [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]].{{sfnp|Sanders|Ward|Marsh|1987}} Thatcher often referred after the war to the "Falklands spirit".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Jenkins |date=1 April 2012 |title=Falklands war 30 years on and how it turned Thatcher into a world celebrity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/01/falklands-war-thatcher-30-years |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905232855/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/01/falklands-war-thatcher-30-years |archive-date=5 September 2017 |access-date=26 May 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hastings|Jenkins|1983|p=329}}

====Negotiating Hong Kong====
In September 1982, she visited China to discuss with [[Deng Xiaoping]] the [[sovereignty of Hong Kong]] after 1997. China was the first communist state Thatcher had visited as prime minister, and she was the first British prime minister to visit China. Throughout their meeting, she sought the PRC's agreement to a continued British presence in the territory. Deng insisted that the PRC's sovereignty over Hong Kong was non-negotiable but stated his willingness to settle the sovereignty issue with the British government through formal negotiations. Both governments promised to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.{{sfnp|Yahuda|1996|page=155}} After the two-year negotiations, Thatcher conceded to the PRC government and signed the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]] in Beijing in 1984, agreeing to hand over Hong Kong's sovereignty in 1997.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=116}}

====Apartheid in South Africa====
Despite saying that she was in favour of "peaceful negotiations" to end [[apartheid]],<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Engagements |house=House of Commons |date=25 February 1988 |volume=128 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1988/feb/25/engagements#S6CV0128P0_19880225_HOC_113 |column=437 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=South Africa |house=Written Answers HC Deb |date=11 July 1988 |volume=137 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1988/jul/11/south-africa#S6CV0137P0_19880711_CWA_21 |column_start=3 |column_end=4W |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> Thatcher opposed [[Disinvestment from South Africa|sanctions imposed on South Africa]] by the Commonwealth and the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC).{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|p=322}} She attempted to preserve trade with South Africa while persuading its government to abandon apartheid. This included "[c]asting herself as [[President Botha]]'s candid friend" and inviting him to visit the UK in 1984,<ref name="Hanning">{{Cite news |last=Hanning |first=James |date=8 December 2013 |title=The 'terrorist' and the Tories: What did Nelson Mandela really think of Margaret Thatcher? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/the-terrorist-and-the-tories-what-did-nelson-mandela-really-think-of-margaret-thatcher-8990872.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208093841/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/the-terrorist-and-the-tories-what-did-nelson-mandela-really-think-of-margaret-thatcher-8990872.html |archive-date=8 December 2013 |access-date=24 October 2017 |work=The Independent}}</ref> despite the "inevitable demonstrations" against his government.{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|p=325}} Alan Merrydew of the Canadian broadcaster [[BCTV News]] asked Thatcher what her response was "to a reported ANC statement that they will target British firms in South Africa?" to which she later replied: "[...] when the ANC says that they will target British companies [...] This shows what a typical terrorist organisation it is. I fought terrorism all my life and if more people fought it, and we were all more successful, we should not have it and I hope that everyone in this hall will think it is right to go on fighting terrorism."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaut |first=Martin |date=29 August 2018 |title=Did Margaret Thatcher really call Nelson Mandela a terrorist? |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/08/did-margaret-thatcher-really-call-nelson-mandela-terrorist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906233752/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/08/did-margaret-thatcher-really-call-nelson-mandela-terrorist |archive-date=6 September 2018 |access-date=6 September 2018 |magazine=New Statesman}}</ref> During his visit to Britain five months after his release from prison, [[Nelson Mandela]] praised Thatcher: "She is an enemy of apartheid [...] We have much to thank her for."{{r|Hanning}}

====Europe====
{{See also|Bruges speech}}
{{External media |topic=1988 speech to the [[College of Europe]] |video1={{Cite speech |title=Speech to the College of Europe'' ('The Bruges Speech')'' |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/113688 |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}<ref name="Bruges" />}}

Thatcher and her party supported British membership of the EEC in the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 national referendum]]<ref name="upi19750604">{{Cite news |date=4 June 1975 |title=Conservatives favor remaining in market |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M7QsAAAAIBAJ&pg=2825%2C608551 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031074621/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M7QsAAAAIBAJ&pg=2825%2C608551 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |access-date=26 December 2011 |work=Wilmington Morning Star |page=5 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> and the [[Single European Act]] of 1986, and obtained the [[UK rebate]] on contributions,<ref name="kuper20190620">{{Cite news |last=Kuper |first=Simon |date=20 June 2019 |title=How Oxford university shaped Brexit – and Britain's next prime minister |url=https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621101919/https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> but she believed that the role of the organisation should be limited to ensuring free trade and effective competition, and feared that the EEC approach was at odds with her views on smaller government and deregulation.{{sfnp|Senden|2004|p=9}} Believing that the single market would result in political integration,{{r|kuper20190620}} Thatcher's opposition to further [[European integration]] became more pronounced during her premiership and particularly after her third government in 1987.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pylas |first=Pan |date=23 January 2020 |title=Britain's EU Journey: When Thatcher turned all euroskeptic |url=https://apnews.com/64855d1ff67454443db5132bdfb22ea6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030173846/https://apnews.com/64855d1ff67454443db5132bdfb22ea6 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=Associated Press News}}</ref> In her Bruges speech in 1988, Thatcher outlined her opposition to proposals from the EEC,<ref name="Bruges">{{Cite web |date=20 September 1988 |title=Speech to the College of Europe ('The Bruges Speech') |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=107332 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513020525/http://margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=107332 |archive-date=13 May 2012 |access-date=31 October 2008 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> forerunner of the [[European Union]], for a federal structure and increased centralisation of decision-making:{{blockquote |We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them re-imposed at a European level, with a European super-state exercising a new dominance from Brussels.{{sfnp|Senden|2004|p=9}}}}

Sharing the concerns of French president [[François Mitterrand]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blitz |first=James |date=9 September 2009 |title=Mitterrand feared emergence of 'bad' Germans |url=https://www.ft.com/content/886192ba-9d7d-11de-9f4a-00144feabdc0 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131042253/https://www.ft.com/content/886192ba-9d7d-11de-9f4a-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=31 January 2019 |access-date=14 May 2017 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> Thatcher was initially opposed to [[German reunification]],{{refn|She was decidedly cool towards reunification prior to 1990, but made no attempt to block it.{{sfnp|Ratti|2017|loc=chpt. 4}}|group=nb}} telling Gorbachev that it "would lead to a change to postwar borders, and we cannot allow that because such a development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security". She expressed concern that a united Germany would align itself more closely with the Soviet Union and move away from NATO.{{sfnp|Görtemaker|2006|p=198}}

In March 1990, Thatcher held a Chequers seminar on the subject of German reunification that was attended by members of her cabinet and historians such as [[Norman Stone]], [[George Urban]], [[Timothy Garton Ash]] and [[Gordon A. Craig]]. During the seminar, Thatcher described "what Urban called 'saloon bar [[cliché]]s' about the German character, including '[[angst]], aggressiveness, [[assertiveness]], bullying, [[egotism]], [[inferiority complex]] {{interp|and}} [[sentimentality]]{{'"}}. Those present were shocked to hear Thatcher's utterances and "appalled" at how she was "apparently unaware" about the post-war [[German collective guilt]] and Germans' attempts to [[Vergangenheitsbewältigung|work through their past]].{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|p=634}} The words of the meeting were leaked by her foreign-policy advisor [[Charles Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater|Charles Powell]] and, subsequently, her comments were met with fierce backlash and controversy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Low |first=Valentine |date=30 December 2016 |title=Germans seen as self-pitying, egotistical and bullying race |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/germans-seen-as-self-pitying-egotistical-and-bullying-race-chl0zfqtd |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210821212858/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germans-seen-as-self-pitying-egotistical-and-bullying-race-chl0zfqtd |archive-date=21 August 2021 |access-date=17 December 2020 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

During the same month, German chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]] reassured Thatcher that he would keep her "informed of all his intentions about unification",<ref name="Bowcott">{{Cite web |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |date=30 December 2016 |title=Kohl offered Thatcher secret access to reunification plans |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/helmut-kohl-margaret-thatcher-reunification-plans-national-archives-files |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517040338/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/helmut-kohl-margaret-thatcher-reunification-plans-national-archives-files |archive-date=17 May 2019 |access-date=18 June 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> and that he was prepared to disclose "matters which even his cabinet would not know".{{r|Bowcott}}

===Challenges to leadership and resignation===
{{Main|1989 Conservative Party leadership election|1990 Conservative Party leadership election}}
[[File:Thatcher reviews troops.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Thatcher in a blue suit and hat, walking in front of troops|Reviewing the [[Royal Bermuda Regiment]] in 1990]]

During her premiership, Thatcher had the second-lowest average approval rating (40%) of any post-war prime minister. Since Nigel Lawson's resignation as chancellor in October 1989,{{sfnp|Crewe|1991}} polls consistently showed that she was less popular than her party.<ref name="ridley">{{Cite news |last=Ridley |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Ridley |date=25 November 1990 |title=Et Tu, Heseltine?; Unpopularity Was a Grievous Fault, and Thatcher Hath Answered for It |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1160505.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831000325/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1160505.html |archive-date=31 August 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> A self-described conviction politician, Thatcher always insisted that she did not care about her poll ratings and pointed instead to her unbeaten election record.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The poll tax incubus |date=24 November 1990 |page=13 |issue=63872 |department=Editorials/Leaders}}</ref>

In December 1989, Thatcher was challenged for the leadership of the Conservative Party by the little-known backbench MP [[Sir Anthony Meyer]].<ref name="89election">{{Cite news |title=5 December 1989: Thatcher beats off leadership rival |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/5/newsid_2528000/2528339.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307113658/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/5/newsid_2528000/2528339.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> Of the 374 Conservative MPs eligible to vote, 314 voted for Thatcher and 33 for Meyer. Her supporters in the party viewed the result as a success and rejected suggestions that there was discontent within the party.{{r|89election}}

Opinion polls in September 1990 reported that Labour had established a 14% lead over the Conservatives,{{r|howe}} and by November, the Conservatives had been trailing Labour for 18 months.{{r|ridley}} These ratings, together with Thatcher's combative personality and tendency to override collegiate opinion, contributed to further discontent within her party.{{r|resign-nyt}}

In July 1989, Thatcher removed Geoffrey Howe as [[Foreign secretary (United Kingdom)|foreign secretary]] after he and Lawson had forced her to agree to a plan for Britain to join the [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism]] (ERM). Britain joined the ERM in October 1990.

On 1 November 1990, Howe, by then the last remaining member of Thatcher's original 1979 cabinet, resigned as [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|deputy prime minister]], ostensibly over her open hostility to moves towards [[European monetary union]].<ref name="howe">{{Cite news |title=1 November 1990: Howe resigns over Europe policy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/1/newsid_2513000/2513953.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307114118/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/1/newsid_2513000/2513953.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Millership |first=Peter |date=1 November 1990 |title=Thatcher's Deputy Quits in Row over Europe |agency=Reuters}}</ref> In his resignation speech on 13 November, which was instrumental in Thatcher's downfall,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Sir Geoffrey Howe's resignation was fatal blow in Mrs Thatcher's political assassination |date=5 December 1990 |page=12 |issue=63881 |department=News |last=Walters |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Walters}}</ref> Howe attacked Thatcher's openly dismissive attitude to the government's proposal for a new European currency competing against existing currencies (a "[[hard ECU]]"):

{{blockquote|How on earth are the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England, commending the hard ECU as they strive to, to be taken as serious participants in the debate against that kind of background noise? I believe that both the Chancellor and the Governor are cricketing enthusiasts, so I hope that there is no monopoly of cricketing metaphors. It is rather like sending your opening batsmen to the crease only for them to find, the moment the first balls are bowled, that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain.<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Personal Statement |house=House of Commons |date=13 November 1990 |volume=180 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1990/nov/13/personal-statement |column_start=461 |column_end=465 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Sir Geoffrey Howe savages Prime Minister over European stance in resignation speech |date=14 November 1990 |page=3 |issue=63863 |department=Politics and Parliament}}</ref>}}

On 14 November, Michael Heseltine mounted a challenge for the leadership of the Conservative Party.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Frankel |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Frankel |date=15 November 1990 |title=Heseltine challenges Thatcher for her job |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/11/15/heseltine-challenges-thatcher-for-her-job/13f1b56b-2db0-44c8-b75d-8b2a31a16a07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810172436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/11/15/heseltine-challenges-thatcher-for-her-job/13f1b56b-2db0-44c8-b75d-8b2a31a16a07/ |archive-date=10 August 2017 |access-date=2 August 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=473}} Opinion polls had indicated that he would give the Conservatives a national lead over Labour.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Poll swing followed downturn by Tories; Conservative Party leadership |date=21 November 1990 |page=2 |issue=63869 |department=News |last=Lipsey |first=David |author-link=David Lipsey, Baron Lipsey}}</ref> Although Thatcher led on the first ballot with the votes of 204 Conservative MPs (54.8%) to 152 votes (40.9%) for Heseltine, with 16 abstentions, she was four votes short of the required 15% majority. A second ballot was therefore necessary.{{sfnp|Williams|1998|page=66}} Thatcher initially declared her intention to "fight on and fight to win" the second ballot, but consultation with her cabinet persuaded her to withdraw.<ref name="resign-nyt">{{Cite news |last=Whitney |first=Craig R. |date=23 November 1990 |title=Change in Britain; Thatcher Says She'll Quit; 11½ Years as Prime Minister Ended by Party Challenge |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6DB1438F930A15752C1A966958260&sec=&spon= |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="resign-bbc">{{Cite news |title=22 November 1990: Thatcher quits as prime minister |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2549000/2549189.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307114202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2549000/2549189.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref> After holding an audience with the Queen, calling other world leaders, and making one final Commons speech,<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 November 1990 |title=HC S: [Confidence in Her Majesty's Government] |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108256 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407102050/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108256 |archive-date=7 April 2017 |access-date=21 March 2017 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> on 28 November she left Downing Street in tears. She reportedly regarded her ousting as a betrayal.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=474}} Her resignation was a shock to many outside Britain, with such foreign observers as [[Henry Kissinger]] and Gorbachev expressing private consternation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Travis |first=Alan |date=30 December 2016 |title=Margaret Thatcher's resignation shocked politicians in US and USSR, files show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/margaret-thatcher-resignation-shocked-us-ussr-files |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108115705/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/margaret-thatcher-resignation-shocked-us-ussr-files |archive-date=8 November 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Chancellor John Major replaced Thatcher as head of government and party leader, whose lead over Heseltine in the second ballot was sufficient for Heseltine to drop out. Major oversaw an upturn in Conservative support in the 17 months leading to the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]] and led the party to a fourth successive victory on 9 April 1992.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kettle |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Kettle |date=4 April 2005 |title=Pollsters taxed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/apr/04/electionspast.past3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109160116/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/apr/04/electionspast.past3 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |access-date=23 January 2011 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Thatcher had lobbied for Major in the leadership contest against Heseltine, but her support for him waned in later years.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 1999 |title=Major attacks 'warrior' Thatcher |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/463873.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031011111013/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/463873.stm |archive-date=11 October 2003 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Later life==

=== Return to backbenches (1990–1992) ===
After leaving the premiership, Thatcher returned to the backbenches as a constituency parliamentarian.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=118}} Her domestic approval rating recovered after her resignation, though public opinion remained divided on whether her government had been good for the country.{{sfnp|Crewe|1991}}<ref name="Ipsos">{{Cite web |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) |url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722003205/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013 |archive-date=22 July 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |publisher=[[Ipsos MORI]] |quote=At the time of her resignation [...] 52% of the public said that they thought her government had been good for the country and 40% that it had been bad.}}</ref> Aged 66, she retired from the House of Commons at the 1992 general election, saying that leaving the Commons would allow her more freedom to speak her mind.<ref name="lords">{{Cite news |title=30 June 1992: Thatcher takes her place in Lords |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_2523000/2523395.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130818/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_2523000/2523395.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref>

===Post-Commons (1992–2003)===
On leaving the Commons, Thatcher became the first former British prime minister to set up a foundation;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thatcher Archive |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/archive/thatcher-archive.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926225828/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/archive/thatcher-archive.asp |archive-date=26 September 2013 |access-date=26 August 2013 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> the British wing of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation was dissolved in 2005 due to financial difficulties.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barkham |first=Patrick |date=11 May 2005 |title=End of an era for Thatcher foundation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/11/conservatives.politics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928211215/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/11/conservatives.politics |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=27 April 2013 |work=The Guardian |quote=Mystery surrounds the future of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation after it emerged that the British wing of the high-profile organisation set up by the former prime minister in 1991 was formally dissolved at Companies House two days before the general election.}}</ref> She wrote two volumes of memoirs, ''[[The Downing Street Years]]'' (1993) and ''[[The Path to Power (Thatcher book)|The Path to Power]]'' (1995). In 1991, she and her husband Denis moved to a house in [[Chester Square]], a residential garden square in central London's [[Belgravia]] district.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Matthew |date=9 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's estate still a family secret |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-estate-family-secret |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928211300/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-estate-family-secret |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=14 April 2013 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Thatcher was hired by the tobacco company [[Altria|Philip Morris]] as a "geopolitical consultant" in July 1992 for $250,000 per year and an annual contribution of $250,000 to her foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 July 1992 |title=Tobacco Company Hires Margaret Thatcher as Consultant |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-19-mn-4763-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630132953/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-19/news/mn-4763_1_margaret-thatcher |archive-date=30 June 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Thatcher earned $50,000 for each speech she delivered.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=John |author-link=John Harris (critic) |date=3 February 2007 |title=Into the void |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/03/past.conservatives?INTCMP=SRCH |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225054519/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/03/past.conservatives?INTCMP=SRCH |archive-date=25 December 2013 |access-date=16 January 2011 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Thatcher became an advocate of [[Independence of Croatia|Croatian]] and [[Independence of Slovenia|Slovenian]] independence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 December 1991 |title=TV Interview for HRT (Croatian radiotelevision) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111358 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701055009/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111358 |archive-date=1 July 2011 |access-date=21 March 2011 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> Commenting on the [[Yugoslav Wars]], in a 1991 interview for [[Croatian Radiotelevision]], she was critical of Western governments for not recognising the breakaway republics of Croatia and Slovenia as independent and for not supplying them with arms after the Serbian-led [[Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslav Army]] attacked.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whitney |first=Craig R. |date=24 November 1991 |title=Thatcher Close to Break With Her Replacement |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5D7123DF937A15752C1A967958260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173134/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/24/world/thatcher-close-to-break-with-her-replacement.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=21 March 2011 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In August 1992, she called for NATO to stop the Serbian assault on [[Goražde]] and [[Sarajevo]] to end [[ethnic cleansing]] during the [[Bosnian War]], comparing the [[Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War|situation in Bosnia–Herzegovina]] to "the [[Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism|barbarities of Hitler's and Stalin's]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |date=6 August 1992 |title=Stop the Excuses. Help Bosnia Now |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DE1731F935A3575BC0A964958260&sec=&spon= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173132/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/06/opinion/stop-the-excuses-help-bosnia-now.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=2 December 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

She made a series of speeches in the Lords criticising the [[Maastricht Treaty]],{{r|lords}} describing it as "a treaty too far" and stated: "I could never have signed this treaty."<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 1993 |title=House of Lords European Communities (Amendment) Bill Speech |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108314 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513085456/http://margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108314 |archive-date=13 May 2012 |access-date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> She cited [[A. V. Dicey]] when arguing that, as all three main parties were in favour of the treaty, the people should have their say in a referendum.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 1991 |title=House of Commons European Community debate |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108291 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195136/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108291 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

Thatcher served as honorary [[chancellor of the College of William & Mary]] in Virginia from 1993 to 2000,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chancellor's Robe |url=http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/robe/index.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119054532/http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/robe/index.php |archive-date=19 January 2012 |access-date=18 January 2010 |publisher=College of William & Mary}}</ref> while also serving as chancellor of the private [[University of Buckingham]] from 1992 to 1998,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oulton |first=Charles |date=1 October 1992 |title=Thatcher installed as chancellor of private university |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/thatcher-installed-as-chancellor-of-private-university-charles-oulton-reports-on-a-day-of-mixed-emotions-for-the-former-prime-minister-1554652.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128210133/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/thatcher-installed-as-chancellor-of-private-university-charles-oulton-reports-on-a-day-of-mixed-emotions-for-the-former-prime-minister-1554652.html |archive-date=28 January 2012 |access-date=12 January 2010 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref name="Kealey">{{Cite web |last=Kealey |first=Terence |author-link=Terence Kealey |date=8 April 2013 |title=University mourns death of Lady Thatcher |url=https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/latest-news/university-mourns-death-of-lady-thatcher |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819022057/https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/latest-news/university-mourns-death-of-lady-thatcher |archive-date=19 August 2013 |access-date=25 May 2017 |publisher=University of Buckingham}}</ref> a university she had formally opened in 1976 as the former education secretary.{{r|Kealey}}

After [[Tony Blair]]'s [[1994 Labour Party leadership election|election as Labour Party leader]] in 1994, Thatcher praised Blair as "probably the most formidable [[Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Labour leader]] since [[Hugh Gaitskell]]", adding: "I see a lot of socialism behind their front bench, but not in Mr Blair. I think he genuinely has moved."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |date=28 May 1995 |title=Thatcher praises 'formidable' Blair |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/thatcher-praises-formidable-blair-1621354.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232439/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/thatcher-praises-formidable-blair-1621354.html |archive-date=28 December 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=The Independent}}</ref> Blair responded in kind: "She was a thoroughly determined person, and that is an admirable quality."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Woodward |first=Robert |author-link=Bob Woodward |date=15 March 1997 |title=Thatcher seen closer to Blair than Major |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gaZNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6603%2C5897694 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173046/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gaZNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6603%2C5897694 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=25 May 2017 |work=The Nation |location=London, UK |agency=Reuters}}</ref>

In 1998, Thatcher called for the release of former Chilean dictator [[Augusto Pinochet]] when [[Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet|Spain had him arrested]] and sought to try him for human rights violations. She cited the help he gave Britain during the Falklands War.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 October 1998 |title=Pinochet&nbsp;– Thatcher's ally |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/198604.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110132525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/198604.stm |archive-date=10 November 2011 |access-date=15 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In 1999, she visited him while he was under house arrest near London.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 March 1999 |title=Thatcher stands by Pinochet |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/304516.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217081915/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/304516.stm |archive-date=17 February 2010 |access-date=15 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Pinochet was released in March 2000 on medical grounds by Home Secretary [[Jack Straw]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 March 2000 |title=Pinochet set free |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/663170.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016002953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/663170.stm |archive-date=16 October 2009 |access-date=15 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

[[File:Margaret Thatcher.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Thatcher in a red coat, standing in the Vehicle Assembly Building|Touring the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in 2001]]
At the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]], Thatcher supported the Conservative campaign, as she had done in 1992 and 1997, and in the [[2001 Conservative Party leadership election|Conservative leadership election]] following its defeat, she endorsed [[Iain Duncan Smith]] over [[Kenneth Clarke]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 August 2001 |title=Letter supporting Iain Duncan Smith for the Conservative leadership published in the ''Daily Telegraph'' |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108390 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218065601/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108390 |archive-date=18 February 2012 |access-date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> In 2002 she encouraged [[George W. Bush]] to aggressively tackle the "unfinished business" of Iraq under Saddam Hussein,<ref name="Thatcher NYT">{{Cite news |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |date=11 February 2002 |title=Advice to a Superpower |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/opinion/11THAT.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016012202/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/opinion/11THAT.html |archive-date=16 October 2015 |access-date=11 October 2015 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and praised Blair for his "strong, bold leadership" in standing with Bush in the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="Thatcher Blair Iraq">{{Cite news |last=Harnden |first=Toby |author-link=Toby Harnden |date=11 December 2002 |title=Thatcher praises Blair for standing firm with US on Iraq |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1415788/Thatcher-praises-Blair-for-standing-firm-with-US-on-Iraq.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210913173639/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1415788/Thatcher-praises-Blair-for-standing-firm-with-US-on-Iraq.html |archive-date=13 September 2021 |access-date=11 October 2015 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

Thatcher broached the same subject in her ''[[Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World]]'', which was published in April 2002 and dedicated to Ronald Reagan, writing that there would be no peace in the Middle East until [[Saddam]] was toppled. Her book also said that Israel must trade [[land for peace]] and that the European Union (EU) was a "fundamentally unreformable", "classic utopian project, a monument to the vanity of intellectuals, a programme whose inevitable destiny is failure".{{sfnp|Glover|Economides|2010|page=20}} She argued that Britain should renegotiate its terms of membership or else [[Brexit|leave the EU]] and join the [[North American Free Trade Area]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wintour |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Wintour |date=18 March 2002 |title=Britain must quit EU, says Thatcher |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/mar/18/uk.eu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213313/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/mar/18/uk.eu |archive-date=12 May 2014 |access-date=8 May 2014 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Following several small strokes, her doctors advised her not to engage in further public speaking.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Statement from the office of the Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher LG OM FRS |date=22 March 2002 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=109305 |access-date=9 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007032938/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=109305 |archive-date=7 October 2008}}</ref> In March 2002 she announced that, on doctors' advice, she would cancel all planned speaking engagements and accept no more.{{sfnp|Campbell|2003|pp=796–798}}

{{quote box
 |title  = Extract from ''[[The Downing Street Years]]''
 |quote  = <q>Being Prime Minister is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be: you cannot lead from the crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend.</q>
 |author = {{harvtxt|Thatcher|1993|p=23}}
 |align  = right
 |salign = right
 |width  = 25em
 |bgcolor= whitesmoke
}}

On 26 June 2003, Thatcher's husband, Sir Denis, died aged 88;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tempest |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Tempest |date=26 June 2003 |title=Sir Denis Thatcher dies aged 88 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jun/26/obituaries.politics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808194009/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jun/26/obituaries.politics |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=8 August 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> his body was cremated on 3 July at [[Mortlake Crematorium]] in London.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 July 2003 |title=Lady Thatcher bids Denis farewell |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3041546.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808195919/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3041546.stm |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=20 January 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

===Final years (2003–2013)===
[[File:Margaret Thatcher DF-SD-06-15534.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|alt=Thatcher exiting a limousine on the ramp at Andrews Air Force Base|Arriving for the funeral of President Reagan in 2004]]
On 11 June 2004, Thatcher (against doctors' orders) attended the [[Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan|state funeral service for Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 June 2004 |title=Thatcher: 'Reagan's life was providential' |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/11/thatcher.transcript |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109022946/http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/11/thatcher.transcript/ |archive-date=9 November 2017 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> She delivered her eulogy via videotape; in view of her health, the message had been pre-recorded several months earlier.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 June 2004 |title=Thatcher's final visit to Reagan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3793565.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330090938/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3793565.stm |archive-date=30 March 2012 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Alec |author-link1=Alec Russell |last2=Sparrow |first2=Andrew |name-list-style=amp |date=7 June 2004 |title=Thatcher's taped eulogy at Reagan funeral |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1463874/Thatchers-taped-eulogy-at-Reagan-funeral.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707040239/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1463874/Thatchers-taped-eulogy-at-Reagan-funeral.html |archive-date=7 July 2016 |access-date=18 July 2016 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Thatcher flew to California with the Reagan entourage, and attended the memorial service and interment ceremony for the president at the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 June 2004 |title=Private burial for Ronald Reagan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3800315.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016022432/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3800315.stm |archive-date=16 October 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2005, Thatcher criticised how Blair had decided to [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invade Iraq]] two years previously. Although she still supported the intervention to topple Saddam Hussein, she said that (as a scientist) she would always look for "facts, evidence and proof" before committing the armed forces.{{r|grice}} She celebrated her 80th birthday on 13 October at the [[Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London|Mandarin Oriental Hotel]] in [[Hyde Park, London]]; guests included the Queen, the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]], [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]] and Tony Blair.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 October 2005 |title=Thatcher marks 80th with a speech |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4329132.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208082439/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4329132.stm |archive-date=8 February 2009 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref> [[Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon]], was also in attendance and said of his former leader: "Her real triumph was to have transformed not just one party but two, so that when Labour did eventually return, the great bulk of Thatcherism was accepted as irreversible."<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 October 2005 |title=Birthday tributes to Thatcher |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4337404.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112154711/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4337404.stm |archive-date=12 November 2006 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

{{multiple image
|align=right
|direction=vertical
|title=In the US, 2006
|image1=Thatcher 2006 September 11 event.jpg
|alt1=Thatcher standing with Dick and Lynne Cheney
|caption1=Thatcher (''left''{{--)}} at a Washington memorial service on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
|image2=Margaret Thatcher 060912-F-0193C-006.jpg
|alt2=Thatcher sharing a laugh with Donald Rumsfeld and Peter Pace
|caption2=With [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and [[General Pace]] at [[the Pentagon]]
}}
In 2006, Thatcher attended the [[Patriot Day|official Washington memorial service]] to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the [[9/11 attacks]] on the US. She was a guest of Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and met Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]] during her visit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 September 2006 |title=9/11 Remembrance Honors Victims from More Than 90 Countries |url=http://montevideo.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/2006/06-334EN.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922193936/http://montevideo.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/2006/06-334EN.shtml |archive-date=22 September 2006 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=US Department of State}}</ref> In February 2007 Thatcher became the first living British prime minister to be honoured with [[Statue of Margaret Thatcher (Palace of Westminster)|a statue]] in the [[Houses of Parliament]]. The bronze statue stood opposite [[Statue of Winston Churchill, Palace of Westminster|that of her political hero, Winston Churchill]],{{r|bronze}} and was unveiled on 21 February 2007 with Thatcher in attendance; she remarked in the [[Members' Lobby]] of the Commons: "I might have preferred iron – but bronze will do [...] It won't rust."<ref name="bronze">{{Cite news |date=21 February 2007 |title=Iron Lady is honoured in bronze |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6384029.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307201021/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6384029.stm |archive-date=7 March 2009 |access-date=9 April 2007 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Thatcher was a public supporter of the [[Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism]] and the resulting Prague Process and sent a public letter of support to its preceding conference.<ref>{{cite web |title=Message to Prague Conference on European Conscience and Communism ["Our duty is to remember and remind"] |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111244 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |access-date=21 August 2025 |date=2008-05-30}}</ref>

After collapsing at a [[House of Lords]] dinner, Thatcher, suffering [[low blood pressure]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Charles |date=9 March 2008 |title=Thatcher risks becoming a national treasure |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581197/Thatcher-risks-becoming-a-national-treasure.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020135223/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581197/Thatcher-risks-becoming-a-national-treasure.html |archive-date=20 October 2017 |access-date=31 May 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> was admitted to [[St Thomas' Hospital]] in central London on 7 March 2008 for tests. In 2009 she was hospitalised again when she fell and broke her arm.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 June 2009 |title=Lady Thatcher treated after fall |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8097018.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173140/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8097018.stm |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=20 April 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Thatcher returned to 10 Downing Street in late November 2009 for the unveiling of [[Portrait of Margaret Thatcher|an official portrait]] by artist [[Richard Stone (painter)|Richard Stone]],<ref name="ThatcherReturns">{{Cite news |date=23 November 2009 |title=Margaret Thatcher returns to Downing Street |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6636644/Margaret-Thatcher-returns-to-Downing-Street.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126182445/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6636644/Margaret-Thatcher-returns-to-Downing-Street.html |archive-date=26 November 2009 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> an unusual honour for a living former prime minister. Stone was previously commissioned to paint portraits of the Queen and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Mother]].{{r|ThatcherReturns}}

On 4 July 2011, Thatcher was to attend a ceremony for the unveiling of a {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} statue of Ronald Reagan outside the [[US embassy in London]], but was unable to attend due to her frail health.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 2011 |title=Ronald Reagan statue unveiled at US Embassy in London |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14009137 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215743/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14009137 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref> She last attended a sitting of the House of Lords on 19 July 2010,{{sfnp|''Journals of the House of Lords''|2012|ps=, <q>Thatcher, B.</q>}} and on 30 July 2011 it was announced that her office in the Lords had been closed.<ref name=telegraph8671195>{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Tim |date=30 July 2011 |title=Baroness Thatcher's office is closed |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8671195/Baroness-Thatchers-office-is-closed.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731185910/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8671195/Baroness-Thatchers-office-is-closed.html |archive-date=31 July 2011 |access-date=21 August 2011 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Earlier that month, Thatcher was named the most competent prime minister of the past 30 years in an [[Ipsos MORI]] poll.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stacey |first=Kiran |date=3 July 2011 |title=Thatcher heads poll of most competent PMs |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d4e23a0c-a3f9-11e0-8b4f-00144feabdc0 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712002740/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d4e23a0c-a3f9-11e0-8b4f-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=12 July 2012 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

Thatcher's daughter Carol [[n:Margaret Thatcher suffering from dementia, says daughter|first revealed]] that her mother had [[dementia]] in 2005,{{r|Langley}} saying "Mum doesn't read much any more because of her memory loss". In her 2008 memoir, Carol wrote that her mother "could hardly remember the beginning of a sentence by the time she got to the end".<ref name="Langley">{{Cite news |last=Langley |first=William |date=30 August 2008 |title=Carol Thatcher, daughter of the revolution |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112112840/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html |archive-date=12 November 2012 |access-date=11 February 2013 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> She later recounted how she was first struck by her mother's dementia when, in conversation, Thatcher confused the Falklands and Yugoslav conflicts; she recalled the pain of needing to tell her mother repeatedly that her husband Denis was dead.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elliott |first=Francis |date=25 August 2008 |title=Margaret Thatcher's struggle with dementia revealed in daughter's memoir |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111317 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531035605/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111317 |archive-date=31 May 2017 |access-date=7 July 2017 |work=[[The Times]] |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

===Death and funeral (2013)===
{{Main|Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher}}
{{multiple image
|align=right
|direction=vertical
|image1=Margaret Thatcher coffin at St. Pauls X8A2604.jpg
|alt1=photograph
|caption1=Thatcher's coffin being carried up the steps of [[St Paul's Cathedral]]
|image2=MTgrave1.jpeg
|alt2=photograph
|caption2=Plaques on the graves of Margaret and Denis Thatcher at the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]]
}}

<!--Please add tributes from around the world to [[Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher#Reactions]] rather than this article-->
Thatcher died on 8 April 2013, at the age of 87, after suffering a stroke. She had been staying at a suite in [[The Ritz Hotel, London|the Ritz Hotel]] in London since December 2012 after having difficulty with stairs at her Chester Square home in Belgravia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swinford |first=Steven |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: final moments in hotel without her family by her bedside |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980269/Margaret-Thatcher-final-moments-in-hotel-without-her-family-by-her-bedside.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130113809/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980269/Margaret-Thatcher-final-moments-in-hotel-without-her-family-by-her-bedside.html |archive-date=30 November 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Her death certificate listed the primary causes of death as a "cerebrovascular accident" and "repeated [[transient ischaemic attack]]";<ref name="Mason">{{Cite news |last=Mason |first=Rowena |date=16 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher described as 'retired stateswoman' on death certificate |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9997368/Margaret-Thatcher-described-as-retired-stateswoman-on-death-certificate.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419013555/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9997368/Margaret-Thatcher-described-as-retired-stateswoman-on-death-certificate.html |archive-date=19 April 2013 |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> secondary causes were listed as a "[[carcinoma]] of the bladder" and dementia.{{r|Mason}}

[[q:Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher|Reactions to the news of Thatcher's death]] were mixed across the UK, ranging from tributes lauding her as Britain's greatest-ever peacetime prime minister to public celebrations of her death and expressions of hatred and personalised vitriol.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Burns |first1=John F. |author-link1=John Fisher Burns |last2=Cowell |first2=Alan |author-link2=Alan Cowell |name-list-style=amp |date=10 April 2013 |title=Parliament Debates Thatcher Legacy, as Vitriol Flows Online and in Streets |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/world/europe/british-lawmakers-margaret-thatcher-legacy.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420131956/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/world/europe/british-lawmakers-margaret-thatcher-legacy.html |archive-date=20 April 2013 |access-date=25 April 2013 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Details of Thatcher's funeral had been agreed upon with her in advance.<ref name="Independent, 12 April 2013">{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Oliver |date=8 April 2013 |title=Funeral will be a 'ceremonial' service in line with Baroness Thatcher's wishes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/funeral-will-be-a-ceremonial-service-in-line-with-baroness-thatchers-wishes-8565093.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412095123/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/funeral-will-be-a-ceremonial-service-in-line-with-baroness-thatchers-wishes-8565093.html |archive-date=12 April 2013 |access-date=12 April 2013 |work=The Independent}}</ref> She received a [[ceremonial funeral]], including full military honours, with a church service at [[St Paul's Cathedral]] on 17 April.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite news |date=8 April 2013 |title=Ex-Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher dies, aged 87 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031074659/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="BBC News, 9 April 2013">{{Cite news |date=9 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher funeral set for next week |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079749 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021081324/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079749 |archive-date=21 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh attended her funeral,<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: Queen leads mourners at funeral |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22177366 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504194758/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22177366 |archive-date=4 May 2013 |access-date=4 May 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> marking only the second and final time in the Queen's reign that she attended the funeral of any of [[List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II|her former prime ministers]], after [[Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill|that of Churchill]], who received a [[state funeral]] in 1965.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Caroline |date=10 April 2013 |title=Queen made personal decision to attend Lady Thatcher's funeral |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/10/queen-decision-lady-thatcher-funeral |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109155827/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/10/queen-decision-lady-thatcher-funeral |archive-date=9 November 2013 |access-date=3 May 2013 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

After the service at St Paul's, Thatcher's body was cremated at Mortlake, where her husband's had been cremated. On 28 September, a service for Thatcher was held in the All Saints Chapel of the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]]'s Margaret Thatcher Infirmary. In a private ceremony, Thatcher's ashes were interred in the hospital's grounds, next to her husband's.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 September 2013 |title=Baroness Thatcher's ashes laid to rest |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10341402/Baroness-Thatchers-ashes-laid-to-rest.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413185023/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10341402/Baroness-Thatchers-ashes-laid-to-rest.html |archive-date=13 April 2019 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref name="BBC-intere">{{Cite news |date=28 September 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's ashes laid to rest at Royal Hospital Chelsea |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24316701 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924105909/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24316701 |archive-date=24 September 2017 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Legacy==

===Political impact===
{{Thatcherism}}

Thatcherism represented a systematic and decisive overhaul of the [[post-war consensus]], whereby the major political parties largely agreed on the central themes of [[Keynesianism]], the [[Welfare state in the United Kingdom|welfare state]], nationalised industry, and close regulation of the economy, and high taxes. Thatcher generally supported the welfare state while proposing to rid it of abuses.{{refn|{{harvtxt|Moore|2013|p=87}}: <q>Neither at the beginning of her career nor when she was prime minister, did Margaret Thatcher ever reject the wartime foundations of the welfare state, whether in health, social policy or education. In this she was less radical than her critics or some of her admirers supposed. Her concern was to focus more on abuse of the system, on bureaucracy and union militancy, and on the growth of what later came to be called the dependency culture, rather than on the system itself.</q>|group=nb}}

She promised in 1982 that the highly popular [[National Health Service]] was "safe in our hands".{{sfnp|Klein|1985}} At first, she ignored the question of privatising nationalised industries; heavily influenced by right-wing think tanks, and especially by [[Sir Keith Joseph]],{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=358}} Thatcher broadened her attack. Thatcherism came to refer to her policies as well as aspects of her ethical outlook and personal style, including [[moral absolutism]], [[nationalism]], [[liberal individualism]], and an uncompromising approach to achieving political goals.<ref name="eb">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Margaret Thatcher profile |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590098/Margaret-Thatcher |access-date=30 October 2008 |last=Young |first=Hugo |date=n.d. |author-link=Hugo Young |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031211708/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590098/Margaret-Thatcher |archive-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bootle |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Bootle |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: the economic achievements and legacy of Thatcherism |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9979362/Margaret-Thatcher-the-economic-achievements-and-legacy-of-Thatcherism.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704110154/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9979362/Margaret-Thatcher-the-economic-achievements-and-legacy-of-Thatcherism.html |archive-date=4 July 2017 |access-date=24 July 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>{{refn|{{harvtxt|Lawson|1992|p=64}} lists the Thatcherite ideals as "a mixture of free markets, financial discipline, firm control over public expenditure, tax cuts, nationalism, 'Victorian values' (of the [[Samuel Smiles]] self-help variety), privatisation and a dash of populism".|group=nb}}

Thatcher defined her political philosophy, in a major and controversial break with the [[one-nation conservatism]]{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|pages=530–532}} of her predecessor Edward Heath, in a 1987 interview published in ''[[Woman's Own]]'' magazine:

{{blockquote|I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand "I have a problem, it is the Government's job to cope with it!" or "I have a problem, I will go and get a grant to cope with it!" "I am homeless, the Government must house me!" and so they are casting their problems on society and who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then also to help look after our neighbour and life is a reciprocal business and people have got the entitlements too much in mind without the obligations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 September 1987 |title=Interview for ''Woman's Own'' ('no such thing as society') with journalist Douglas Keay |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106689 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427052051/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106689 |archive-date=27 April 2006 |access-date=10 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>}}

====Overview====
The number of adults owning shares rose from 7 per cent to 25 per cent during her tenure, and more than a million families bought their council houses, increasing from 55 per cent to 67 per cent in [[owner-occupier]]s from 1979 to 1990. The houses were sold at a discount of 33–55 per cent, leading to large profits for some new owners. Personal wealth rose by 80 per cent in real terms during the 1980s, mainly due to rising house prices and increased earnings. Shares in the privatised utilities were sold below their market value to ensure quick and wide sales rather than maximise national income.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=430}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 April 2013 |title=What is Thatcherism? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079683 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811054456/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079683 |archive-date=11 August 2017 |access-date=2 August 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

The "Thatcher years" were also marked by periods of high unemployment and social unrest,<ref name="legacy-bbc">{{Cite news |date=4 May 2004 |title=Evaluating Thatcher's legacy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3681973.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209115746/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3681973.stm |archive-date=9 February 2009 |access-date=11 April 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 April 2013 |title=The Thatcher years in statistics |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22070491 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224070722/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22070491 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |access-date=6 January 2019 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and many critics on the left of the political spectrum fault her economic policies for the unemployment level; many of the areas affected by mass unemployment as well as her monetarist economic policies remained blighted for decades, by such social problems as [[drug abuse]] and family breakdown.{{sfnp|Richards|2004|p=63}} Unemployment did not fall below its May 1979 level during her tenure,<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: How the economy changed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22073527 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014025026/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22073527 |archive-date=14 October 2016 |access-date=5 November 2016 |work=BBC News}}</ref> only falling below its April 1979 level in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Denman |first1=James |last2=McDonald |first2=Paul |name-list-style=amp |date=January 1996 |title=Unemployment statistics from 1881 to the present day |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-trends--discontinued-/january-1996/unemployment-since-1881.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925103339/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-trends--discontinued-/january-1996/unemployment-since-1881.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2015 |access-date=16 May 2017 |publisher=[[Government Statistical Service]] |page=7}}</ref> The long-term effects of her policies on manufacturing remain contentious.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 April 2013 |title=Industrialists split over Thatcher legacy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/959ebdda-a2cf-11e2-bd45-00144feabdc0 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210912185844/https://www.ft.com/content/959ebdda-a2cf-11e2-bd45-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |access-date=13 November 2016 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|page=79}}

Speaking in Scotland in 2009, Thatcher insisted she had no regrets and was right to introduce the poll tax and withdraw subsidies from "outdated industries, whose markets were in terminal decline", subsidies that created "the culture of dependency, which had done such damage to Britain".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allardyce |first=Jason |date=26 April 2009 |title=Margaret Thatcher: I did right by Scots |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/margaret-thatcher-i-did-right-by-scots-bwjjcdbwbx9 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210912185513/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/margaret-thatcher-i-did-right-by-scots-bwjjcdbwbx9 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=The Sunday Times}}</ref> Political economist [[Susan Strange]] termed the neoliberal financial growth model "casino capitalism", reflecting her view that speculation and financial trading were becoming more important to the economy than industry.{{sfnp|Gamble|2009|p=16}}

Critics on the left describe her as divisive<ref name="greatestpm">{{Cite news |date=16 September 2008 |title=Who has been UK's greatest post-war PM? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7593554.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906000712/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7593554.stm |archive-date=6 September 2017 |access-date=16 April 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and say she condoned greed and selfishness.{{r|legacy-bbc}} Leading Welsh politician [[Rhodri Morgan]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: A 'Marmite' prime minister, says Rhodri Morgan |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-22072074 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609081401/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22072074 |archive-date=9 June 2013 |access-date=11 April 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> among others,{{sfnmp|1a1=West|1y=2012|1p=176|2a1=Blundell|2y=2013|2p=88}} characterised Thatcher as a "[[Marmite]]" figure. Journalist [[Michael White (journalist)|Michael White]], writing in the aftermath of the [[2008 financial crisis]], challenged the view that her reforms were still a net benefit.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=White |first=Michael |date=26 February 2009 |title=The making of Maggie |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2009/02/margaret-thatcher-british |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412061634/http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2009/02/margaret-thatcher-british |archive-date=12 April 2017 |access-date=11 April 2017 |magazine=New Statesman |quote=Her 'freer, more promiscuous version of capitalism' (in Hugo Young's phrase) is reaping a darker harvest.}}</ref> Others consider her approach to have been "a mixed bag"{{sfnp|Rothbard|1995|loc=chpt. 63}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Van Reenen |first=John |author-link=John Van Reenen (economist) |date=10 April 2013 |title=The economic legacy of Mrs. Thatcher is a mixed bag |url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-economic-legacy-of-mrs-thatcher-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412061433/http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-economic-legacy-of-mrs-thatcher-2/ |archive-date=12 April 2017 |access-date=11 April 2017 |publisher=[[London School of Economics]]}}</ref> and "{{interp|a}} [[Curate's egg]]".{{sfnp|Johnson|1991|loc=chpt. 8}}

Thatcher did "little to advance the political cause of women" within her party or the government.{{sfnp|Evans|2004|p=25}} Some [[Feminism in the United Kingdom|British feminists]] regarded her as "an enemy".{{sfnp|Burns|2009|p=234}} [[June Purvis]] in ''[[Women's History Review]]'' says that, although Thatcher had struggled laboriously against the sexist prejudices of her day to rise to the top, she made no effort to ease the path for other women.{{sfnp|Purvis|2013}} Thatcher did not regard [[women's rights]] as requiring particular attention as she did not, especially during her premiership, consider that women were being deprived of their rights. She had once suggested the shortlisting of women by default for all public appointments and proposed that those with young children should leave the workforce.{{sfnp|Gelb|1989|pages=58–59}}

<!-- Please keep text relating to immigration in one paragraph. Discuss at talk if you would prefer to have this paragraph reduced. -->
Thatcher's stance on [[Modern immigration to the United Kingdom|immigration]] in the late 1970s was perceived as part of a rising racist public discourse,{{sfnp|Witte|2014|page=54}} which [[Martin Barker]] terms "[[new racism]]".{{sfnmp|Barker|1981|Chin|2009|2p=92}} In opposition, Thatcher believed that the National Front (NF) was winning over large numbers of Conservative voters with warnings against floods of immigrants. Her strategy was to undermine the NF narrative by acknowledging that many of [[Support base of the National Front (UK)|their voters]] had serious concerns in need of addressing. In 1978 she criticised Labour's immigration policy to attract voters away from the NF to the Conservatives.{{sfnp|Witte|2014|pages=53–54}} Her rhetoric was followed by increased Conservative support at the expense of the NF. Critics on the left accused her of [[Pandering (politics)|pandering]] to racism.{{sfnp|Friedman|2006|page=13}}{{refn|group=nb|{{harvtxt|Mitchell|Russell|1989}} posits that she had been misinterpreted and that [[Race (human categorization)|race]] was never a focus of Thatcherism. By the 1980s, both the Conservatives and Labour had taken similar positions on immigration policy;{{sfnmp|1a1=Ward|1y=2004|1p=128|2a1=Vinen|2y=2009|2pp=227, 279}} the [[British Nationality Act 1981]] was passed with cross-party support.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pages=207–208}} There were no policies passed or proposed by ministers to restrict legal immigration, nor would Thatcher highlight the subject of race in any of her later remarks.{{sfnp|Anwar|2001}}}}

Many Thatcherite policies influenced the Labour Party,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kampfner |first=John |author-link=John Kampfner |date=17 April 2008 |title=Margaret Thatcher, inspiration to New Labour |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/themargaretthatcheryears/1895878/Margaret-Thatcher-inspiration-to-New-Labour.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019082215/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/themargaretthatcheryears/1895878/Margaret-Thatcher-inspiration-to-New-Labour.html |archive-date=19 October 2018 |access-date=12 May 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>{{sfnp|Seldon|2007|page=14}} which returned to power in 1997 under Tony Blair. Blair rebranded the party "[[New Labour]]" in 1994 with the aim of increasing its appeal beyond its traditional supporters,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Assinder |first=Nick |date=10 May 2007 |title=How Blair recreated Labour |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6129844.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312022307/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6129844.stm |archive-date=12 March 2017 |access-date=18 May 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and to attract those who had supported Thatcher, such as the "[[Essex man]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Jodie |date=30 March 2015 |title='Essex Man' 2015: Does the Thatcher-era stereotype still pack a political punch? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-england-31868550 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314025416/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-england-31868550 |archive-date=14 March 2017 |access-date=17 May 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Thatcher is said to have regarded the "New Labour" rebranding as her greatest achievement.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McSmith |first1=Andy |author-link1=Andy McSmith |last2=Chu |first2=Ben |last3=Garner |first3=Richard |name-list-style=amp |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's legacy: Spilt milk, New Labour, and the Big Bang – she changed everything |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatchers-legacy-spilt-milk-new-labour-and-the-big-bang-she-changed-everything-8564541.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230231827/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatchers-legacy-spilt-milk-new-labour-and-the-big-bang-she-changed-everything-8564541.html |archive-date=30 December 2016 |access-date=30 December 2016 |work=The Independent}}</ref> In contrast to Blair, the Conservative Party under [[William Hague]] attempted to distance himself and the party from Thatcher's economic policies in an attempt to gain public approval.{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|p=790}}

<!-- Please keep text relating to devolution in one paragraph. Discuss at talk if you would prefer to have this paragraph reduced. -->
Shortly after Thatcher died in 2013, Scottish first minister [[Alex Salmond]] argued that her policies had the "unintended consequence" of encouraging Scottish devolution.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dinwoodie |first=Robbie |date=9 April 2013 |title=First Minister: Her policies made Scots believe that devolution was essential |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/first-minister-her-policies-made-scots-believe-that-devolution-was-essential.20640632 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109215642/http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/first-minister-her-policies-made-scots-believe-that-devolution-was-essential.20640632 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Herald}}</ref> [[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]] agreed on ''[[Scotland Tonight]]'' that she had provided "the impetus" for devolution.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 April 2013 |title=Scotland Tonight |url=http://player.stv.tv/programmes/scotland-tonight/2013-04-08-2230 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411051526/http://player.stv.tv/programmes/scotland-tonight/2013-04-08-2230/ |archive-date=11 April 2013 |access-date=9 April 2013 |publisher=STV Player}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Scotsman]]'' in 1997, Thatcher argued against devolution on the basis that it would eventually lead to [[Scottish independence]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 September 1997 |title=Article for the ''Scotsman'' (devolution referendum) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108373 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531035317/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108373 |archive-date=31 May 2017 |access-date=11 June 2017 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

====Reputation====
{{quote box
 |quote  = Margaret Thatcher was not merely the first woman and the longest-serving Prime Minister of modern times, but the most admired, most hated, most idolised and most vilified public figure of the second half of the twentieth century. To some she was the saviour of her country who [...] created a vigorous enterprise economy which twenty years later was still outperforming the more regulated economies of the Continent. To others, she was a narrow ideologue whose hard-faced policies legitimised greed, deliberately increased inequality [...] and destroyed the nation's sense of solidarity and civic pride. There is no reconciling these views: yet both are true.{{refn|group=nb|name=Campbell}}
 |source = Biographer {{harvs |last=Campbell |first=John |author-link=John Campbell (biographer) |year=2011b |loc1={{p. |499}} |txt}}
 |align  = right
 |salign = right
 |width  = 25em
 |bgcolor= whitesmoke
}}

Thatcher's [[List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure|tenure of 11 years and 209 days]] as British prime minister was the longest since [[Lord Salisbury]] in the late 19th century (13 years and 252 days, in three spells) and the longest continuous period in office since [[Lord Liverpool]] in the early 19th century (14 years and 305 days).{{sfnp|Gardiner|Thompson|2013|page=12}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mackay |first=Robert |date=28 December 1987 |title=Thatcher longest serving British prime minister |url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/28/Thatcher-longest-serving-British-prime-minister/8486567666000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303004520/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/28/Thatcher-longest-serving-British-prime-minister/8486567666000 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=26 June 2017 |work=United Press International}}</ref>

Having led the Conservative Party to victory in three consecutive general elections, twice in a landslide, she ranks among the most popular party leaders in British history regarding votes cast for the winning party; over 40&nbsp;million ballots were cast in total for the party under her leadership.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kimber |first=Richard |date=n.d. |title=UK General Election May 1979: Results and statistics |url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/results.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428175636/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/results.htm |archive-date=28 April 2017 |access-date=19 March 2017 |website=Political Science Resources}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 June 1983 |title=General Election Results |url=https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m09.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029150237/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m09.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2016 |access-date=31 December 2016 |publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 June 1987 |title=General Election Results |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m11.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107031834/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m11.pdf |archive-date=7 January 2017 |access-date=31 December 2016 |publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref> Her electoral successes were dubbed a "historic [[wikt:hat trick|hat trick]]" by the British press in 1987.<ref>{{YouTube |id=P0p5r_ibGT4 |title=UK General Election Results}}{{Retrieved|prepend=.{{sp}}|access-date=21 March 2017|note=Broadcast 12 June 1987}}</ref>

Thatcher ranked highest among living persons in the 2002 BBC poll ''[[100 Greatest Britons]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Britons – Top 100 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/greatbritons/list.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021204214727/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/greatbritons/list.shtml |archive-date=4 December 2002 |access-date=11 April 2013 |magazine=[[BBC History]]}}</ref> In 1999, [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] deemed Thatcher one of the [[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century|100 most important people of the 20th century]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Quittner |first=Joshua |author-link=Josh Quittner |date=14 April 1999 |title=Margaret Thatcher – Time 100 People of the Century |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,26473,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308133259/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,26473,00.html |archive-date=8 March 2013 |access-date=22 December 2012 |magazine=Time}}</ref> In 2015 she topped a poll by [[Scottish Widows]], a major financial services company, as the most influential woman of the past 200 years;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boult |first=Adam |date=1 December 2015 |title=Margaret Thatcher voted most influential woman of past 200 years |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/12027994/Margaret-Thatcher-voted-most-influential-woman-of-past-200-years.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075046/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/12027994/Margaret-Thatcher-voted-most-influential-woman-of-past-200-years.html |archive-date=31 December 2016 |access-date=30 December 2016 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> and in 2016 topped [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Woman's Hour]] Power List'' of women judged to have had the biggest impact on female lives over the past 70 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Woman's Hour'' – The 7 women who've changed women's lives – BBC Radio 4 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/PnqpZRvgbvMFBCtrwHhhTZ/the-7-women-whove-changed-womens-lives |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173034/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/PnqpZRvgbvMFBCtrwHhhTZ/the-seven-women-whove-changed-womens-lives |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=15 December 2016 |publisher=BBC |quote=Topping the 2016 Power List – in our only ranked position – is the UK's first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 December 2016 |title=Margaret Thatcher tops ''Woman's Hour Power List'' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38303886 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404063443/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38303886 |archive-date=4 April 2018 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In 2020, ''Time'' magazine included Thatcher's name on its list of 100 Women of the Year. She was chosen as the Woman of the Year in 1982 when the Falklands War began under her command, resulting in the British victory.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 March 2020 |title=1982: Margaret Thatcher |url=https://time.com/5793666/margaret-thatcher-100-women-of-the-year/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307064451/https://time.com/5793666/margaret-thatcher-100-women-of-the-year/ |archive-date=7 March 2020 |access-date=7 March 2020 |magazine=Time}}</ref>

In contrast to her relatively poor average approval rating as prime minister,{{r|Ipsos}} Thatcher has since [[Historical rankings of prime ministers of the United Kingdom|ranked highly in retrospective opinion polling]] and, according to [[YouGov]], is "see[n] in overall positive terms" by the British public.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Matthew |date=10 August 2016 |title=David Cameron was the best Prime Minister since Thatcher |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/08/10/cameron-best-prime-minister-since-thatcher |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173134/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/08/10/cameron-best-prime-minister-since-thatcher |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=7 December 2018 |publisher=YouGov}}</ref> Just after her death in 2013, according to a poll by ''[[The Guardian]]'', about half of the public viewed her positively while one third viewed her negatively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Tom |date=9 April 2013 |title=Opinion on Margaret Thatcher remains divided after her death, poll finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/opinion-sharply-divide-margaret-thatcher |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202174723/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/opinion-sharply-divide-margaret-thatcher |archive-date=2 December 2016 |access-date=5 December 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> In a 2019 opinion poll by YouGov, most Britons rated her as Britain's greatest post-war leader (with Churchill coming second).<ref name="YouGov">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Matthew |date=3 May 2019 |title=Margaret Thatcher: the public view 40 years on |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/05/03/margaret-thatcher-public-view-40-years |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205080201/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/05/03/margaret-thatcher-public-view-40-years |archive-date=5 December 2021 |access-date=5 December 2021 |publisher=YouGov}}</ref> According to the poll, more than four in ten Britons (44%) think that Thatcher was a "good" or "great" prime minister, compared to 29% who think she was a "poor" or "terrible" one.<ref name="YouGov" /> She was voted the fourth-greatest British prime minister of the 20th century in a 2011 poll of 139 academics organised by [[MORI]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rating British Prime Ministers |url=http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=661 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912105223/http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=661 |archive-date=12 September 2011 |access-date=24 August 2012 |publisher=Ipsos MORI}}</ref> In a 2016 [[University of Leeds]] survey of 82 academics specialising in post-1945 British history and politics, she was voted the second-greatest British prime minister after the Second World War.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cowburn |first=Ashley |date=13 October 2016 |title=David Cameron rated the third worst Prime Minister of the past 71 years |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-worst-prime-minister-ranking-third-since-ww2-a7358171.html |access-date=16 May 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

===Cultural depictions===
{{Main|Cultural depictions of Margaret Thatcher}}

According to theatre critic [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Events: Michael Billington: 'State of the Nation' |url=http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/events/id/3627 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207113843/http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/events/id/3627 |archive-date=7 February 2008 |access-date=8 June 2008}}</ref> Thatcher left an "emphatic mark" on the arts while prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Billington |first=Michael |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher casts a long shadow over theatre and the arts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-long-shadow-theatre |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113085827/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-long-shadow-theatre |archive-date=13 January 2017 |access-date=8 May 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> One of the earliest satires of Thatcher as prime minister involved satirist [[John Wells (satirist)|John Wells]] (as writer and performer), actress [[Janet Brown]] (voicing Thatcher) and future ''[[Spitting Image]]'' producer [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]] (as co-producer), who in 1979 were teamed up by producer [[Martin Lewis (humorist)|Martin Lewis]] for the satirical audio album [[The Iron Lady (album)|''The Iron Lady'']], which consisted of skits and songs satirising Thatcher's rise to power. The album was released in September 1979.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 April 2013 |title='I'm There' song reissue mocks Margaret Thatcher on day of funeral |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/04/16/im-there-song-reissue-mocks-margaret-thatcher-on-day-of-funeral/2088929 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422071500/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/04/16/im-there-song-reissue-mocks-margaret-thatcher-on-day-of-funeral/2088929/ |archive-date=22 April 2013 |access-date=25 April 2013 |work=USA Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |date=16 April 2013 |title=Album skewering Margaret Thatcher to be reissued on April 17 |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-margaret-thatcher-funeral-album-iron-lady-comedy-20130416,0,4237647.story |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420095346/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-margaret-thatcher-funeral-album-iron-lady-comedy-20130416,0,4237647.story |archive-date=20 April 2013 |access-date=25 April 2013 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Thatcher was heavily satirised on ''Spitting Image'', and ''[[The Independent]]'' labelled her "every stand-up's dream".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sherwin |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Sherwin |date=1 September 2012 |title=Margaret Thatcher: Let's hear it for the Iron Lady, comedy's greatest straight man |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/margaret-thatcher-lets-hear-it-for-the-iron-lady-comedys-greatest-straight-man-8100027.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929124047/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/margaret-thatcher-lets-hear-it-for-the-iron-lady-comedys-greatest-straight-man-8100027.html |archive-date=29 September 2019 |access-date=29 September 2019 |work=The Independent}}</ref>

Thatcher was the subject or the inspiration for 1980s [[protest song]]s. Musicians [[Billy Bragg]] and [[Paul Weller]] helped to form the [[Red Wedge]] collective to support Labour in opposition to Thatcher.<ref name="songs">{{Cite news |last=Heard |first=Chris |date=4 May 2004 |title=Rocking against Thatcher |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3682281.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311130019/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3682281.stm |archive-date=11 March 2009 |access-date=2 August 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Known as "Maggie" by supporters and opponents alike, the chant song "[[Maggie Out]]" became a signature rallying cry among the left during the latter half of her premiership.{{sfnmp|1a1=Vinen|1y=2009|1pp=1947–1948|2a1=Barr|2y=2013|2pp=178, 235}}

Wells parodied Thatcher in several media. He collaborated with [[Richard Ingrams]] on the spoof "[[Dear Bill]]" letters, which ran as a column in ''[[Private Eye]]'' magazine; they were also published in book form and became a West End stage revue titled ''Anyone for Denis?'', with Wells in the role of Thatcher's husband. It was followed by [[Anyone for Denis? (video)|a 1982 TV special]] directed by [[Dick Clement]], in which Thatcher was played by [[Angela Thorne]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anyone for Denis? |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/4789 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724114429/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/4789 |archive-date=24 July 2013 |access-date=19 January 2011 |publisher=[[British Film Institute]]}}</ref>

Since her premiership, Thatcher has been portrayed in a number of television programmes, documentaries, films and plays.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chilton |first=Martin |date=8 February 2011 |title=People who have played Margaret Thatcher |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8311635/People-who-have-played-Margaret-Thatcher.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424160245/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8311635/People-who-have-played-Margaret-Thatcher.html |archive-date=24 April 2017 |access-date=15 April 2017 |work=The Telegraph |location=London, UK}}</ref> She was portrayed by [[Patricia Hodge]] in [[Ian Curteis]]'s long unproduced ''[[The Falklands Play]]'' (2002) and by [[Andrea Riseborough]] in the TV film ''[[The Long Walk to Finchley]]'' (2008). She is the protagonist in two films, played by [[Lindsay Duncan]] in [[Margaret (2009 film)|''Margaret'']] (2009) and by [[Meryl Streep]] in [[The Iron Lady (film)|''The Iron Lady'']] (2011),<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 February 2011 |title=Image of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher unveiled |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12393674 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209050448/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12393674 |archive-date=9 February 2011 |access-date=9 February 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref> in which she is depicted as suffering from dementia or [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Julie |date=22 December 2011 |title='The Iron Lady' Draws Fire For Depicting Margaret Thatcher With Alzheimer's |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/12/22/the-iron-lady-draws-fire-for-depicting-thatcher-with-alzheimers |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108010000/https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/12/22/the-iron-lady-draws-fire-for-depicting-thatcher-with-alzheimers |archive-date=8 January 2012 |access-date=28 February 2012 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> She is a main character in the [[The Crown (season 4)|fourth season]] of ''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]'', played by [[Gillian Anderson]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thorpe |first=Vanessa |date=7 September 2019 |title=Gillian Anderson to play Thatcher in fourth series of ''The Crown'' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/sep/07/gillian-anderson-to-play-thatcher-fourth-series-the-crown-netflix |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216101144/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/sep/07/gillian-anderson-to-play-thatcher-fourth-series-the-crown-netflix |archive-date=16 December 2019 |access-date=16 December 2019 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> Thatcher has a supporting role in the 2024 biographical film ''[[Reagan (2024 film)|Reagan]]'', played by [[Lesley-Anne Down]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kay |first=Jeremy |date=11 November 2020 |title=Voltage Pictures' 'Reagan' finds its Margaret Thatcher (exclusive) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/voltage-pictures-reagan-finds-its-margaret-thatcher-exclusive/5154845.article |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Screen}}</ref>

==Titles, awards and honours==
{{Main|List of honours of Margaret Thatcher}}
[[File:Margaret Thatcher awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom.jpg|thumb|alt=Thatcher standing with George H. W. Bush|Receiving the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 1991]]
Thatcher became a [[privy counsellor (United Kingdom)|privy counsellor]] (PC) on becoming a secretary of state in 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gay |first1=Oonagh |last2=Rees |first2=Anwen |name-list-style=amp |date=5 July 2005 |title=The Privy Council |url=http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-3708.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227183508/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-3708.pdf |archive-date=27 December 2011 |access-date=27 February 2009 |publisher=Parliament and Constitution Centre |via=the [[House of Commons Library]]}}</ref> She was the first woman entitled to full membership rights as an honorary member of the [[Carlton Club]] on becoming Conservative Party leader in 1975.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ungoed-Thomas |first=Jon |date=8 February 1998 |title=Carlton Club to vote on women |work=The Sunday Times}}</ref>

As prime minister, Thatcher received two honorary distinctions:
* {{Timeline-event |date={{Start date|df=y|1979|10|24}} |event=Honorary Fellowship of the [[Royal Institute of Chemistry]] ({{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|HonFRIC}}),<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 October 1979 |title=Speech to the Chemical Society and the Royal Institute of Chemistry (honorary fellowship) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104152 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530200036/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104152 |archive-date=30 May 2016 |access-date=25 April 2016 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> which was merged into the [[Royal Society of Chemistry]] the following year;<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 March 2016 |title=Our origins |url=http://www.rsc.org/about-us/our-history/our-origins/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702064508/http://www.rsc.org/about-us/our-history/our-origins/ |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=11 September 2018 |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry}}</ref> and}}
* {{Timeline-event |date={{Start date|df=y|1983|7|1}} |event=Fellowship of the [[Royal Society]] ({{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRS}}), a point of controversy among some of the then Fellows.{{sfnmp|''New Scientist''|1983|Agar|2022}}}}

{{multiple image
| title             = [[Orders of chivalry]]
| align             = right
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 185
| image1            = Order of the Garter UK ribbon.svg
| alt1              = Ribbon of the Order of the Garter
| caption1          = {{awards|[[Order of the Garter|Garter]]|UK, 1995}}
| image2            = Ord.GoodHope-ribbon.gif
| alt2              = Ribbon of the Order of Good Hope
| caption2          = {{awards|[[Order of Good Hope|Good Hope]]|{{abbr|RSA|Republic of South Africa}}, 1991}}
| image3            = Galó de l'Orde del Mèrit (UK).svg
| alt3              = Ribbon of the Order of Merit
| caption3          = {{awards|[[Order of Merit|Merit]]|UK, 1990}}
| image4            = Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg
| alt4              = Ribbon of the Order of St John
| caption4          = {{awards|[[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|St John]]|UK, 1991}}
| footer            = Shown are the ribbons for each order bestowed on Thatcher.
}}

Two weeks after her resignation, Thatcher was appointed [[Member of the Order of Merit]] (OM) by the Queen. Thatcher's husband, Denis, was [[Thatcher baronets|made a hereditary baronet]] at the same time;<ref name="OMBarontecy">{{London Gazette |issue=52360 |date=11 December 1990 |page=19066 |nolink=yes}}</ref> as his wife, Thatcher was entitled to use the [[Style (form of address)|honorific style]] "Lady",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Family of a Baronet |url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/baronet/family-baronet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315235601/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/baronet/family-baronet |archive-date=15 March 2015 |access-date=2 February 2015 |website=[[Debrett's]]}}</ref> an automatically conferred title that she declined to use.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tuohy |first=William |author-link=William Tuohy |date=8 December 1990 |title=It's Now 'Lady Thatcher', but She'll Stick With 'Mrs.' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-08-mn-5367-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306135614/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-08/news/mn-5367_1_lady-thatcher |archive-date=6 March 2017 |access-date=5 March 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |location=London, UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 December 1990 |title=Headliners; Call Her Mrs. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/09/weekinreview/headliners-call-her-mrs.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304201415/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/09/weekinreview/headliners-call-her-mrs.html |archive-date=4 March 2019 |access-date=23 April 2017 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Orth |first=Maureen |author-link=Maureen Orth |date=June 1991 |title=Maggie's Big Problem |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1991/06/thatcher199106 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104074036/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1991/06/thatcher199106 |archive-date=4 November 2018 |access-date=11 April 2017 |magazine=Vanity Fair |quote=Since he was now a baronet, might she care to be known as Lady Thatcher?}}</ref> She would be made Lady Thatcher in her own right on her subsequent [[ennoblement]].<ref name="Tuohy">{{Cite news |last=Tuohy |first=William |date=6 June 1992 |title='Iron Lady' Is Made Baroness Thatcher |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-06-mn-552-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412061757/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-06-06/news/mn-552_1_baroness-thatcher |archive-date=12 April 2017 |access-date=11 April 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |location=London, UK}}</ref>

In the Falklands, [[Margaret Thatcher Day]] has been marked each 10 January since 1992,<ref name="Reuters-January">{{Cite news |date=6 January 1992 |title=Falklands to make 10 January Thatcher Day |agency=Reuters}}</ref> commemorating her first visit to the Islands in January 1983, six months after the [[Aftermath of the Falklands War|end of the Falklands War]] in June 1982.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 August 2014 |title=Margaret Thatcher in Falkland Islands after Argentina's surrender, 1983 |url=http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/margaret-thatcher-falkland-islands-argentina-surrender-1983 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016054413/http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/margaret-thatcher-falkland-islands-argentina-surrender-1983/ |archive-date=16 October 2016 |access-date=9 October 2016 |website=Rare Historical Photos}}</ref>

Thatcher became a member of the [[House of Lords]] in 1992 with a [[life peer]]age as Baroness Thatcher, of [[Kesteven]] in the [[County of Lincolnshire]].{{r|lords}}<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=52978 |date=26 June 1992 |page=11045 |nolink=yes}}</ref> Subsequently, the [[College of Arms]] granted her use of a [[Armorial of prime ministers of the United Kingdom|personal coat of arms]]; she was allowed to revise these arms, in 1995, on her appointment as [[Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter]] (LG), the UK's highest order of [[chivalry]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54017 |date=25 April 1995 |page=6023 |nolink=yes}}</ref>

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-size:small; margin:auto; text-align:center;"
|+ class=nowrap style="background:whitesmoke; border:1px solid lightgrey; font-weight:bold; padding:0 1em;" | Coats of arms of Baroness Thatcher
|-
| Pre–Garter appointment|| style="width:.2em;"|
| colspan=2|Post–Garter appointment
|-
| style="border:1px solid lightgrey; padding:.7em;"|[[File:Coat of Arms of Margaret Thatcher, The Baroness Thatcher (1992–1995).svg|frameless|upright=.68|illustration]]||
| colspan=2 style="border:1px solid lightgrey; padding:.7em;"|[[File:Coat of Arms of Margaret Thatcher, The Baroness Thatcher (1995–2013).svg|frameless|upright=.68|illustration]]{{pad|.7em}}[[File:Coat of Arms of Margaret Thatcher, The Baroness Thatcher (1995–2013) (Variant).svg|frameless|upright=.68|illustration of variant]]
|-
| 1992–1995||
| [[Lozenge (heraldry)|Lozenge]]: 1995–2013
| [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|Escutcheon]]: 1995–2013
|}

In the US, Thatcher received the [[Ronald Reagan Freedom Award]] from the [[Reagan Presidential Foundation]] in 1998;<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ronald Reagan Freedom Award |url=https://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs-events/the-ronald-reagan-freedom-award/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104052308/https://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs-events/the-ronald-reagan-freedom-award/ |archive-date=4 January 2018 |access-date=19 July 2017 |publisher=[[Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation]]}}</ref> she was designated a patron of [[the Heritage Foundation]] in 2006,<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/04/demint-on-lady-thatcher-freedoms-champion |title=Jim DeMint on Lady Thatcher |publisher=The Heritage Foundation |access-date=27 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630181752/http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/04/demint-on-lady-thatcher-freedoms-champion |archive-date=30 June 2016 |url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Baroness Thatcher |url=http://www.heritage.org/about-heritage/staff/leadership/nonstaff/t/baroness-thatcher |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625154102/http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/nonstaff/t/baroness-thatcher |archive-date=25 June 2013 |access-date=20 July 2017 |publisher=The Heritage Foundation}}</ref> where she established the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ros-Lehtinen |first=Ileana |author-link=Ileana Ros-Lehtinen |date=13 September 2006 |title=Honoring the Iron Lady |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/sep/13/20060913-085945-8112r/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423033402/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/sep/13/20060913-085945-8112r/ |archive-date=23 April 2018 |access-date=22 April 2018 |work=The Washington Times}}</ref>

==Published works==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |title=The Downing Street Years |title-link=The Downing Street Years |date=1993 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-00-255049-9 |ref=none |author-mask=0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |title=The Path to Power |title-link=The Path to Power (Thatcher book) |date=1995 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-00-255050-5 |ref=none |author-mask=0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |title=Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World |title-link=Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World |date=2003 |publisher=Harper Perennial |isbn=978-0-06-095912-8 |ref=none |author-mask=0}}
{{refend}}

==See also==
* {{anl|Cadby Hall}}
* [[Economic history of the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government]]
* [[Political history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)]]
* [[Social history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)]]

==References==

=== Explanatory notes ===
{{Reflist|group=nb|30em|refs=
{{refn|group=nb|name=Campbell|{{harvtxt|Campbell|2011a|p=800}} also writes about a third view that can be argued: Thatcher "achieved much less" than she and her "[[dries]]" would claim; she failed to curb public spending, diminish or privatise the [[welfare state]], change fundamental attitudes of the general public, or "enhance" freedom where she had instead [[centralised]] control over "many areas of national life".}}
}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="PoliticalStuff.co.uk">{{Cite web |title=1979 Conservative Party General Election Manifesto |url=http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1979/1979-conservative-manifesto.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022052434/http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1979/1979-conservative-manifesto.shtml |archive-date=22 October 2019 |access-date=28 July 2009 |website=PoliticalStuff.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="Heffer">{{Cite magazine |last=Heffer |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Heffer |date=29 October 2019 |title=The rats and cowards who brought down a Titan |url=https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2019/the-rats-and-cowards-who-brought-down-a-titan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803214158/https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2019/the-rats-and-cowards-who-brought-down-a-titan/ |archive-date=3 August 2020 |access-date=18 July 2020 |magazine=[[The Critic (modern magazine)|The Critic]]}}</ref>
}}

=== General and cited bibliography ===
{{Main|Bibliography of Margaret Thatcher}}
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Adeney |first1=Martin
  | last2=Lloyd |first2=John |author-link2=John Lloyd (journalist)
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1988
  | title=The Miners' Strike 1984–85: Loss Without Limit
  | publisher=Routledge
  | isbn=978-0-7102-1371-6}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Agar |first=Jon
  | year=2011
  | title=Thatcher, scientist
  | journal=[[Notes and Records]] |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=215–232
  | doi=10.1098/rsnr.2010.0096 |issn=0035-9149 |s2cid=202575335}}
**{{Cite journal
  | last=Agar |first=Jon |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2022
  | title=Margaret Hilda Thatcher. 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013
  | url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10160154/1/Agar_Margaret%20Hilda%20Thatcher_AAM.pdf
  | journal=[[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] |volume=74 |pages=403–418
  | doi=10.1098/rsbm.2022.0036 |s2cid=253246959 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Aitken |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Aitken
  | year=2013
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality
  | url={{Google books|HW-rAAAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=A & C Black
  | isbn=978-1-4088-3186-1}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Anwar |first=Muhammad
  | year=2001
  | title=The participation of ethnic minorities in British politics
  | journal=[[Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies]] |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=533–549
  | doi=10.1080/136918301200266220 |s2cid=144867334}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Atkinson |first=Max |author-link=Max Atkinson
  | year=1984
  | title=Our Masters' Voices: The Language and Body Language of Politics 
  | url={{Google books|yqM4zGmsYioC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Psychology Press
  | isbn=978-0-415-01875-3}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Barker |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Barker
  | year=1981
  | title=The New Racism: Conservatives and the Ideology of the Tribe
  | publisher=Junction Books |location=London
  | isbn=978-0-86245-031-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Barr |first=Damian |author-link=Damian Barr
  | year=2013
  | title=Maggie and Me
  | url={{Google books|nes_AQAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=A & C Black
  | isbn=978-1-4088-3806-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | editor-last=Barrell |editor-first=Ray
  | year=1994
  | title=The UK Labour Market: Comparative Aspects and Institutional Developments
  | url={{Google books|Izl1A_9TrREC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Cambridge University Press
  | isbn=978-0-521-46825-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Beckett |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Beckett
  | year=2010
  | title=When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies
  | url={{Google books|-NURERF4hb8C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Faber and Faber
  | isbn=978-0-571-25226-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Beckett |first=Clare
  | year=2006
  | title=The 20 British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century: Thatcher
  | url={{Google books|QeIHpjNolKAC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Haus
  | isbn=978-1-904950-71-4}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Bern |first=Paula
  | year=1987
  | title=How to Work for a Woman Boss, Even If You'd Rather Not
  | url=https://archive.org/details/howtoworkforwoma00bern |url-access=registration
  | publisher=Dodd Mead |location=New York
  | isbn=978-0-396-08839-4}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Blundell |first=John |author-link=John Blundell (economist)
  | year=2008
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady
  | url={{Google books|hbyeLS83iEIC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Algora
  | isbn=978-0-87586-632-1}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Blundell |first=John |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2013
  | title=Remembering Margaret Thatcher: Commemorations, Tributes, and Assessments
  | url={{Google books|4MYn9j-gftAC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Algora
  | isbn=978-1-62894-017-6}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Burns |first=William E.
  | year=2009
  | title=A Brief History of Great Britain
  | url={{Google books|Fjf4YynnC90C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Infobase
  | isbn=978-1-4381-2737-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Butler |first1=David |author-link=David Butler (psephologist)
  | last2=Kavanagh |first2=Dennis |author-link2=Dennis Kavanagh
  | display-authors=1
  | year=1980
  | title=The British General Election of 1979
  | url={{Google books|3tWuCwAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan
  | isbn=978-1-349-04755-0}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Butler |first=David |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=1994
  | title=British Political Facts 1900–1994
  | publisher=Macmillan
  | isbn=978-0-333-52616-3}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Campbell |first=John |author-link=John Campbell (biographer)
  | year=2000
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: The Grocer's Daughter |volume=1
  | publisher=Pimlico
  | isbn=978-0-7126-7418-8}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Campbell |first=John |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2003
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady |volume=2
  | publisher=Pimlico
  | isbn=978-0-7126-6781-4}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Campbell |first=John |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2011a
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady |volume=2
  | url={{Google books|RfHYhcFWbm4C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Random House
  | isbn=978-1-4464-2008-9}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Campbell |first=John |author-mask={{sp}}
  | editor-last=Freeman |editor-first=David
  | year=2011b
  | title=The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister
  | url={{Google books|odLmZZ514AkC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Penguin Books
  | isbn=978-1-101-55866-9}}
* {{cite ODNB
  | last=Cannadine |first=David |author-link=David Cannadine
  | year=2017
  | title=Thatcher [''née'' Roberts], Margaret Hilda, Baroness Thatcher (1925–2013), prime minister
  | id=106415}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Childs |first=David |author-link=David Childs (academic)
  | year=2006
  | title=Britain Since 1945: A Political History
  | url={{Google books|HDBiaIbyLTsC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Taylor & Francis
  | isbn=978-0-415-39326-3}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Chin |first=Rita
  | year=2009
  | title=After the Nazi Racial State: Difference and Democracy in Germany and Europe
  | publisher=University of Michigan Press |publication-date=2010
  | isbn=978-0-472-02578-7
  | chapter=Guest Worker Migration and the Unexpected Return of Race
  | chapter-url={{Google books|tqlrRJHwjKoC|page=80|plainurl=yes}}}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Cochrane |first=Feargal
  | year=1997
  | title=Unionist Politics and the Politics of Unionism Since the Anglo-Irish Agreement
  | url={{Google books|KnAyhBCnpLQC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Cork University Press
  | isbn=978-1-85918-138-6}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Cooper |first=James
  | year=2010
  | title=The Foreign Politics of Opposition: Margaret Thatcher and the Transatlantic Relationship before Power
  | journal=[[Contemporary British History]] |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=23–42
  | doi=10.1080/13619460903565358 |s2cid=144038789}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Cormac |first=Rory
  | year=2018
  | title=Disrupt and Deny: Spies, Special Forces, and the Secret Pursuit of British Foreign Policy
  | url={{Google books|emZaDwAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Oxford University Press
  | isbn=978-0-19-878459-3}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last1=Cowley |first1=Philip |author-link=Philip Cowley
  | last2=Bailey |first2=Matthew
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2000
  | title=Peasants' Uprising or Religious War? Re-examining the 1975 Conservative Leadership Contest
  | journal=[[British Journal of Political Science]] |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=599–630
  | doi=10.1017/s0007123400000260 |jstor=194287 |s2cid=154834667}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Crewe |first=Ivor |author-link=Ivor Crewe
  | year=1991
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: As the British Saw Her
  | url=https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-perspective/ppscan/22/22015.pdf
  | journal=The Public Perspective |pages=15–16
  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105145426/https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-perspective/ppscan/22/22015.pdf |archive-date=5 January 2019}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Dorril |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Dorril
  | year=2002
  | title=MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service
  | url=https://archive.org/details/mi6insidecovertw00dorr |url-access=registration
  | publisher=Simon and Schuster
  | isbn=978-0-7432-1778-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Dougill |first=John
  | year=1987
  | title=Oxford's Famous Faces
  | publisher=Oxface |edition=New |location=Oxford |publication-date=2007
  | isbn=978-0-9512388-0-6}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=English |first=Richard |author-link=Richard English
  | year=2005
  | title=Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA
  | url={{Google books|WxJutBLDxg0C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Oxford University Press
  | isbn=978-0-19-517753-4}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Evans |first=Eric J. |author-link=Eric J. Evans
  | year=2004
  | title=Thatcher and Thatcherism
  | url={{Google books|1mUs6BAA0DkC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Routledge |publication-date=2013
  | isbn=978-0-415-66018-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Feigenbaum |first1=Harvey
  | last2=Henig |first2=Jeffrey
  | last3=Hamnett |first3=Chris
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1998
  | title=Shrinking the State: The Political Underpinnings of Privatization
  | url={{Google books|mD-WWatCnXoC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Cambridge University Press
  | isbn=978-0-521-63918-7}}
* {{Cite book
  | editor-last=Floud |editor-first=Roderick |editor-link=Roderick Floud
  | editor-last2=Johnson |editor-first2=Paul |editor-link2=Paul Johnson (writer)
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2004
  | title=The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain: Structural Change and Growth, 1939–2000 |volume=3
  | url={{Google books|ugx3XIkE-mEC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Cambridge University Press
  | isbn=978-0-521-52738-5}}
* {{Cite book
  | editor-last=Friedman |editor-first=Lester D.
  | year=2006
  | title=Fires Were Started: British Cinema and Thatcherism
  | url={{Google books|qUhg-dDTnGkC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Wallflower Press
  | isbn=978-1-904764-71-7}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Gamble |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Gamble
  | year=2009
  | title=The Spectre at the Feast: Capitalist Crisis and the Politics of Recession
  | url=https://archive.org/details/spectreatfeastca0000gamb |url-access=registration
  | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke
  | isbn=978-0-230-23074-3}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Gardiner |first1=Nile |author-link=Nile Gardiner
  | last2=Thompson |first2=Stephen
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2013
  | title=Margaret Thatcher on Leadership: Lessons for American Conservatives Today
  | url={{Google books|O3uDAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Regnery
  | isbn=978-1-62157-179-7}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Gelb |first=Joyce
  | year=1989
  | title=Feminism and Politics: A Comparative Perspective
  | url={{Google books|z7B5Uuw4mFYC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=University of California Press
  | isbn=978-0-520-07184-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Glover |first1=Peter C.
  | last2=Economides |first2=Michael J.
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2010
  | title=Energy and Climate Wars: How Naive Politicians, Green Ideologues, and Media Elites are Undermining the Truth about Energy and Climate
  | publisher=Bloomsbury
  | isbn=978-1-4411-5307-4}}
* {{Cite book
  | editor-last=Görtemaker |editor-first=Manfred
  | year=2006
  | title=Britain and Germany in the Twentieth Century
  | publisher=Berg
  | isbn=978-1-85973-842-9}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Hansen |first=Randall |author-link=Randall Hansen
  | year=2000
  | title=Citizenship and Immigration in Post-war Britain
  | url={{Google books|qj8GEjW91oEC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Oxford University Press
  | isbn=978-0-19-158301-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Hastings |first1=Max |author-link=Max Hastings
  | last2=Jenkins |first2=Simon |author-link2=Simon Jenkins
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1983
  | title=The Battle for the Falklands
  | url={{Google books|VaESazCk4doC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Macmillan |publication-date=2012
  | isbn=978-0-330-53676-9}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Jackling |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Jackling
  | editor-last=Badsey |editor-first=Stephen
  | editor-last2=Grove |editor-first2=Mark
  | editor-last3=Havers |editor-first3=Rob
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2005
  | title=The Falklands Conflict Twenty Years On: Lessons for the Future
  | publisher=Routledge
  | isbn=978-0-415-35029-7
  | chapter=The Impact of the Falklands Conflict on Defence Policy
  | chapter-url={{Google books|9AWE9_F7p7cC|page=239|plainurl=yes}} |chapter-url-access=limited}}
* {{Cite book
  | editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Ben
  | editor-last2=Saunders |editor-first2=Robert
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2012
  | title=Making Thatcher's Britain
  | url={{Google books|id=l7KYAXrIYC4C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Cambridge University Press
  | isbn=978-1-107-01238-7}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=James |first=Clive |author-link=Clive James
  | year=1977
  | title=Visions Before Midnight |title-link=Visions Before Midnight
  | publisher=Macmillan |publication-date=2017
  | isbn=978-1-5098-3244-6
  | chapter=Thatcher takes command
  | chapter-url={{Google books|8t4sDgAAQBAJ|page=102|plainurl=yes}}}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last1=Jellinek |first1=H. H. G.
  | last2=Roberts |first2=M. H.
  | display-authors=1
  | year=1951
  | title=The saponification of α-monostearin in a monolayer
  | journal=[[Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture]] |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=391–394
  | bibcode=1951JSFA....2..391J |doi=10.1002/jsfa.2740020904}}
**{{Cite journal
  | last=Jellinek |first=H. H. G. |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=1979
  | title=Letters: Thatcher the chemist
  | journal=[[Chemical & Engineering News]] |volume=57 |issue=36 |pages=5
  | doi=10.1021/cen-v057n036.p004 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Johnson |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Louis McIntosh Johnson
  | year=1991
  | title=The Grand Experiment: Mrs. Thatcher's Economy and How It Spread
  | publisher=Westview Press
  | isbn=978-0-8133-1913-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Jones |first=Bill
  | editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Bill
  | editor-last2=Kavanagh |editor-first2=Dennis
  | editor-last3=Moran |editor-first3=Michael
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=2007
  | title=Politics UK
  | publisher=Pearson Education
  | isbn=978-1-4058-2411-8
  | chapter=Media organisations and the political process
  | chapter-url={{Google books|6hynlgLMxbAC|page=224|plainurl=yes}} |chapter-url-access=limited}}
* {{Cite journal
  | author=Journals of the House of Lords |author-mask=[{{italics correction|''Journals of the House of Lords''}}]
  | year=2012
  | title=Session 2010–12
  | url=https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-journal/HL_Journal_2010-12.pdf |url-status=live
  | journal=Journals of the House of Lords |volume=244 |page=[https://old.parliament.uk/documents/lords-journal/HL_Journal_2010-12.pdf#page217 217]
  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529160744/https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-journal/HL_Journal_2010-12.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2013}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Kaplan |first=Morton |author-link=Morton Kaplan
  | year=2000
  | title=Character and Identity: The Sociological Foundations of Literary and Historical Perspectives |volume=2
  | publisher=Professors World Peace Academy
  | isbn=978-1-885118-10-3 |ol=8702932M}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Kerker |first=Milton |author-link=Milton Kerker
  | year=1987
  | title=In Memoriam: Hans Jellinek (1917–1986)
  | journal=[[Journal of Colloid and Interface Science]] |volume=116 |issue=2 |pages=604–605
  | doi=10.1016/0021-9797(87)90159-7}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Khabaz |first=David V.
  | year=2006
  | title=Manufactured Schema: Thatcher, the Miners and the Culture Industry
  | url={{Google books|7YeOtDprzcQC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Troubador
  | isbn=978-1-905237-61-6}}
* {{cite ODNB
  | last=Kirby |first=M. W.
  | year=2006
  | title=MacGregor, Sir Ian Kinloch (1912–1998), metallurgical engineer and industrialist
  | id=69687}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Klein |first=Rudolf
  | year=1985
  | title=Why Britain's conservatives support a socialist health care system
  | journal=[[Health Affairs]] |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=41–58
  | doi=10.1377/hlthaff.4.1.41 |pmid=3997046 |s2cid=10254793}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Lahey |first=Daniel James
  | year=2013
  | title=The Thatcher government's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979–1980
  | journal=[[Cold War History (journal)|Cold War History]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=21–42
  | doi=10.1080/14682745.2012.721355 |s2cid=153081281}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last1=Lanoue |first1=David J.
  | last2=Headrick |first2=Barbara
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1998
  | title=Short-Term political Events and British Government Popularity: Direct and Indirect Effects
  | journal=[[Polity (journal)|Polity]] |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=417–433
  | doi=10.2307/3235208 |jstor=3235208 |s2cid=155204417}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Lawson |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Lawson
  | year=1992
  | title=The View from No. 11: Memoirs of a Tory Radical
  | publisher=Bantam Books
  | isbn=978-0-593-02218-4}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Laybourn |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Laybourn
  | year=1992
  | title=A History of British Trade Unionism, c. 1770–1990
  | publisher=Alan Sutton |location=Stroud
  | isbn=978-0-86299-785-4}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Lewis |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Lewis
  | year=1980
  | title=From Zimbabwe-Rhodesia to Zimbabwe: The Lancaster House conference
  | journal=[[The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs]]
  | volume=70 |issue=277 |pages=6–9
  | doi=10.1080/00358538008453415}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Marr |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Marr
  | year=2007
  | title=A History of Modern Britain
  | url={{Google books|fZ-LL5h-rW4C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Pan Books |publication-date=2009
  | isbn=978-0-330-51329-6}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=McAleese |first=Dermot
  | year=2004
  | title=Economics for Business: Competition, Macro-stability, and Globalisation
  | url={{Google books|NW4f3QUb6RYC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=FT Press
  | isbn=978-0-273-68398-8}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last1=Mitchell |first1=Mark
  | last2=Russell |first2=Dave
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1989
  | title=Race, the new right and state policy in Britain
  | journal=Immigrants & Minorities |volume=8 |issue=1–2 |pages=175–190
  | doi=10.1080/02619288.1989.9974714}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Moloney |first=Ed |author-link=Ed Moloney
  | year=2002
  | title=A Secret History of the IRA
  | url={{Google books|W2AeD_OacD4C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Penguin Books |publication-date=2007
  | isbn=978-0-14-190069-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Moore |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham
  | year=2013
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Falklands |volume=1
  | publisher=Knopf Group
  | isbn=978-0-307-95894-5}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Moore |first=Charles |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2015
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: Everything She Wants |volume=2
  | url={{Google books|LU_ZCQAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Penguin Books
  | isbn=978-0-241-20126-8}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Moore |first=Charles |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2019
  | title=Margaret Thatcher: Herself Alone |volume=3
  | url={{Google books|HT71wQEACAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Penguin Books
  | isbn=978-0-241-32474-5}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Neville |first=Leigh
  | year=2016
  | title=The SAS 1983–2014
  | url={{Google books|sgRrDQAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Bloomsbury
  | isbn=978-1-4728-1404-3}}
* {{Cite journal
  | author={{text|New Scientist}} |author-mask=[{{italics correction|''New Scientist''}}]
  | year=1983
  | title=Cream of the crop at Royal Society
  | url={{Google books|XRpdT3gc9KYC|page=5|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | journal=[[New Scientist]] |volume=99 |issue=1365 |page=5
  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404112605/https://books.google.com/books?id=XRpdT3gc9KYC&pg=PA5 |archive-date=4 April 2023}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFNew_Scientist1983}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Ogden |first=Chris
  | year=1990
  | title=Maggie: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman in Power
  | url=https://archive.org/details/maggieintimatepo00ogde |url-access=registration
  | publisher=Simon & Schuster
  | isbn=978-0-671-66760-3 |ol=2002988W}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last1=Parker |first1=David
  | last2=Martin |first2=Stephen
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1995
  | title=The impact of UK privatisation on labour and total factor productivity
  | journal=[[Scottish Journal of Political Economy]] |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=216–217
  | doi=10.1111/j.1467-9485.1995.tb01154.x}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Pimlott |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Pimlott
  | year=1996
  | title=The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy'' (Text Only)''
  | url={{Google books|id=eNHriNq-89QC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=HarperCollins |publication-date=2012
  | isbn=978-0-00-749044-8}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Purvis |first=June |author-link=June Purvis
  | year=2013
  | title=What Was Margaret Thatcher's Legacy for Women?
  | url=https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/files/3502270/What_was_Margaret_Thatcher_s_legacy_for_women_Purvis.pdf
  | journal=[[Women's History Review]] |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=1014–1018
  | doi=10.1080/09612025.2013.801136 |s2cid=143720143}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Ratti |first=Luca
  | year=2017
  | title=Not-So-Special Relationship: The US, The UK and German Unification, 1945–1990
  | url={{Google books|id=FjVYDwAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Edinburgh University Press
  | isbn=978-0-7486-8016-0}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Reitan |first=Earl A.
  | year=2003
  | title=The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979–2001
  | url={{Google books|7qaMqwGRE00C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield
  | isbn=978-0-7425-2203-9}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Richards |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Richards (academic)
  | year=2004
  | title=Understanding the Global Economy
  | url={{Google books|9Kw5vLbYq-4C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Peace Education Books
  | isbn=978-0-9748961-0-6}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Rothbard |first=Murray |author-link=Murray Rothbard
  | year=1995
  | title=Making Economic Sense
  | url={{Google books|elPzEDHG9ysC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute |publication-date=2006
  | isbn=978-1-61016-401-6}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Rowthorn |first1=Robert |author-link=Robert Rowthorn
  | last2=Wells |first2=John R.
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1987
  | title=De-Industrialization and Foreign Trade
  | url={{Google books|Q306AAAAIAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=CUP Archive
  | isbn=978-0-521-26360-3}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last1=Sanders |first1=David
  | last2=Ward |first2=Hugh
  | last3=Marsh |first3=David |author-link3=David Marsh (political scientist)
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1987
  | title=Government Popularity and the Falklands War: A Reassessment
  | journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=281–313
  | doi=10.1017/s0007123400004762 |s2cid=153797546}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Scott-Smith |first=Giles |author-link=Giles Scott-Smith
  | year=2003
  | title='Her Rather Ambitious Washington Program': Margaret Thatcher's International Visitor Program Visit to the United States in 1967
  | journal=British Contemporary History |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=65–86
  | doi=10.1080/13619460308565458 |issn=1743-7997 |s2cid=143466586}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Seldon |first1=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Seldon
  | last2=Collings |first2=Daniel
  | display-authors=1
  | year=2000
  | title=Britain under Thatcher
  | url={{Google books|XwKtAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Taylor & Francis |publication-date=2014
  | isbn=978-1-317-88291-6}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Seldon |first=Anthony |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=2007
  | title=Blair's Britain, 1997–2007
  | url={{Google books|YpR-fJ6sdnwC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Cambridge University Press
  | isbn=978-1-139-46898-5}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Senden |first=Linda
  | year=2004
  | title=Soft Law in European Community Law
  | url={{Google books|B9Z82q_LXzwC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Hart
  | isbn=978-1-84113-432-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Seward |first=Ingrid
  | year=2001
  | title=The Queen and Di: The Untold Story
  | url={{Google books|3WZkyIUEWNgC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Arcade
  | isbn=978-1-55970-561-5}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Sked |first1=Alan |author-link=Alan Sked
  | last2=Cook |first2=Chris
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1993
  | title=Post-War Britain: A Political History, 1945–1992
  | publisher=Penguin |edition=Fourth |location=Harmondsworth
  | isbn=978-0-14-017912-5}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Smith |first=Gordon |author-link=Gordon Smith (academic)
  | year=1989
  | title=Battles of the Falklands War
  | url=http://www.naval-history.net/NAVAL1982FALKLANDS.htm |url-status=live
  | publisher=Ian Allan
  | isbn=978-0-7110-1792-4
  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103234134/http://www.naval-history.net/NAVAL1982FALKLANDS.htm |archive-date=3 January 2018}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Soames |first=The Lord |author-link=Christopher Soames
  | year=1980
  | title=From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe
  | journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]] |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=405–419
  | doi=10.2307/2617389 |jstor=2617389}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Stewart |first=Graham
  | year=2013
  | title=Bang!: A History of Britain in the 1980s
  | url={{Google books|7_2TA7ptsvYC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Atlantic Books
  | isbn=978-1-78239-137-1}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Tewdwr-Jones |first=Mark
  | year=2003
  | title=The Planning Polity: Planning, Government and the Policy Process
  | url={{Google books|Z92CAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Routledge |publication-date=2005
  | isbn=978-1-134-44789-3}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Thatcher |first=Margaret
  | year=1993
  | title=The Downing Street Years |title-link=The Downing Street Years
  | publisher=HarperCollins
  | isbn=978-0-00-745663-5}}
**{{Cite book
  | last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |author-mask={{sp}}
  | year=1995
  | title=The Path to Power |title-link=The Path to Power (Thatcher book)
  | publisher=HarperCollins
  | isbn=978-0-00-638753-4}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Thornton |first=Richard C.
  | year=2004
  | title=The Reagan Revolution II: Rebuilding the Western Alliance
  | url={{Google books|yy4wkze9NcsC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Trafford |edition=Second
  | isbn=978-1-4120-1356-7}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Veljanovski |first=Cento
  | editor-last=Dunleavy |editor-first=Patrick
  | editor-last2=Gamble |editor-first2=Andrew
  | editor-last3=Peele |editor-first3=Gillian
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1990
  | title=Developments in British Politics |volume=3
  | publisher=Macmillan
  | isbn=978-0-312-04844-0
  | chapter=The Political Economy of Regulation}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Vinen |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Vinen
  | year=2009
  | title=Thatcher's Britain: The Politics and Social Upheaval of the Thatcher Era
  | url={{Google books|IZsXpZTCQKQC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Simon & Schuster |publication-date=2013
  | isbn=978-1-4711-2828-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Wapshott |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Wapshott
  | year=2007
  | title=Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage
  | url=https://archive.org/details/ronaldreaganmarg00waps_0 |url-access=registration
  | publisher=Sentinel
  | isbn=978-1-59523-047-8}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Ward |first=Paul
  | year=2004
  | title=Britishness Since 1870
  | publisher=Psychology Press
  | isbn=978-0-415-22016-3
  | chapter=A new way of being British
  | chapter-url={{Google books|FtAiLTYSpA4C|page=113|plainurl=yes}} |chapter-url-access=limited}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=West |first=Chris |author-link=Chris West
  | year=2012
  | title=First Class: A History of Britain in 36 Postage Stamps
  | url={{Google books|Z7mGQ1aVde4C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Random House
  | isbn=978-1-4481-1437-5}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Williams |first=Andy
  | year=1998
  | title=UK Government & Politics
  | url={{Google books|6keDJpK0xL8C|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Heinemann
  | isbn=978-0-435-33158-0}}
* {{Cite journal
  | last=Williams |first=Gary
  | year=2001
  | title='A Matter of Regret': Britain, the 1983 Grenada Crisis, and the Special Relationship
  | journal=Twentieth Century British History |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=208–230
  | doi=10.1093/tcbh/12.2.208}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Witte |first=Rob
  | year=2014
  | title=Racist Violence and the State: A Comparative Analysis of Britain, France and the Netherlands
  | url={{Google books|-Xd_BAAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Routledge
  | isbn=978-1-317-88919-9}}
* {{Cite book
  | last=Yahuda |first=Michael B.
  | year=1996
  | title=Hong Kong: China's Challenge
  | url={{Google books|b9gGzWigqpMC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Psychology Press
  | isbn=978-0-415-14071-3}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1=Zemcov |first1=Ilya
  | last2=Farrar |first2=John
  | name-list-style=amp
  | year=1989
  | title=Gorbachev: The Man and the System
  | url={{Google books|po9Ki83S2WwC|plainurl=yes}} |url-access=limited
  | publisher=Transaction |publication-date=2009
  | isbn=978-1-4128-1382-2}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|s=Author:Margaret Thatcher}}
* {{link with archives|http://www.thatchercentre.com/margaret-thatcher/|Margaret Thatcher Centre|20200205104344}}
* {{official website|url=//margaretthatcher.org/essential/biography.asp|name=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}, with thousands of online documents and primary sources
* {{Hansard-contribs|mrs-margaret-thatcher|Margaret Thatcher}}
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Margaret Thatcher}}
* {{Library resources about}}
* {{Librivox author|id=3625}}
* {{UK National Archives ID}}
* {{C-SPAN|2071}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{New York Times topic|new_id=person/margaret-thatcher}}
* {{NPG name|05827}}
* {{link with archives|http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10364876|Obituary (BBC News Online)|20130408204606}}
* {{link with archives|https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/margaret-thatcher|History of Baroness Margaret Thatcher (Gov.uk)|20131005092036}}

{{Navboxes
|title=Offices and distinctions
|state=expanded
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Crowder]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for [[Finchley (UK Parliament constituency)|Finchley]]|years=[[1959 United Kingdom general election|1959]]–[[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hartley Booth]]}}

{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth|Edward Boyle]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science]]|years=1969–1970}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Education and Science]]|years=1970–1974}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Reg Prentice]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Anthony Crosland]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment]]|years=1974}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Paul Channon]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Heath]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]]|years=1975–1979}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Callaghan]]}}

{{s-bef|rows=3|before=[[James Callaghan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]]|years=1979–1990}}
{{s-aft|rows=3|after=[[John Major]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[First Lord of the Treasury]]|years=1979–1990}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for the Civil Service]]|years=1979–1990}}

{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Heath]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|Leader of the Conservative Party]]|years=1975–1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Major]]}}

{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ronald Reagan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Group of Seven]]|years=1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Helmut Kohl]]}}

{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[François Mitterrand]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Invocation Speaker of the [[College of Europe]]|years=1988}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jacques Delors]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|{{Br separated entries|The Lord Hailsham|of St Marylebone}}]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chancellor of the University of Buckingham]]|years=1992–1998}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Martin Jacomb]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Warren E. Burger]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chancellor of the College of William & Mary]]|years=1993–2000}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Henry Kissinger]]}}

{{s-ach|aw}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bob Hope]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Recipient of the [[Ronald Reagan Freedom Award]]|years=1998}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Billy Graham]]}}
{{s-end}}
}}

{{Margaret Thatcher}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Articles related to Margaret Thatcher
|list1=
{{Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom}}
{{Leaders of the Opposition UK}}
{{Conservative Party (UK)}}
{{1990 Conservative Party leadership election}}
{{1989 Conservative Party leadership election}}
{{1975 Conservative Party leadership election}}
{{1979 United Kingdom general election}}
{{1983 United Kingdom general election}}
{{1987 United Kingdom general election}}
{{Secretaries of State for Education}}
{{Secretaries of State for Science}}
{{Thatcher Ministry}}
{{Heath Ministry}}
{{1981 Hunger Strike}}
{{Presidents of the European Council}}
{{FRS 1983}}
{{Cold War}}
{{College of William & Mary chancellors}}
{{Ronald Reagan Freedom Award}}
}}
{{Portal bar|Politics|United Kingdom|London|Conservatism|England}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Margaret}}
[[Category:Margaret Thatcher| ]]
<!-- Please keep list alphabetised. It makes finding and editing this list easier. -->
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Anglicans]]
[[Category:20th-century British chemists]]
[[Category:20th-century British women scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century English lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century English memoirists]]
[[Category:20th-century English women lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century English women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Methodists]]
[[Category:20th-century prime ministers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:20th-century women prime ministers]]
[[Category:21st-century Anglicans]]
[[Category:21st-century English women writers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British anti-communists]]
[[Category:British baronesses|Thatcher]]
[[Category:British people of the Falklands War]]
[[Category:British secretaries of state for education]]
[[Category:British women memoirists]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the College of William & Mary]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) life peers]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Conservative Party prime ministers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Converts to Anglicanism from Methodism]]
[[Category:Dames of Justice of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Deaths from bladder cancer in England]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in England]]
[[Category:English Anglicans]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]
[[Category:English barristers]]
[[Category:English chemists]]
[[Category:British Methodists]]
[[Category:English non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:English women chemists]]
[[Category:Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Institute of Chemistry]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society (Statute 12)]]
[[Category:Female critics of feminism]]
[[Category:Female fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Female heads of government in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[Category:First Lords of the Treasury]]
[[Category:First women prime ministers]]
[[Category:The Heritage Foundation people]]
[[Category:Ladies Companion of the Garter]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Conservative Party (UK)]]
[[Category:Leaders of the opposition (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Merit]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964]]
[[Category:National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children people]]
[[Category:People associated with the University of Buckingham]]
[[Category:People educated at Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School]]
[[Category:People from Grantham]]
[[Category:People of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Presidents of the European Council]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association|Roberts, Margaret]] <!-- sorted as she was known as at the time -->
[[Category:Recipients of the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award]]
[[Category:Right-wing politics in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Survivors of terrorist attacks]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1959–1964]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1964–1966]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:Wesleyan Methodists]]
[[Category:Wives of baronets]]
[[Category:Women opposition leaders]]
[[Category:Women prime ministers in Europe]]