The Election of Margaret Thatcher
The Iron Lady
The Birth of Thatcherism
Maggie Thatcher
On May 4th 1979 the British public elected the first, and to date the only, woman prime minister into power – Margaret Thatcher. Life in this country would never be the same again.
When Margaret Thatcher arrived in Downing Street from Buckingham Palace on that Friday afternoon, she came with a narrow majority of 43 seats. At the age of 53, with radical new ideas, she believed she’d been given a mandate to save Britain, to cure the, so-called, sick man of Europe.
When she came to power the country was suffering from 5 years of turbulent Labour rule. James Callaghan had presided over the infamous "Winter of Discontent", The top rate of income tax was 83%, inflation was running at 16% and mass strikes had crippled the economy.
In her first speech as Prime Minister, from the steps of number 10, she quotes St. Francis of Assissi:
where there is discord, may we bring harmony,
where there is error, many we bring truth,
where there is doubt, may we bring faith,
and where there is despair, may we bring hope
Margaret Thatcher’s ascendancy marked the birth of a new Britain.
The iron lady took the country to war in the Falklands, privatised national industries, took on the common market and laid into the unions.
Not everything she did was well received, The introduction of poll tax was especially unpopular and the deterioration of the National Health Service was a lasting legacy that is still ailing today.
