Margaret Thatcher, born in 1925 in Grantham with the name of Margaret Hilda Roberts and died at London in 2013was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. She was nicknamed iron lady (iron lady) for the inflexibility shown in his political choices, but also milk thief (milk snatcher), because as minister he abolished the free distribution of milk to children in schools.
From prime minister, promoted neoliberal policieswhich reduced inflation, but caused soaring increase in inequality and unemployment. In foreign policy, he defeated Argentina in Falklands War and tied itself closely to the United States, but it showed strong distrust towards the European Union. In 1990, having become unpopular among large sectors of British public opinion and within her own party, he resigned as Prime Minister.
Education and first political experiences as a young man
Margaret Hilda Roberts, was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, on October 13, 1925. He belonged to a middle-class Methodist family.
After graduating, he enrolled in the faculty of chemistry at the University of Oxford. As a student she began to be interested in politicsdeveloping right-wing beliefs and adhering to the Conservative Party. He graduated in 1947 and found work at a plastics company. In 1949 the party decided to run for it in the general elections in the college of Dartford, Kentwhere the woman moved. He found work in a canning company and, during a party initiative, he met Dennis Thatcherwhom he married in 1951, taking on his surname. He stood for election in 1950 and 1951 and was successful defeat in both casesdespite achieving an increase in votes.
National positions: secretary of state and leader of the opposition
Thatcher continued her political career and in 1959 she was elected to the House of Commons in a London boarding school. He stood out for some positions that were different from those of the majority of conservatives: he voted in favor of the decriminalization of male homosexuality, but against the abolition of the death penalty. In 1970, when she had become a very visible figure, she was nominated Secretary of State (equivalent to a minister) for education and science in the government led by fellow party member Edward Health. Among the most significant measures he introduced as minister, the abolition of free milk distribution to pupils aged 7 to 11, which earned her the nickname of milk snatcher (milk thief)and the raising of compulsory schooling to 16 years.
Thatcher left office in 1974, when the embattled Health government was replaced by a Labour-led executive. Thatcher challenged Health for the leadership of the Conservative Party and in 1975 he defeated him, becoming leader of the party and of the opposition during the Labor governments of Harold Wilson (1974-76) and James Callaghan (1976-79). As opposition leader she delivered a harsh speech against the Soviet Union, which earned her the nickname iron lady.
What Thatcher did as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The May 3, 1979 the conservatives defeated the Labor Party in the elections, which was in difficulty due to the economic crisis. The next day Margaret Thatcher was appointed prime minister: She was the first woman to get the job.
Economic policy and internal politics
Margaret Thatcher followed one neoliberal political linetending to reduce public spending and the power of trade unions, favoring financial markets. The context was favorable to it: after the crises of the 1970s, neoliberal ideology asserted itself throughout the West and, in particular, in the United States, where President Reagan introduced policies similar to those of Thatcher.
Among the various measures, Thatcher in 1984 modified the legislation on strikeswith the aim of limiting the role of the unions, provoking harsh reactions among workers. Furthermore, privatized numerous public companiessuch as British Airways and British Communications, and promoted policies of deregulation of financial marketsfacilitating speculation.
The effects of the reforms were controversial: GDP increased and inflation was reduced, but they increased significantly social inequalities and the unemployment: from 5.3% in 1979, the rate rose to 12% in 1984, before decreasing in the following years and reaching 7.5% in 1990. Millions of people found themselves without work.
Thatcher also proved inflexible towards those who protested. In 1981 he had to face it terrorist hunger strike Irish IRA prisoners, who called for the reinstatement of political prisoner status, abolished by the previous government. Thatcher did not give in to their demands, despite the pressure she received from many quarters, and only after more than 200 days was possible to find mediation.
The prime minister also showed herself to be inflexible towards the miners who went on strike in 1984 against the closure of many coal mines and the resulting loss of jobs. The police, at the instigation of the government, used brutal methods against the workers and went on strike it ended after almost a yearwithout the miners’ requests having been accepted.
Foreign policy: the Falklands war and relations with the European Union
Thatcher found herself ruling the United Kingdom in the last decade of the Cold War. In 1982 he found himself facing a dangerous crisis, because the armed forces of Argentina, on orders of the military junta that led the country, invaded the Falkland Islands/Malvinasa South Atlantic archipelago belonging to the United Kingdom. The Thatcher government he reacted decisivelysending an expeditionary force and reconquering the islands. The Prime Minister’s popularity increased throughout the United Kingdom.
Thatcher showed strong mistrust towards the European Unionof which the United Kingdom was then a member. His attitude is at the origin of the conflicted relationship between British and European institutions, from which the Brexit. Instead, he bonded to the United States of President Reaganwith whom he shared the liberal political line. She was also an enemy of the Soviet Union, but in the second half of the 1980s, when she became secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachevrelations underwent a relative détente.
The resignation and the last years
Thatcher’s economic policies revealed themselves harmful to large sectors of the British population. In the late 1980s the prime minister’s popularity began to decline. In 1989 the prime minister promoted a reform of the local tax systemintroducing an equal tax for all citizens, regardless of income, which also caused strong discontent in the Conservative Party. In 1990 Thatcher resigned from the leadership of the party and from the office of prime minister, being replaced in both roles by John Major. Two years later the Queen Elizabeth – with whom he had always had difficulties – he named her baronesswhich gave her a lifetime seat in the House of Lords. Thatcher continued to follow politics, but as the years passed her health worsened, forcing her to reduce her public outings. AND died April 8, 2013 in London, aged 87, following a stroke.
