More Thatcherism

Margaret Hilda Thatcher (nee Roberts), later Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven (born October 13, 1925), was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the position. Her leadership permanently moved Britain to the right and reshaped the nation's political environment to stress economic growth and international competitiveness. The Labour Party in response under Tony Blair jettisoned their old leftist ideas and followed Thatcher-lite programs.
Thatcher was chosen to be the leader of the Conservative Party in February 1975, succeeding former Prime Minister Edward Heath. She was opposed to socialism and out-of-control union power which had brought down the previous Conservative government in 1974. She led the Conservatives to victory in the May 1979 General Election and thus became Prime Minister.
“ The economic success of the Western world is a product of its moral philosophy and practice. The economic results are better because the moral philosophy is superior. Choice is the essence of ethics: if there were no choice, there would be no ethics, no good, no evil; good and evil have meaning only insofar as man is free to choose. ”
Thatcher sold many of the UK's nationalized industries back to private investors and made tax cuts. She broke the power of the trade unions which stood in the way of industrial progress, especially in the mining, print and shipbuilding industries and the public sector. Due to her strong standards and her leadership style, she became known as the "Iron Lady," a term originally coined as an insult by the communist Soviet Union, but one she adopted. A famous statement of hers was "You turn if you want to, but the lady's not for turning", in reference to calls from within her own party to back down (in the political terminology of the time, "U-turn") on issues that were important to her. Thatcher was always a strong supporter of close relations with the United States, and was a good friend of President Ronald Reagan, uniting with him in actions against the Communists.
She led Britain to victory against Argentina in a 1982 war over Argentinian aggression against theFalkland Islands. The United States was allied with both countries, and initially tried to broker a negotiated settlement. When Thatcher rejected the proposed compromise, the U.S. supported Britain with intelligence information and the supply of advanced AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles. The conflict led to a strong friendship with the Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet after Chile helped Britain in the conflict. In 1986, she banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools in a piece of legislation known as Section 28.
Thatcher led the Conservative Party to victory in three general elections (1979, 1983 and 1987). By 1990, her popularity was waning and there were calls from within her own party for her to step aside. She was challenged for the party leadership and just failed to gain the necessary majority in the first election despite getting more votes than her rival Michael Heseltine. After being convinced by colleagues that she would narrowly fail to gain the necessary votes she decided not to stand for a second ballot and resigned as party leader on 22 November 1990. John Major won the party leadership vote, and was subsequently appointed to succeed Thatcher as Prime Minister. Heseltine's reputation was destroyed by his actions and his career in the Conservative Party slowly declined.
Thatcher was the longest serving British Prime Minister in more than 150 years and, alongside Winston Churchill, is considered to be one of the two most important British political leaders of the twentieth century.


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