Why did margaret thatcher become prime minister?

Answer 1

Margaret Thatcher was a research chemist before becoming a barrister was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. She was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science by Edward Heath in 1970. She defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election in 1975. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election.

Answer 2

By total accident.

The Tory leader Edward Heath was refusing to step down, although everyone wanted him to.

Most of the front-runners thought it would be disloyal to stand against him, so the party had to organise a first ballot, where a single less-known candidate (stalking-horse) would concentrate the anti-Heath vote, just to get him out. Then in the second ballot, the real contenders would stand.

The choice of stalking-horse was Margaret Thatcher, as someone of cabinet rank, but supposedly with no hope of actually getting elected, being a woman.

To the amazement of her campaign team, the backbenchers reported that they thought she might make quite a good party leader in her own right. And in the second ballot, she duly won.

At the next General Election, she had no difficulty beating the mediocre Jim Callahan, leader of a much-discredited Labour Party. And so she became the first woman Prime Minister, to the fury of Labour, who had assumed that this honour would fall to them.

Answer 3

She become prime minister wen she became leader of the Conservatives.