Margaret Thatcher

She studied at Somerville College where she majored in chemistry.

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Margaret Thatcher was the first female prime minister of Great Britain. She was also a great influence to British politics, serving longer as Prime Minister than any other in the 20th Century. Her impact on Britain was sweeping and lasting, leaving a market economy and a more right-wing Conservative party.

Here is a list of reasons why Thatcher was important. Try to understand that Britain was pretty much on the brink on self-destruction in the mid-late 70s. Britain was known as the sick man of Europe due to the strength of union activity that led to a great deal of strikes. The country was pretty much controlled by an aggresive form of old-style Socialism.

FIRST ELECTION WIN : 1979 - 1983

• Europe: She won Britain a £700 million rebait from the European Union (other European leaders did not like her confrontational, diplomatic style). Her mistrust of Europe led to her downfall.

• Economics: The core of Thatcherism, she introduced a new economic system call monetarism. This was the economic theory that the control on the supply of money would stabilise the economy. Instead of spending money to stimulate the economy (think Labour), she made huge Government cuts and doubled VAT. The effects were very painful. Even higher unemployment and a recession. However, she knew it had to be done to save Britain's economy and that it would take time. She was right.

• Falklands: She won the Falklands War in 1982. She saved British territory from an illegal invasion and from a military dictatorship. Patriotic frenzy swept Britain and she was re elected in 1983. Her tough nature and victory in the Falklands cemented her nickname by the Soviets as the 'Iron Lady'. The Falklands saved her career, and most importantly the world was reminded that Britain was still powerful as sea and in military action (the American Government said of British success in the Falklands an 'impossibility'). The Conservatives won a majority and were very powerful. At the same time the economy was beginning to grow and the Labour party was divided.

• Trade Unions: They were very powerful in the 70s and 80s. They had enough strength to bring down Governments (look up Edward Heath). Thatcher was ready to confront them. The Miner's Strike was the turning point. She refused to give in and saw the miner's as the 'enemy within' (she had reason, it turned out Arthur Scargill the leader of the strike had links with the Russians, IRA and Lybia). The union leaders abused their power and eventually many miners went back to work and the movement lost support. The Miner's Strike last more than a year. She changed the laws of the unions. Strikes are a rarity nowadays in the UK, however, there are some expected in 2011.

• Privatisation and popular capitalism: Thatcher closed off state owned industries and that were, at the time, uneconomical. After the Miner's Strike many mining pits were closed anyway, this was devastating for some mining communities. More importantly, Thatcherism had started divide Britain because of this. At the same time she privatised many of the state owned industries, for example BT. In the process ordinary citizens became shareholders once these industries had been sold off, this became known as 'Popular Capitalism'. Quality of services improved dramatically because of privatisation due a competitive FREE MARKET, this was good for the economy. London became the biggest financial centre in the world along side New York. When the banks were deregulated, there was a economic boom, this was known as the 'Big Bang'. Britain was never the same again.

• Cold War: Reagan and Gorbachev both credited Thatcher with laying the foundations for bringing an end to the Cold War which led to the downfall of a Communist Soviet Union. Thatcher had formed a rapport with Gorbachev, they respected each other and became friends. This eased tensions between the US and USSR, as Britain had a special relationship with the US. Thatcher and President Regan got along famously. Her diplomacy with the USSR and US helped boost her popularity in Britain, especially her state visit to Russia in 1987.

• Poll tax: Probably the most hated tax of all time. Introduced by Thatcher effectively a community charged resulted in many people being taxed unfairly and above all way too much. Protests followed by riots ensued. This was the first critical blow which led to her resignation. It's important to realise Thatcher had spent many years in power, she relied on her confrontational style which had kept her in power, however, people in her own party wanted rid of her owing to her single mindedness.

• Europe: Back to where we started. Many Conservatives believed closer EU integration was a good thing. Thatcher was firmly opposed to the Exchanged Rate Mechanism which many wanted the UK to join. She believed that it would restrict Britain's economy. She had a deep mistrust of Europe and believed the ERM would lead to disruption and greater powers in Brussels (sounds familiar...). This led to the resignation of Geoffrey Howe, her former Chancellor and top minister. His resignation is important because he read it out in the House of Commons, but also it immediately led to a leadership challenge. Her party had lost confidence in her. She resigned in 1990.