The "Iron Lady" wins the election

May 4, 2017

3 min read

On May 4th, 1979, the UK elected its' first female prime minister. Margaret Thatcher, a conservative, beat her opponents to claim residency in #10 downing street. She started her career in 1954 as a Member of Parliament after an unsuccessful bid for Tory leadership, and moved onto becoming the Education Secretary for a number of years before finally securing the Tory leadership, but not the title of Prime Minister. This was during the 1970's (early) when the Arab oil embargo was occurring and while the economy in England had become severely weakened. Britain's failing economy was about to bring the country into complete collapse, but Thatcher's promise to reignite the economy was one of the reasons that she would become Prime Minister in 1979. She also expressed her concern of the USSR's attempts to dominate the world and spread communism, and she was then given the nickname of the "Iron Lady" by Russian papers.

Thatcher began working 0n economic policies right away. She began to cut down inflation by stopping it at the source. She introduced higher interest rates and more taxes and spending cuts. This in turn allowed the economy to avoid rapid inflation, but the fall in market good output increased unemployment, which rose to 3 million. She also allowed privatization of public sector works and key industries, and allowed competition between private sectors to increase monetary benefits for the UK. Thatcher's policy allowed the UK economy to grow up until 1990 when she left parliament and retired.

Thatcher's anti USSR stance and her economic policies coincided with US president Ronald Reagan, and the US and UK became strong allies during the 1980's. Reagan and Thatcher were successful in pressuring the USSR into second place during the Cold War, using the deployment of military hardware in friendly states along the iron curtain to push the USSR into outmatching the west or folding (the USSR folded and was tactically defeated). Thatcher also had a hard

stance on the IRA and the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland islands, sending troops to combat the UK's enemies both home and abroad. When the Brighton Hotel (where Margaret was staying for business) was bombed by the IRA, she responded with counter attacks, making sure to deal with the terrorist group harshly. She also sent British Special Forces into the Falklands after Argentina invaded, and although there was a large loss of military equipment and life, the war saw the UK winning the overseas territory back, and Thatcher's popularity was increased. She was admired by even her critics, and her nickname, the "Iron Lady', was properly fitted for her; she had hard global and national policies, and through her will turned the UK around economically and politically.

Margaret Thatcher was a very popular prime minister because of her hard stance on those who wished to bring the UK harm (the USSR, IRA, and Argentina). She was determined though, and was able to outdo her enemies and put the UK first, and on top. Her economic policies also were popular, helping the UK recover from a time where OPEC (organization for petroleum exporting countries) was causing gas prices to soar, and where the UK had a weak economy overall. She resigned due to a variety of reasons. Many disagreed with her taxation policies (which saw higher taxes), the gap between the poor and rich had grown, her use of power was seen as authoritarian, and her strong sense of nationalism hurt her ability to work with the European Economic Zone and to allow foreigners to have an easy life in the UK. She resigned in 1990, but her reign changed England for the better.