by Jeanine

Created on: August 05, 2008

Not only was she the first Female Prime Minster of the UK, she is one of the most memorable leaders of all time. Margaret Thatcher was a historically significant British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She was elected because of her determination to raise the economy and to diminish state control while increasing private enterprise. She began this economic policy by raising interest rates, and increased the value added tax to 15%, this hit businesses hard and unemployment doubled what it had previously been.This shifted the tax burden from the earners to consumers. (Hitchcock, 319)This meant a lot more people were going to be angry with her. This was not a good start for Thatcher since it decreased her support amongst the citizens; who were now suffering from high taxes and unemployment. This resulted in social chaos and series of riots. Thatcher was at an all time low in popularity terms until the miracle of the Falklands war.

The elections fell during such a time that Thatcher was becoming a popular leader because of her victory in the Falklands war over Argentina. She began to show her strength at a very important time because she won the 1983 elections by a landslide. Thatcher's first term is a perfect example of how British citizens reward strong Prime Ministers because she had not participated in many popular reforms but she did however prove her strength in the Falklands War.
After being reelected in 1983, Thatcher began major reforms. One major task was to diminish the power of worker's unions. This was not a popular reform among workers who broke out in strikes. This began Thatcher's battle with trade unions because she was trying to eliminate any power that they had while making it difficult for the unions to strike. This did not make Thatcher popular, she was doing things her way, not the way the citizens wanted her to do it. Even though Thatcher was never concerned about pleasing the people she still was reelected by these very citizens.
During this time Thatcher began her privatization kick and began to sell off all publicly owned property. This movement was quickly known as Thatcherism. She began with public utilities; she separated them and sold them off for a quick profit. The privatization commitment was not bad for the economy. By selling off public businesses people began to sell company shares in order to receive some quick cash. This started an economic boom in Britain, once again, right before the 1987 elections.
So the question remains, why do the British reelect leaders that they hate? The public did not like Thatcher's attitude. She was overly confident, cold and strictly determined. She also implemented policies which harmed the citizens, such as her tax system harming the poor and benefiting the rich. Her policies divided Britain up into economic classes. With this said, it remains unclear how she continued to rule Britain for eleven years since, "Despite her electoral success, she herself was never a popular prime minister."(Hitchcock, 331)
Her electoral success may be attributed to the instability of the labour party while Thatcher was in power. The labour party was suffering from many unpopular policies during the Thatcher era; this may be why in fact she continued to rule for eleven years. Thatcher ruled Britain for too long, her policies were causing high inflation, high unemployment and poor conditions. In 1990, Thatcherism was dying; therefore she resigned from leadership of her party, and did not participate in the re-voting of the party. Thatcher was a powerful leader who was never let down by the electorate, instead was taken down from within.

sources

Hitchcock, William I. The Struggle for Europe. New York: Doubleday 2003.

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