Margaret Thatcher's Economic And Social Policy

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher was Britain's first female Prime Minister. She had served three consecutive terms in office May 4, 1979—28, November 1990. Margaret Thatcher’s economic and social policies have evolved into a political philosophy and is called Thatcherism. Worldwide she is known as an “Iron Lady”-- nickname that she proudly claimed.

From 1979—1990, Margaret Thatcher had cut social welfare programs, reduced trade union power and privatized certain industries.

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on October 13, 1925, in Grantham, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bridges over the London to Edinburgh East Coast Main Line railway and the River Wigham and is bounded to the west by the A1 main north-south road.

Margaret Thatcher’s father Alfred Roberts was originally from Northamptonshire and her mother Beatrice Ethel from Lincolnshire.

Alfred Roberts had grocery shops near the house. He was active in local politics and the Methodist church, serving as an alderman and a local preacher. He brought up his daughter as a strict Wesleyan Methodist Church. Alfred came from a Liberal family but stood – as was then customary in local government --as an Independ. He was Mayor of Grantham in 1945-1946 and lost his position as alderman in 1952 after the Labor Party won its first majority on Grantham Church in 1950. “Politics was in my bloodstream,” said Margaret Thatcher.

Roberts family always follow the tenets of Methodism, personal responsibility, hard work and traditional moral

values.
Margaret Roberts grew up in Graham with her parents and sister who was older by 4 years – Muriel (2921-2004). In childhood, Margaret and Muriel had different characters. The contrasts in character between the sisters mirrored their parent’s expectations.

Muriel was her mother’s favorite child, Margaret was her father’s. Margaret had a sweet smile, beautiful hair, flashing blue eyes. From an early age, she was designed by parents for the university. Margaret was the ambitious one, intellectually curious, always anxious to be appreciated, even keen to make an impact, and certainly not above the manipulative use of her very real charms. Muriel Roberts was also attractive but in a soldier, homelier manner. She was quite simply more normal—in her outlook, her aspirations, her capacities, and her limits. She was the kind of girl who longs to settle down; and she did so, as Muriel Cullen, happily married to a Norfolk farmer.
Margaret Roberts, by contrast, was incapable of setting anywhere. For her marriage would be a place of departure, not a destination. The same restlessness helped make her Prime Minister and a great one.
Muriel was closer to her mother, Bettie; Margaret was her Father Alfred’s favorite. Her father had wanted a son. He was devoted to Margaret and the values and ambitions he wanted for her would suggest so. Margaret Roberts would never be very interested in people’s personalities as such, only in their actions – and specifically those of their actions that directly concerned her.
Margaret clearly strove to be a determined young women that escapes becoming a housewife, aimed high and worked so conscientiously to achieve her goals. Her personal ambition to elevate herself from her very average background is striking, as social mobility is still incredibly hard. She didn’t talk strength of spirit.
Margaret Thatcher attended Grantham Girls’ High School. She won a place at Somerville College after she went to the Oxford University and studied chemistry from 1943 to 1947. Conservative Association at Oxford in 1946 had elected her as a President of the student. She had also met many politicians.

She became a research chemist at BX Plastics after obtaining her degree. She was in politics and in 1950 and 1951, she was the Conservative candidate for Dartford. She received national publicity as the youngest female candidate in the country. In that time, she met her husband and when they got married, she was able to resign her position at BX Plastics and become a lawyer specializing in taxation.
Margaret Roberts met and married her husband Denis, a wealthy, divorced businessman, in 1951. From the outset, he was aware of her fierce ambition, easygoing nature, and was happy to pursue his business interests under the media radar. Certainly, her marriage was a happy one.

Carol and her twin, Mark, were born in 1953 when their mother was 27. The family lived in Chelsea and the twins were installed in the nanny's room, something that wasn’t unusual, given their wealth and status.
From the outset, Carol and Mark were very different. Margaret was “certainly a caring and loving mother”. But Carol has written: “As a child I was frightened of her. I always felt I came second of the two. Unloved is not the right word, but I never felt I made the grade”. Carol said,” All my childhood memories of my mother were just someone who was superwomen before the phrase had been invented. She was always flat out, she never relaxed. Household chores were done at breakneck speed in order to get back to the parliamentary correspondence or get on with making up a speech”. Carol also said: “You couldn’t distract her… She had tunnel vision in term of whatever she was doing”. Carol went on to study law, then moved to Australia. She established a successful media career, although after splitting from Aitken she did not go on to marry or have children.

Mark was a wealthy businessman something that has puzzled commentators.His first marriage ended in divorce. His children, Amanda and Michel, live inTexas with their mother, Diane, while he lives in Spain with his second wife.

Margaret Thatcher told Saga Magazine, in measured tones: “Look, you can’t have everything. It has been the greatest privilege being Prime Minister of my country… Yes, I wish I saw more of my children. We don’t have Sunday lunch together, we don’t go on holiday skiing anymore. But I can’t regret, And I haven’t lost my children. They have their life.”
According to the British Heritage, “Thatcher’s home life, indeed her career, had the firm anchor of her husband Denis. The media affectionately portrayed him as a gin-swilling, golf-playing buffoon, but he fulfilled his role of consort to perfection, content to support, a silent smile on his face.
He had helped give the Grantham girl social confidence, and his money had allowed her to chase her ambition; his own success meant he felt unthreatened by her achievement. He encouraged, advised, gave the arm that consoled, and he alone could call late-night meetings to a close, tapping his watch and reminding, “Margaret, time for Bedfordshire.” In the morning, Margaret would cook his breakfast. She also doted on her son, Mark; relations with Carol seemed a little less close”. After 52 years of marriage Mrs. Thatcher’s husband Denis Thatcher died.
In 1970, Margaret Thatcher was secretary of education. She ended a free milk program for schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 11 in order to meet the conservative government’s pledge to cut spending. In that time, political opponents labeled her as a “Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher”.
In 1976, Margaret Thatcher has a strident anti-Communist speech. After her speech, the soviet newspaper called her the “Iron Lady” according to her strong nature.
Margaret Thatcher didn’t believe she would live to see women become British Prime Minister. However, she became a Prime Minister when her party led to victory in 1979. Margaret Thatcher was re-elected in 1983and 1987.
Thatcher was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century.
In June 1990, Margaret Thatcher visited the Soviet Union. She said: “I was to encounter all the different elements which consisted Soviet politics at this time – not just President Gorbachev, but also more radical reformers, nationalists and those who posed the greatest potential threat to reform that is the military.” After Moscow, she visited Ukraine, she was in Kiev. In that time, Ukraine was separated from USRR. The final visit in the Soviet Union was Armenia. She visited Leninakan. On 7 December 1988 Leninakan and Spitak had been rebuilt after the big earthquake. The Britain was to build a school for children and she was to open the school.
Lord Byron School №20 was founded in 1990 in Gyumri (formerly Leninakan) following the earthquake that devastated the city, by funds provided by the British Government as well as donations raised by the British people. A carved stone cross called a Khatchkar was placed in a British school by the Armenian government in thanks for the rebuilding of this school following the 1988 earthquake. The Lord Byron School in Gyumri opened in 1950, founded in 1990. The school is located in Margaret Thatcher Street, Gyumri, Shirak, Armenia.

According to Margaret Thatcher Foundation, Margaret Thatcher had speech in Leninakan. She said: “It is a very great pleasure to be in Armenia, the cradle of one of the greatest and most ancient civilizations of our world, at one time powerful enough to challenge the Roman Empire itself. It is, I feel fairly sure, the first visit to Armenia by a British Prime Minister, and I am proud to have been given that honor. I am also most grateful for your very warm hospitality. Armenia has not had a smooth history. Your rugged land has never provided an easy living. You have had more than your share of disasters and, as a result, you are no strangers to grief and turmoil.”(http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108118).
The British famous opera house had laid on an evening of song and dance to rice money for Armenian relief. Many people in the world had helped Armenia after the big earthquake.
The original Khatchkar that was presented to the school by Armenia, which is now attached to the church in Hucknall where Byron is buried.
Margaret Thatcher also said she believed on great future for Armenia.