This year marks the centenary of Margaret Thatcher, the formidable “Iron Lady” who transformed British politics and defined an era.
As the UK’s first female and longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century, she steered the nation through bold economic reforms, social shifts, and global challenges. Her policies on privatisation, trade unions, and foreign affairs left an enduring and often divisive legacy, one that continues to shape political debate and inspire generations.
On May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher made history as the first woman to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and in Europe.
Her Conservative Party’s decisive victory over James Callaghan’s Labour government marked a turning point in British politics, redefining both leadership and ideology. Once dubbed the “sick man of Europe,” Britain under Thatcher began a bold transformation, proving that determination and firm leadership could restore national strength and economic confidence.
Born Margaret Hilda Roberts in 1925 in Grantham, England, Thatcher studied chemistry at Oxford before qualifying as a barrister. Entering Parliament in 1959, she rose swiftly through Conservative ranks, becoming party leader in 1975.
As Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, she championed free markets, individual responsibility, and limited state intervention. Her sweeping economic reforms: deregulation, privatisation, and curbs on trade unions, became known as “Thatcherism,” credited with revitalising Britain’s economy but criticised for widening social divides.
On the global stage, Thatcher forged a close alliance with US President Ronald Reagan and stood firm against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Her decisive leadership in the 1982 Falklands War cemented her image as a formidable leader, though her later introduction of the controversial “poll tax” sparked mass protests and eroded her popularity.
Reviving a struggling nation
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, the UK was grappling with high inflation, rising unemployment, and stagnant economic growth. She transformed the country through bold free-market reforms: controlling inflation, cutting public spending, and limiting union power which stabilised the economy and laid the groundwork for long-term recovery.
Thatcher also privatised major state-owned industries like British Telecom, British Gas, and British Airways, boosting efficiency, generating revenue, and encouraging ordinary citizens to own shares. By curbing union power and introducing secret ballots before strikes, she restored productivity and reduced industrial disruption. Her focus on hard work, entrepreneurship, and personal responsibility fostered ambition and innovation, supporting small businesses and private enterprise across the nation.
Transforming the Conservative Party
By 1975, the Conservative Party was grappling with internal divisions, economic stagnation, and a lack of clear direction. Margaret Thatcher revitalised the party, reshaping both its policies and identity. She moved away from post-war consensus politics, embracing free-market principles by cutting taxes, reducing state control, limiting union power, and promoting the privatisation of state-owned industries.
Thatcher also expanded the party’s appeal to working- and lower-middle-class voters who valued home ownership and self-reliance, groups that had traditionally supported Labour. Policies like ‘Right to Buy’ created a new class of “aspirational Conservatives.” With her focus on personal responsibility, hard work, and national pride, Thatcher’s leadership gave the party renewed purpose and a clear ideological direction.
A bond between trailblazing leaders
Although politically different, the UK and Indian Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi, shared a remarkable mutual respect. According to Thatcher’s biographer Hugo Young, their first meeting was pivotal in shaping her belief in herself as a rising international stateswoman. Gandhi was reportedly one of the few women who truly impressed Thatcher. During that initial encounter, an Indian official recounted that Thatcher sat attentively, asking Gandhi how she had reached the top, maintained her power, and dominated her party.
When Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, just 15 days after an IRA bombing targeting Thatcher, she expressed deep sorrow, saying, "I will miss Mrs Indira Gandhi very much indeed. She was a truly great leader." Thatcher travelled to Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi to lay a wreath at Gandhi’s body lying in state.
Years later, in 1989, Thatcher publicly honoured Gandhi again at the unveiling of a bust by KS Radhakrishnan at the Indian High Commission in London, paying tribute to a leader who had profoundly inspired her.
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A respectful connection across politics
Margaret Thatcher’s stature as a global leader extended beyond politics, inspiring respect even among those with differing views. CB Patel, Publisher and Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, experienced this firsthand. Despite their political differences, Thatcher always treated him with great respect. He was once invited to join her team during her official visit to India, a memorable experience that left a lasting impression.
[CB Patel will revisit his reflections on Thatcher, their relationship, and her connection with Asian Voice (formerly New Life) in his column ‘As I See It’, after Diwali].
