Margaret Thatcher

Early Life

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born at 1 North Parade, Grantham, Lincolnshire, on 13 October 1925. Grantham had a population of 20,000 during the interwar period. Her father, Alfred Roberts, was a tradesman who owned two grocery stores in Grantham and taught Margaret hard work, self-reliance, and free market principles. Later, when she became prime minister, she would describe these values ​​as the "Victorian values" that made Great Britain "Great" (Cannadine, 4). Her mother, Beatrice Ethel Roberts, worked as a seamstress before marrying Alfred. She did not find her as intellectually interesting as her father, and their relationship was more based on domestic discipline.

Education & Marriage

In 1943, while the Second World War was still going on, Margaret was accepted into the Chemistry department at Somerville College, Oxford; it was considered a rare occurrence for a woman to study chemistry at Oxford at that time. While studying chemistry, Margaret also began her political career at Oxford. She joined the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA). After her graduation, she found a job as a research chemist in Manningtree, Essex. Margaret, though she graduated as a chemist, saw her future in politics, and she was adopted as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the Dartford constituency in Kent in 1950. Although she lost her first election, she managed to reduce Labour's vote share in the region.

In 1951, she met Denis Thatcher, whom she would describe as "very reserved but quite nice" with "plenty of money" and also who was "a perfect gentleman" (Cannadine, 10). Denis was the head of a company that produced wood preservatives, deck cleaners, and industrial chemicals when she met Margaret. He supported Margaret's ideas and also provided her with financial support. The couple married on 13 December 1951, and with the financial support provided by her husband, Margaret, now known as Margaret Thatcher, enrolled in the Inns of Court School of Law and specialized in tax law.

Entering Politics & First Office

In 1959, she became one of the 12 women MPs in the Conservative Party. In 1961, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan appointed Thatcher Minister of Pensions. Thatcher's appointment was due to the view at the time that pensions, like education, were considered a "feminine" issue (Cannadine, 14). From 1964 to 1970, the Conservative Party was in opposition, which gave Thatcher the opportunity to travel to the Soviet Union, Israel, Sweden, and twice to the United States. From her travels, particularly to America, Thatcher gained the view that values ​​representing America, such as free markets and trade, and low taxes, should be implemented in her own country.

When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970, Thatcher took office as education minister. Her appointment also marked a scandal that would haunt her for the rest of her life. As education minister, she faced serious media backlash for the first time when she discontinued milk distribution to children over the age of seven. Because of this action, Thatcher became known as "Thatcher, the milk snatcher". The reason for this decision was to prevent the closure of the Open University, a public university founded in 1969 in the United Kingdom, considered a pioneer of distance learning and open access worldwide (which at that time was facing the threat of closure due to budget problems and currently has 170,000 students).

In the 1974 elections, the Conservatives lost, therefore creating the necessary conditions for Thatcher's rise. Edward Heath, the leader of the Conservative Party, had not performed well during his four-year term as prime minister. While he had promised a free market economy upon coming to power in 1970, he decided to pursue an interventionist path in the face of economic difficulties and became a prime minister who made concessions to the unions. His consecutive election losses in February and October 1974, coupled with his distant demeanor within the party, led him to lose the party leadership election to the energetic Margaret Thatcher, who was uncompromising on free markets and unions. Thatcher managed to secure 130 votes, while Heath's was limited to 119.

Mrs Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party in February 1975 principally because she was not Edward Heath, not because of a widespread commitment to her views. She was the only senior candidate willing to challenge Mr Heath at a time when the majority of Tory MPs wanted a change.

(Seldon & Collings, 29)

Rise to Power

Following World War II, Great Britain was heavily indebted, the British Empire's glorious days were over, and what remained was a Britain struggling with inflation. Pre-Thatcher prime ministers had increased government spending, placing a heavy burden on both the government and taxpayers. James Callaghan, who served as prime minister from 1976 to 1979, seemingly unaware of the economic crisis Britain had been facing for years, was one of the factors driving people towards Margaret Thatcher, who offered new solutions. He once said in an interview, "Crisis? What crisis?", which naturally provoked a strong reaction and led to a loss of votes for Labour.

In the 1979 election, Thatcher, in her manifesto, The Conservative Manifesto 1979, explained to the public what kind of economic policies she would implement if she came to power; the manifesto promised privatization, reduction of government spending, curbing the power of trade unions, and controlling the money supply (monetarism). The Conservatives' motto was "Labour isn't working." The election took place in May, and the Conservatives won with 339 seats to Labour's 269. On 4 May 1979, Margaret Thatcher was summoned to Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II (reign 1952-2022) to form a government.

Thatcher's Economic Policy

Paying off the debts remaining from World War II was a task that would take decades, and for the welfare state to remain, it was necessary to tax the working population. Birth rates in Western European countries were insufficient, and consequently, the inability to tax enough people led to the imposition of higher taxes on the already working population. Neoliberals found the solution in reducing the benefits provided by the welfare state. According to them, the interventionist state was one of the biggest obstacles to economic development. They believed that the state should not own the means of production, should not set the prices, and that it would be more appropriate for the private sector, not the state, to take over areas such as insurance, housing, pensions, health, and education. These ideas became popular in the 1970s, and Thatcher was a supporter of this idea.

Milton Friedman (1912-2006), an American economist and a representative of neoliberalism, was the winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics, and one of the most staunch advocates of free-market capitalism in the 20th century. Friedman was the primary intellectual architect of Thatcher's monetarist policies, which restricted the money supply to control inflation, and of free-market reforms that advocated for the reduction of the state's role in the economy.

In the 1970s, the British economy was struggling with three main problems: inflation, low productivity growth, and persistently rising unemployment. Thatcher attributed these problems to a lack of monetary policy, high taxes, and high social welfare programs that discouraged people from accepting paid work. To reduce income tax and thus stimulate the private sector by controlling the money supply, the top rate of income tax was cut from 83 to 60 pence per pound, and the lower rate was reduced from 33 to 30 pence. This resulted in a £4 billion reduction in public spending. Inflation continued to rise during her first year in power. It would take until 1982 for inflation to fall from 10.5% in 1979 to 5.4%. But this was not a problem for Mrs. Thatcher. Thatcher was known for her unwavering stance and determination to see her decisions through:

I do not greatly care what people say about me... This is the road I am resolved to follow. This is the path I must go. ... You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning.

(Cannadine, 28-32)

One of the significant policies Thatcher implemented during her first term in power was the Housing Act of 1980. This law allowed tenants living in council houses to purchase their homes or apartments with a 33% or 50% discount (up to 70% discount for apartments) after two or three years, a practice known as the 'right to buy.' By 1984, half a million people had become homeowners. Thatcher believed that increasing home ownership among people (especially the working class) would align them more with her free-market conservative ideology, and she aimed to reduce the burden on the economy by preventing councils from owning housing.

Privatization was one of the most significant financial events of the Thatcher era. State-owned companies such as British Telecom (BT), British Gas, British Airways, and electricity and water utilities were sold off through privatization.

Trade Unions

When Thatcher came to power, the unions were extremely powerful and could blackmail the government into giving them what they wanted. The years 1978-79 were chaotic in Great Britain, with strikes everywhere from garbage collectors to gravediggers, leading to dirty streets and problems with burying the dead. This situation contributed to the public perception that the unions had become too powerful. This is why this winter was called the "Winter of Discontent." Thatcher decided to deal with each union individually. A law was passed forbidding trade unions in the same sector from going on strike simultaneously. A secret ballot was made obligatory for strike votes, thus reducing the power of union leaders.

The Thatcher government, recognizing the significant role of coal in the energy sector and the presence of one of the strongest unions, aimed to curb their power and stockpiled coal to supply power plants for years. In 1984-85, when the Thatcher government attempted to close 20 unprofitable coal mines, the unions decided to rise up again against the government and went on strike. Serious clashes occurred between the police and the protesters. However, Thatcher never backed down, and the unions were forced to end the strike.

Foreign Policy

When Thatcher came to power, she lacked firsthand experience in high-level diplomacy. If there was one thing she was certain of and absolutely wanted, it was to make Great Britain really "Great," and she believed this should be achieved through both domestic and international relations. Those around Thatcher described her ideas as "black-and-white thinking," as she divided the world into "the political world as divided into friends and enemies, goodies and baddies" (Dyson, 38). According to her, Britain could only have friends and enemies. She was opposed to the Soviet Union and communism, and "she was unimpressed by the United Nations, which she scorned as no more than a talking shop."

Britain sought membership in the European Communities (EC) in the 1960s, but French President Charles de Gaulle rejected it, as he did not want to see Britain as part of Europe. In 1973, during Edward Heath's presidency, with de Gaulle's retirement from the political scene, the United Kingdom joined the European Union. When Thatcher became Prime Minister, she claimed that Britain's contribution to the EU budget (£800 million in 1978) exceeded the aid it received from the EU (particularly agricultural subsidies), leading to her famous "I want my money back" statement and a reduction in Britain's contributions to the EU. Therefore, relations with the EU were quite strained.

Thatcher's only non-British nationality with whom she could get along was the Americans, because "she did not regard them as foreign" (Dyson, 39). When she came to power, Jimmy Carter was the president of the United States, and by 1980, Ronald Reagan, with whom she largely shared views, had come to power. They agreed on lowering taxes, generating revenue, and taking tough measures against the Soviets.

Falklands

The Falklands War was the riskiest turning point in Thatcher's political career, a war in which she earned the nickname "Iron Lady" for her toughness, determination, and unwavering conviction. The Falkland Islands had been under British rule since 1833, but in 1982, Argentina was governed by a military junta led by General Leopoldo Galtieri. Galtieri, seeking to divert public attention from the country's economic problems, decided to invade the islands, which he considered part of Argentina and were called the Malvinas in Argentina.

On 2 April 2 1982, Argentine troops landed and neutralized the small British garrison stationed on the Falkland Islands. While most leaders suggested that Thatcher should back down, she stood her ground and refused to compromise. She went to the United Nations and obtained a resolution declaring the invasion unjust and Britain justified. Argentina did not back down. By 2 April, Britain had already sent a Task Force to retake the Falklands, which was already 13,000 kilometers away. The first major loss of the war came with the sinking of Argentina's General Belgrano on 2 May. Two days later, HMS Sheffield was sunk. Achieving peace through diplomatic means seemed impossible. British troops landed on San Carlos Bay in the Falklands on 21 May, and the war ended with Argentina's surrender on 14 June.

The war demonstrated that Britain was still "Great" and also proved Thatcher's unwavering leadership. One of the key factors that enabled her to win the election again in 1983 was the popularity she had gained during the Falkland Islands War.

1984 Brighton Hotel Bombing

The Brighton Hotel bombing, which took place on 12 October 1984, at 2:54 a.m., has gone down in history as one of the most significant assassination attempts in modern British history. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) directly sought to eliminate Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. The deaths of Bobby Sands and other Irish prisoners in 1981, following a hunger strike in prison, fueled resentment among IRA supporters towards Thatcher. The Conservatives were holding their annual conference at the Brighton Hotel, and given that many important figures within the Conservative movement were gathered there, this gave the IRA one of the best opportunities to eliminate them all at once.

Months earlier, the IRA had planted a hidden bomb inside the wall of Thatcher's room. Although the entire building was severely damaged by the explosion, Mrs. Thatcher and her husband survived the assassination attempt unharmed. Five people died, and 30 were injured in the attack. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed in 1985, and thus "the Republic of Ireland had accepted in an international treaty that there could be no change in the status of Northern Ireland without the consent of a majority of its inhabitants" (Seldon & Collings, 79). This agreement was considered a cornerstone for Anglo-Irish relations, which have been good since 1985.

Big Bang

The "Big Bang" refers to the deregulation of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 27 October 1986, which transformed London into the world's leading financial center. The event is called the Big Bang because the old rules of the exchange were erased and replaced with new ones overnight. Previously, transactions required very high commissions and were conducted using old paper-based methods. The Thatcher government liberalized commission fees, allowing the market to determine its own policies. This paved the way for the acquisition of British financial institutions by foreign banks and led to billions of dollars flowing into London from US and European giants, while transactions were digitized. This loosening of regulations also opened the door for banks to take excessive risks, and many economists argue that the roots of the 2008 crisis lie in this uncontrolled liberalization.

Poll Tax (Community Charge) & the Fall from Power

After being elected as the prime minister of the UK in 1987 (her third term), she made a move that brought an end to her career. Taxes were levied based on the value of houses, a situation that Thatcher considered unfair because everyone benefited equally from services such as garbage collection, street cleaning, and libraries. Her solution was for everyone to pay the same tax regardless of income. Millions refused to pay this tax and took the matter to the streets; Trafalgar Square was engulfed in flames, shops were looted, and many people were injured.

However, the reason for the fall of Thatcher's government was not the demonstrations themselves, but the loss of Thatcher's popularity. In November 1990, Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Howe sparked internal party opposition by criticizing Thatcher's European policy. A leadership contest was launched, and although Thatcher received a majority of the votes, she failed to secure the necessary majority for leadership. In November 1990, seeing that her party had abandoned her, she resigned.

Conclusion

Margaret Thatcher is one of the most liked and simultaneously hated figures in modern British history. Before Thatcher came to power, Great Britain was a country plagued by strikes and inflation and in economic decline. She privatized state-owned companies, steadily increasing public participation in the economy, and transformed London from a manufacturing hub to a financial center, a trend that continues to this day. She prioritized individualism over collectivism. People should be able to stand on their own feet instead of relying on state aid, she believed. This was one of the factors that eroded the sense of solidarity in society.

In southern England, she is seen more as a prime minister who modernized and enriched the country, but in northern England, Scotland, and Wales, she is remembered as someone who destroyed industry and disintegrated communities. When Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, while a lavish ceremony was held in London, her death was met with celebrations and parties in the aforementioned regions.