See soorce fer Margaret Thatcher

{{Fixscots}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name             =  Baroness Thatcher
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of the Garter|LG]] [[Order of Merit|OM]] [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]] [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]]
| image            = Margaret Thatcher stock portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption           = Thatcher {{circa}} 1995–96
| office1           = [[Prime Meenister o the Unitit Kinrick]]
| monarch1       = [[Elizabeth II]]
| deputy1          = [[Geoffrey Howe]] (1989-90)
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1925|10|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place      = [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[Ingland]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2013|4|8|1925|10|13|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [[Lunnon]], Ingland
| term_start1      = 4 Mey 1979
| term_end1        = 28 November 1990
| predecessor1     = [[James Callaghan]]
| successor1       = [[John Major]]
| party            = [[Conservative Pairty (UK)|Conservative]]
| nationality      = [[Unitit Kinrick|Breetish]]
| spouse           = Sir [[Denis Thatcher]], Bt.<br>(m. 1951-2003, his daith)
| children         = [[Mark Thatcher]], [[Carol Thatcher]]
| relations        = [[Alfred Roberts]]<br>(faither)
}}
'''Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|commas=true|size=100%|LG|OM|PC|FRS|FRIC}} ({{nee|'''Roberts'''}}; 13 October 1925 &ndash; 8 Apryle 2013) wis a Breetish stateswumman, wha sert as [[Prime Meenister o the Unitit Kinrick]] frae 1979 tae 1990 an as [[Leader o the Conservative Pairty (UK)|Leader]] o the [[Conservative Pairty (UK)|Conservative Pairty]] frae 1975 tae 1990. She wis the langest-serrin Breetish prime meenister o the 20t yearhunner, an the first wumman tae haud the office. A Soviet jurnalist cried her '''The Airn Leddy''', an eik-name that becam associatit wi her uncompromisin politics an leadership style. As Prime Meenister, she implementit policies that hae come tae be kent as [[Thatcherism]].

A resairch [[chemist]] afore acomin a [[barrister]], Thatcher wis [[Leet o MPs electit in the Unitit Kinrick general election, 1959|electit Memmer o Pairlament]] for [[Finchley (UK Pairlament constituency)|Finchley]] in [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1959|1959]]. [[Edward Heath]] appyntit her [[Secretar o State for Eddication|Secretar o State for Eddication an Science]] in his [[Heath meenistry|1970 govrenment]]. In 1975, Thatcher defeatit Heath in the [[Conservative Pairty (UK) leadership election, 1975|Conservative Pairty leadership election]] tae acome [[Leader o the Opposeetion (Unitit Kinrick)|Leader o the Opposeetion]] an acame the first wumman tae lead a major poleetical pairty in the Unitit Kinrick. She acame Prime Meenister efter winnin the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1979|1979 general election]].

On muivin intae {{nowrap|[[10 Downing Street]]}}, Thatcher introduced mony poleetical an economic initiatives intendit tae reverse heich unemployment an Breetain's struissles in the wauk o the [[Winter o Discontent]] an an ongangin recession.{{refn|In her forewird tae the [[Leet o Conservative Pairty (UK) general election manifestos|Conservative manifesto]] o 1979, Thatcher wrate o "a feeling of helplessness, that we are a once great nation that has somehow fallen behind".<ref>{{cite web |title=1979 Conservative Party General Election Manifesto |url=http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1979/1979-conservative-manifesto.shtml |website=conservativemanifesto.com |accessdate=28 July 2009}}</ref>|group=nb}} Her poleetical filosofie an economic policies emphasised [[deregulation]] (parteecularly o the financial sector), flexible labour mercats, the privatisation o [[state-awned enterprise|state-awned companies]], an reducin the pouer an influence o tred unions. Thatcher's popularity in her first years in office waned amid recession an heich unemployment, till veectory in the 1982 [[Falklands War]] an the recoverin economy brocht a resurgence o support, resultin in her decisive [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1983|re-election in 1983]]. She narraely escapit an [[Brighton hotel bombin|assassination attempt in 1984]].

Thatcher wis re-electit for a third term in [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1987|1987]]. In this period her support for a [[Community Charge]] (referred tae as the "poll tax") wis widely unpopular, an her views on the [[European Economic Commonty|European Commonty]] war nae shared bi ithers in her Caibinet. She resigned as Prime Meenister an pairty leader in November 1990, efter [[Michael Heseltine]] lencht a [[Conservative Pairty (UK) leadership election, 1990|challenge tae her leadership]]. Efter reteerin frae the [[Hoose o Commons o the Unitit Kinrick|Commons]] in 1992, she wis gien a [[life peer]]age as Baroness Thatcher (o [[Kesteven]] in the Coonty o [[Lincolnshire]]) whilk enteetlt her tae sit in the [[Hoose o Lairds]]. Efter a nummer o wee straiks in 2002, she wis advised tae reteer frae public speakin. Nanetheless, she managed tae pre-record a eulogy tae [[Ronald Reagan]] afore his daith, whilk wis braidcast at [[Daith an state funeral o Ronald Reagan|his funeral]] in 2004. In 2013, [[Daith an funeral o Margaret Thatcher|she dee'd o anither straik]] in Lunnon, at the age o 87. Ayeweys a controversial feegur, she haes been laudit as [[Historical rankins o Prime Meenisters o the Unitit Kinrick|ane o the greatest]] an maist influential politeecians in Breetish historie, even as arguments ower Thatcherism perseest.

==Early life an eddication==
Thatcher wis born Margaret Hilda Roberts on 13 October 1925, in [[Grantham, Lincolnshire]]. Her faither wis [[Alfred Roberts]], oreeginally frae Northamptonshire, an her mither wis Beatrice Ethel (née Stephenson) frae Lincolnshire.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=1}} She spent her bairnheid in Grantham, whaur her faither awned twa grocery shaps.

Margaret Roberts attendit Huntingtower Road Primary School an wan a bursary tae [[Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=5}} Her schuil reports shawed haurd wark an continual impruivement; her extracurricular activities includit the piano, field hockey, poetry recitals, soummin an walkin.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=6}}{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|pp=21–22}} In her [[saxt form|upper saxt year]] she applee'd for a bursary tae study chemistry at [[Somerville College, Oxford]], a weemen's college at the time, but she wis ineetially rejectit an wis offered a place anerly efter anither candidate widrew.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=12}}{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=23}} Roberts arrived at Oxford in 1943 an graduatit in 1947 wi [[Breetish undergraduate degree classification|Seicont-Cless Honours]] in the fower-year Chemistry Bachelor o Science degree, specialisin in [[X-ray crystallography]] unner the superveesion o [[Dorothy Hodgkin]].{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|pp=25–27}}{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=16}}

Roberts jyned the local Conservative Association an attendit the pairty conference at [[Llandudno]] in 1948, as a representative o the University Graduate Conservative Association.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=22}} Meanwhile she acame a heich-rankin member o the [[Vermin Club]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Charles |authorlink=Charles Moore (journalist) |title=Golly: now we know what's truly offensive |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html |date=5 February 2009 |accessdate=29 April 2017 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=J.C. |magazine=[[The Economist]] |title=Gaffe-ology: why Mitchell had to go |url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2012/10/political-crises |date=21 October 2012 |accessdate=29 April 2017 |quote=In 1948 [[Aneurin Bevan]] called the Conservative Party "lower than vermin", a comment that lost Labour thousands of moderate votes at the following election. The Tories embraced the phrase; some formed the Vermin Club in response (Margaret Thatcher was a member).}}</ref> a group o gressruits Conservatives formed in response tae a derogatory remerk aboot the pairty.

Ane o her Oxford friends wis an aa a friend o the Chair o the [[Dartford]] Conservative Association in [[Kent]], wha war leukin for candidates.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=22}} Offeecials o the association war sae impressed bi her that thay askit her tae applee, even tho she wis nae on the Conservative Pairty's approved leet: she wis selectit in Januar 1951, aged 25, an addit tae the appruived leet ''[[:wikt:post ante|post ante]]''.{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=36}} At a dinner follaein her formal adoption as Conservative candidate for Dartford in Februar 1951 she met [[Denis Thatcher]], a successfu an walthy divorced businessman, wha drave her tae her Essex train.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=22}}{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=36}} In preparation for the election Roberts muived tae Dartford, whaur she supportit hersel bi wirkin as a resairch chemist for [[J. Lyons and Co.]] in Hammersmith, pairt o a team developin [[emulsion|emulsifiers]] for [[ice cream]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=22}}<ref name="ns-rs">{{cite journal|title=Cream of the crop at Royal Society|url=https://books.google.com/?id=XRpdT3gc9KYC&pg=PA5&dq=Margaret+Thatcher+ice#v=onepage&q=Margaret+Thatcher+ice&f=false|journal=New Scientist|date=7 July 1983|page=5|accessdate=25 January 2011|volume=99|issue=1365|ref=harv|author1=Information|first1=Reed Business}}</ref> Shortly efter her mairiage, she an her husband begoud attendin [[Kirk o Ingland|Anglican]] services an wad later convert tae [[Anglicanism]].<ref name="Belz">{{Cite news |url=https://world.wng.org/2013/04/weather_maker |first=Mindy |last=Belz |title=Weather maker |agency=World Magazine |date=4 May 2013 |access-date=2017-06-07 |archive-date=2019-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203055950/https://world.wng.org/2013/04/weather_maker |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Filby">{{Cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9992424/Margaret-Thatcher-her-unswerving-faith-shaped-by-her-father.html |first=Eliza |last=Filby |title=Margaret Thatcher: her unswerving faith shaped by her father |agency=The Telegraph |date=14 April 2013}}</ref>

==Early political career==
In the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1950|1950]] an [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1951|1951 general elections]], Roberts wis the Conservative candidate for the safe Labour seat o [[Dartford (UK Pairlament constituency)|Dartford]]. The local pairty selectit her as its candidate acause, tho nae a dynamic public speaker, Roberts wis well-prepared an fearless in her answers. She attractit media attention as the youngest an the anerly female candidate.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|pp=23–24}}{{sfnp|Blundell|2008|p=37}} She lost on baith occasions tae [[Norman Dodds]], but reduced the Labour majority bi 6,000, an then a further 1,000.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|pp=23–24}} During the campaigns, she wis supportit bi her parents an bi Denis Thatcher, wha she mairied in December 1951.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|pp=23–24}}<ref name="Denis Thatcher">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1434154/Sir-Denis-Thatcher-Bt.html |accessdate=6 January 2012 |date=27 June 2003 |title=Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>

===Member o Pairlament: 1959–1970===
In 1954, Thatcher wis defeatit whan she socht selection tae be the Conservative pairty candidate for the [[Orpington bi-election, 1955|Orpington bi-election]] o Januar 1955. She chuise nae tae staund as a candidate in the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1955|1955 general election]], in later years statin: "I really just felt the twins were&nbsp;... only two, I really felt that it was too soon. I couldn't do that."{{sfnp|Campbell|2000|p=100}} Efterwart, Thatcher begoud leukin for a Conservative [[sauf seat]] an wis selectit as the candidate for [[Finchley (UK Pairlament constituency)|Finchley]] in Apryle 1958 (narraely beatin [[Ian Fraser (Plymouth Sutton MP)|Ian Montagu Fraser]]). She wis electit as MP for the seat efter a haurd campaign in the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1959|1959 election]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=27}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=41842|page=6433|date=13 October 1959}}</ref> Benefitin frae her fortuinate result in a lottery for [[backbencher]]s tae propone new legislation,<ref name="runciman20130606">{{cite news|last=Runciman|first=David|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n11/david-runciman/rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat|title=Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat|work=London Review of Books|date=6 June 2013|accessdate=11 June 2013}}</ref> Thatcher's [[maiden speech]] wis in support o her [[private member's bill]] ([[Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960]]), requirin local authorities tae hauld thair cooncil meetins in public.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/101055 |title =HC S 2R [Public Bodies (Admission of the Press to Meetings) Bill] (Maiden Speech) |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |date=5 February 1960}}</ref>

Thatcher's talent an drive caused her tae be mentioned as a futur Prime Meenister in her early 20s{{r|runciman20130606}} awtho she hersel wis mair pessimistic, statin as late as 1970: "There will not be a woman prime minister in my lifetime{{snd}}the male population is too prejudiced."<ref name="sandbrook20130409">{{cite news|last=Sandbrook|first=Dominic|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22076886|title=Viewpoint: What if Margaret Thatcher had never been?|publisher=BBC|date=9 April 2013|accessdate=16 June 2013}}</ref> In October 1961 she wis promotit tae the [[frontbench]] as [[Pairlamentar Secretar tae the Meenister for Pensions|Pairlamentar Unnersecretar at the Meenistry o Pensions an Naitional Insurance]] bi [[Harold Macmillan]].{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=4}} Thatcher wis the youngest wumman in history tae receive sic a post, an amang the first [[Leet o MPs electit in the Unitit Kinrick general election, 1959|MPs electit in 1959]] tae be promotit.{{r|scottsmith2003}}

Bi 1966, pairty leaders viewed Thatcher as a potential [[Offeecial Opposeetion Shaidae Cabinet (Unitit Kinrick)|Shaidae Cabinet member]]. [[James Prior]] suggestit her as a member efter the Conservatives' [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1966|1966 defeat]], but pairty leader [[Edward Heath]] an [[Chief Whip]] [[Willie Whitelaw]] insteid chuise tae promote [[Mervyn Pike]] as the [[First Shaidae Cabinet o Edward Heath|Shaidae Cabinet]]'s anerly wumman member.{{r|scottsmith2003}} At the Conservative Pairty conference o 1966 she criticised the heich-tax policies o the Labour govrenment as bein steps "not only towards Socialism, but towards Communism", arguin that lawer taxes served as an incentive tae haurd wark.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=64}} Thatcher wis ane o the few Conservative MPs tae support [[Leo Abse]]'s Bill tae decriminalise male homosexuality.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1966/jul/05/sexual-offences-no-2|title=Sexual Offences (No. 2)|date=5 July 1966|journal=Hansard|volume=731|page=267|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=2020-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104201938/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1966/jul/05/sexual-offences-no-2|url-status=dead}}</ref> She an aa votit in favour o [[David Steel]]'s bill tae legalise abortion,{{sfnp|Thatcher|1995|p=150}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1966/jul/22/medical-termination-of-pregnancy-bill|title=Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill|date=22 July 1966|journal=Hansard|volume=732|page=1165|ref=harv|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=2020-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102150407/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1966/jul/22/medical-termination-of-pregnancy-bill|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Efter Pike's reteerment, Heath appyntit Thatcher tae the Shaidae Cabinet<ref name=scottsmith2003>{{cite journal|last=Scott-Smith |first=Giles |title="Her Rather Ambitious Washington Program": Margaret Thatcher's International Visitor Program Visit to the United States in 1967 |url=http://mountainrunner.us/library/publicdiplomacy/Scott-Smith%20(2003)-%20%E2%80%98Her%20Rather%20Ambitious%20Washington%20Program%E2%80%99%20Margaret%20Thatcher%E2%80%99s%20International%20Visitor%20Program%20Visit%20to%20the%20US%20in%201967.pdf|date=Winter 2003|journal=Contemporary British History|volume=17|issue=4|pages=65–86|publisher=Routledge&nbsp;– Taylor and Francis|issn=1743-7997|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126115302/http://mountainrunner.us/library/publicdiplomacy/Scott-Smith%20%282003%29-%20%E2%80%98Her%20Rather%20Ambitious%20Washington%20Program%E2%80%99%20Margaret%20Thatcher%E2%80%99s%20International%20Visitor%20Program%20Visit%20to%20the%20US%20in%201967.pdf|archivedate=26 November 2010 |ref=harv|doi=10.1080/13619460308565458}}</ref> as Fuel an Pouer spokesman.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatchers-timeline-from-grantham-to-the-house-of-lords-via-arthur-scargill-and-the-8564555.html|title=Margaret Thatcher's timeline: From Grantham to the House of Lords, via Arthur Scargill and the Falklands War|date=8 April 2013|work=Independent|accessdate=2 November 2016}}</ref> Shortly afore the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1970|1970 election]], she wis promotit tae Shadow Transport spokesman an later tae Eddication.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=65}}

===Eddication Secretar: 1970–1974===
The Conservative Pairty unner [[Edward Heath]] wan the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1970|1970 general election]], an Thatcher wis subsequently appyntit tae the [[Cabinet o the Unitit Kinrick|Cabinet]] as [[Secretar o State for Eddication|Secretar o State for Eddication an Science]]. In her first months in office she attractit public attention as a result o the govrenment's attempts ae cut spendin. She gae priority tae academic needs in schuils.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=14}} She imponed public expenditur cuts on the state eddication seestem, resultin in the aboleetion o free milk for schuilchilder aged seiven tae eleiven.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=76}} She held that few childer wad thole if schuils war chairged for milk, but agreed tae provide younger childer wi a third o a pint daily, for nutreetional purposes.{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=76}} Cabinet papers later revealed that she opponed the policy but haed been forced intae it bi the Thesaury.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-move-swiftly-to-avoid-milksnatcher-tag-2047372.html|title=Tories move swiftly to avoid 'milk-snatcher' tag|last=Hickman|first=Martin|date=9 August 2010|newspaper=The Independent|accessdate=9 April 2013|archive-date=2015-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925172651/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-move-swiftly-to-avoid-milksnatcher-tag-2047372.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her deceesion provoked a storm o protest frae Labour an the press,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=15}} leadin tae the moniker "Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher".{{sfnp|Wapshott|2007|p=76}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Rebecca|title=How Margaret Thatcher became known as 'Milk Snatcher'|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7932963/How-Margaret-Thatcher-became-known-as-Milk-Snatcher.html|accessdate=9 April 2013|newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph|date=8 August 2010}}</ref> She reportitly conseedered leavin politics in the eftermath an later wrate in her autobiografie: "I learned a valuable lesson {{bracket|from the experience}}. I had incurred the maximum of political odium for the minimum of political benefit."{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=15}}{{sfnp|Thatcher|1995|p=182}}

===Leader o the Opposeetion: 1975–1979===
[[File:Thatcher-loc.jpg|left|thumb|170px|Thatcher as Tory leader]]
The Heath govrenment continued tae experience difficulties wi [[1973 ile creesis|ile embargoes]] an union demands for wage increases in 1973 an lost the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, Februar 1974|Februar 1974 general election]].{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=15}} Labour formed a minority govrenment an went on tae win a narrae majority in the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, October 1974|October 1974 general election]]. Heath's leadership o the Conservative Pairty leukit increasinly in dout. Thatcher wis nae ineetially the obvious replacement, but she eventually acame the main challenger, promisin a fresh stairt.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=16}} Her main support came frae the Conservative [[1922 Committee]],{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=16}} but Thatcher's time in office gae her the reputation o a pragmatist instead o an ideologue.{{r|runciman20130606}} She [[Conservative Pairty (UK) leadership election, 1975|defeatit Heath]] on the first ballot an he resigned the leadership.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article545321.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2|url-access=limited|title=Thatcher leads tributes to Sir Edward Heath|date=18 July 2005|accessdate=14 October 2008|work=The Times|first=Philippe|last=Naughton}}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In the seicont ballot she defeatit Whitelaw, Heath's preferred successor. The vote polarised alang richt&ndash;left lines, wi the region, experience an eddication o the MP an aa haein thair effects. Thatcher's support wis stranger amang MPs on the richt, thae frae soothren Ingland, an thae wha haed nae attendit public schuils or [[Oxbridge]].<ref>Philip Cowley and Matthew Bailey, "Peasants' Uprising or Religious War? Re-Examining the 1975 Conservative Leadership Contest", ''British Journal of Political Science'' (2000) 30#4 pp.&nbsp;599–629</ref>

Thatcher acame Conservative Pairty leader an [[Leader o the Opposeetion (Unitit Kinrick)|Leader o the Opposeetion]] on 11 Februar 1975;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=102452|title=Press Conference after winning Conservative leadership (Grand Committee Room)|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|accessdate=29 September 2007}}</ref> she appyntit Whitelaw as her [[Depute Leader o the Conservative Pairty (UK)|depute]]. Heath wis niver reconciled tae Thatcher's leadership.<ref>Moore, ''Thatcher'' 1:394–395, 430</ref> In addeetion tae opposeetion tae [[Keynesian ecenomics]], Thatcher wantit tae prevent the creaution o a Scots assembly. She tauld Conservative MPs tae vote against the Scotland and Wales Bill in December 1976, which wis defeatit, an then whan new Bills war proponed she supportit amendin the legislation tae allae the Inglis tae vote in the [[Scots devolution referendum, 1979|1979 referendum on devolution]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/how-thatcher-tried-to-thwart-devolution-1-1165673|title=How Thatcher tried to thwart devolution|date=27 April 2008|accessdate=20 April 2013|newspaper=The Scotsman|archive-date=2015-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016012202/http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/how-thatcher-tried-to-thwart-devolution-1-1165673|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Breetain's economy during the 1970s wis sae waik that Foreign Meenister [[James Callaghan]] wairned his fellae Labour Cabinet members in 1974 o the possibility o "a breakdown of democracy", tellin them: "If I were a young man, I would emigrate."{{sfnp|Beckett|2010|loc=chapter 7}} In mid-1978, the economy begoud tae impruive an opeenion polls shawed Labour in the lead, wi a general election bein expectit later that year an a Labour win a sairious possibility. Nou Prime Meenister, Callaghan surpreesed mony bi annooncin on 7 September that thare wad be na general election that year an he wad wait till 1979 afore gangin tae the polls. Thatcher reactit tae this bi buistin the Labour govrenment "chickens", an [[Leeberal Pairty (UK)|Leeberal Pairty]] leader [[David Steel]] jyned in, criticisin Labour for "running scared".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/7/newsid_2502000/2502781.stm|title=7 September 1978: Callaghan accused of running scared|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|accessdate=13 January 2012|year=2008}}</ref> The Conservatives attacked the Labour govrenment's unemployment record, uisin advertisin wi the slogan "[[Labour Isn't Working]]". A [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1979|general election]] wis cried efter Callaghan's govrenment lost a [[1979 vote o na confidence in the govrenment o James Callaghan|motion o na confidence]] in early 1979. The Conservatives wan a 44-seat majority in the Hoose o Commons an Thatcher acame the first female Breetish prime meenister.<ref>David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, ''The British general election of 1979'' (1980).</ref>

==Premiership o the Unitit Kinrick: 1979–1990==
Thatcher acame Prime Meenister on 4 Mey 1979. Arrivin at Downing Street she said, paraphrasin the [[Prayer o Saunt Francis]]:{{poemquote|
Where there is discord, may we bring harmony;
Where there is error, may we bring truth;
Where there is doubt, may we bring faith;
And where there is despair, may we bring hope.
|char=Margaret Thatcher
|source=<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104078 |title=Remarks on becoming Prime Minister (St Francis's prayer) |date=4 May 1979 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |accessdate=21 March 2017}}</ref>
|title=her remarks on becoming Prime Minister
}}
Thatcher remained in office ootthrou the next decade. For muckle o her premiership, she wis descrived as the maist pouerfu wumman in the warld.<ref>{{cite book |title=How to Work for a Woman Boss, Even If You'd Rather Not |url=https://archive.org/details/howtoworkforwoma00bern |last=Bern |first=Paula |publisher=[[Dodd Mead]] |edition=1st |isbn=978-0396088394 |date=February 1987 |page=[https://archive.org/details/howtoworkforwoma00bern/page/43 43]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Maggie: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman in Power |url=https://archive.org/details/maggieintimatepo00ogde |last=Ogden |first=Chris |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=1st |isbn=978-0671667603 |year=1990 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/maggieintimatepo00ogde/page/9 9], 12}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Current Biography Yearbook |titlelink=Current Biography |publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Co.]] |edition=1989 |volume=50 |year=1990 |page=567}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Gail Sheehy on the most powerful woman in the world |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_vanity-fair_1989-07_52_7/page/102 |last=Sheehy |first=Gail |authorlink=Gail Sheehy |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |volume=52 |year=1989 |page=102}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The most powerful woman in the world |last=Eisner |first=Jane |authorlink=Jane Eisner |magazine=The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine |asin=B006RKBPBK |date=7 June 1987 |page=1}}</ref>

===Domestic affairs===
Thatcher wis Leader o the Opposeetion an Prime Meenister at a time o increased racial tension in Breetain. Commentin on the [[Unitit Kinrick local elections, 1977|local elections o Mey 1977]], ''[[The Economist]]'' notit "The Tory tide swamped the smaller parties. That specifically includes the [[Naitional Front (UK)|National Front]], which suffered a clear decline from last year".<ref>{{cite news|work=The Economist|title=Votes go to Tories, and nobody else|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_economist_1977-05-14_263_6976/page/24|date=14 May 1977|volume=263|issue=6976|pages=24–28}}</ref><ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/93030FB632E147999D4BEB655587A134.pdf ''Conservative Party Campaign Guide Supplement 1978'']. Published by the Conservative and Unionist Central Office.</ref> Her staundin in the polls rose bi 11% efter a Januar 1978 interview for ''[[World in Action]]'' in which she said "the British character has done so much for democracy, for law and done so much throughout the world that if there is any fear that it might be swamped people are going to react and be rather hostile to those coming in", as well as "in many ways {{bracket|minorities}} add to the richness and variety of this country. The moment the minority threatens to become a big one, people get frightened".<ref>{{cite news|work=The Times|title=Mrs Thatcher fears people might become hostile if immigrant flow is not cut|date=31 January 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920566-3,00.html|title=Britain: Facing a Multiracial Future|date=27 August 1979|accessdate=20 January 2011|archive-date=2013-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724082825/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920566-3,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 1979 general election, the Conservatives attracted voters frae the Naitional Front, whose support awmaist collapsed.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=26}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=FtAiLTYSpA4C&pg=PA128&dq=thatcher+national+front#v=onepage&q=thatcher%20national%20front&f=false|title=Britishness since 1870|first=Paul|last=Ward|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=21 August 2011|isbn=978-0-415-22016-3|year=2004|page=128}}</ref> In a meetin in Julie 1979 wi [[Secretar o State for Foreign an Commonweel Affairs|Foreign Secretar]] [[Peter Carington, 6t Baron Carrington|Lord Carrington]] an [[Hame Secretar]] [[Willie Whitelaw]] she objectit tae the nummer o Asie immigrants, in the context o leemitin the tot o [[Vietnamese boat fowk]] allaed tae settle in the UK tae less nor 10,000.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6906503/Margaret-Thatcher-complained-about-Asian-immigration-to-Britain.html|title=Margaret Thatcher complained about Asian immigration to Britain|date=30 December 2009|accessdate=20 January 2011|first=Jon|last=Swaine|archive-date=2011-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120061249/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6906503/Margaret-Thatcher-complained-about-Asian-immigration-to-Britain.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As Prime Meenister, Thatcher met weekly wi [[Queen Elizabeth II]] tae discuss govrenment business, an thair relationship came unner close scrutiny.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=28}}{{sfnp|Seward|2001|p=154}} Biografer [[John Campbell (biografer)|John Campbell]] says thair relations war "punctiliously correct but there was little love lost on either side". The Queen's press secretar leaked anonymous rumours o a rift, which war offeecially denee'd bi the Palace. Campbell concludes that Thatcher haed "an almost mystical reverence for the institution of the monarchy" despite "trying to modernise the country and sweep away many of the values and practices which the monarchy perpetuated".<ref>Campbell, ''Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady 2:464</ref> Thatcher later wrate: "I always found the Queen's attitude towards the work of the Government absolutely correct&nbsp;... stories of clashes between 'two powerful women' were just too good not to make up."{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|p=18}}

====Economy an taxation====
Thatcher's economic policy wis influenced bi [[monetarism|monetarist]] thinkin an economists sic as [[Milton Friedman]] an [[Alan Walters]].{{sfnp|Childs|2006|p=185}} Thegither wi [[Chancellor o the Exchequer]] [[Geoffrey Howe]], she lawered direct taxes on income an increased indirect taxes.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=30}} She increased interest rates tae slaw the growthe o the money supplee an tharebi lawer inflation,{{sfnp|Childs|2006|p=185}} introduced cash leemits on public spendin, an reduced expenditur on social services sic as eddication an hoosin.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=30}} Her cuts in heicher eddication spendin resultit in her bein the first Oxford-eddicatit post-war Prime Meenister nae tae be awairdit an honorar doctorate bae the Varsity o Oxford, efter a 738 tae 319 vote o the govrenin assembly an a student peteetion.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/29/newsid_2506000/2506019.stm |title=29 January 1985: Thatcher snubbed by Oxford dons |accessdate=9 April 2007 |work=On this day 1950–2005 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Some Heathite Conservatives in the Cabinet, the sae-cried "[[wets an drees|wets]]", expressed dout ower Thatcher's policies.<ref name="nft"/> The [[1981 Ingland riots]] resultit in the Breetish media discussin the need for a policy U-turn. At the 1980 Conservative Pairty conference, Thatcher addressed the issue directly, wi a speech written bi the playwricht [[Ronald Millar]]{{sfnp|Jones|Kavanagh|Moran|2007|p=224}} that included the lines: "You turn if you want to. [[The lady's not for turning]]!"<ref name="nft">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/10/newsid_2541000/2541071.stm|title=10 October 1980: Thatcher 'not for turning'|accessdate=21 December 2008|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

Thatcher's job appruival ratin fell tae 23% bi December 1980, lawer nor recordit for ony previous Prime Meenister.{{sfnp|Thornton|2006|p=18}} As the [[Early 1980s recession|recession o the early 1980s]] deepened she increased taxes,{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=31}} despite concerns expressed in a statement signed bi 364&nbsp;leadin economists issued taewart the end o Mairch 1981.<ref>{{cite news|title=An avalanche of economists|date=31 March 1981|url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/263/101/138526786w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS285575295&dyn=75!xrn_1_0_CS285575295&hst_1?sw_aep=mclib|url-access=limited|newspaper=The Times|page=17|accessdate=12 January 2011}}</ref> Bi 1982, the UK begoud tae experience signs o economic recovery;{{sfnp|Floud|Johnson|2004|p=392}} inflation wis doun tae 8.6% frae a heich o 18%, but unemployment wis ower 3&nbsp;million for the first time syne the 1930s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/26/newsid_2506000/2506335.stm|title=26 January 1982: UK unemployment tops three million|accessdate=16 April 2010|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC News|year=2008}}</ref> Bi 1983 oweraw economic growthe wis stranger an inflation an mortgage rates war at thair lawest levels syne 1970, awtho manufacturin employment as a share o tot employment fell tae juist ower 30%,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rowthorn |first1=Robert |authorlink1=Robert Rowthorn |last2=Wells |first2=John R. |title=De-Industrialization and Foreign Trade |date=12 November 1987 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |page=234 |isbn=978-0521263603}}</ref> wi tot unemployment remeenin heich, peakin at 3.3&nbsp;million in 1984.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/unemployment-among-young-workers-hits-15-per-cent-1645728.html|title=Unemployment among young workers hits 15 per cent|newspaper=The Independent|date=16 March 2009|accessdate=21 November 2010|first=Sean|last=O'Grady|archive-date=2017-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020085549/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/unemployment-among-young-workers-hits-15-per-cent-1645728.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bi 1987, unemployment wis fawin, the economy wis stable an strang an inflation wis law. Opeenion polls shawed a comfortable Conservative lead, an [[Unitit Kinrick local elections, 1987|local cooncil election]] results haed an aa been successfu, promptin Thatcher tae cry a general election for 11 Juin that year, despite the deidline for an election still bein 12 month awey. The [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1987|election]] saw Thatcher re-electit for a third successive term.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/ge87.shtml|title=BBC Politics 97|publisher=BBC|date=11 June 1987|accessdate=14 November 2011}}</ref>

====Industrial relations====
Thatcher wis committit tae reducin the pouer o the [[tred union]]s, whase leadership she accused o unnerminin pairlamentar democracy an economic performance throu strick action.{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|pp=97–98, 339–340}} Several unions lenched stricks in response tae legislation introduced tae crib thair pouer, but reseestance eventually collapsed.<ref name="thatcher-cw">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/thatcher|title=Margaret Thatcher|accessdate=29 October 2008|publisher=CNN|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703072749/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/thatcher|archivedate=3 July 2008}}</ref> Anerly 39% o union members votit for Labour in the 1983 general election.<ref>{{cite news |last=Revzin|first=Philip|title=British Labor Unions Begin to Toe the Line, Realizing That the Times Have Changed|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=23 November 1984}}</ref> The [[UK miners' strick (1984–85)|miners' strick o 1984–85]] wis the biggest confrontation atween the unions an the Thatcher govrenment.

====Privatisation====
The policy o [[privatisation]] haes been cried "a crucial ingredient o Thatcherism".{{sfnp|Seldon|Collings|2000|p=27}} Efter the 1983 election the sale o state utilities acceleratit;{{sfnp|Feigenbaum|Henig|Hamnett|1998|p=71}} maur than £29&nbsp;billion wis raised frae the sale o naitionalised industries, an anither £18&nbsp;billion frae the sale o cooncil hooses.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=428}} The process o privatisation, especially the preparation o naitionalised industries for privatisation, wis associatit wi merked impruivements in performance, pairteecularly in terms o [[wirkforce productivity|labour productivity]].<ref name=ParkerMartin>{{cite journal|last1=Parker|first1=David|last2=Martin|first2=Stephen|title=The impact of UK privatisation on labour and total factor productivity|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_scottish-journal-of-political-economy_1995-05_42_2/page/216|journal=Scottish Journal of Political Economy|volume=42|issue=2|date=May 1995|pages=216–217|ref=harv|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9485.1995.tb01154.x}}</ref>

====Northren Ireland====
In 1980 an 1981, [[Proveesional Erse Republican Airmy]] (IRA) an [[Erse Naitional Leeberation Airmy]] (INLA) preesoners in Northren Ireland's [[HM Prison Maze|Maze Prison]] cairied oot [[1981 Erse hunger strick|hunger stricks]] in an effort tae regain the status o poleetical preesoners that haed been remuived in 1976 bi the precedin Labour govrenment.<ref name="strike"/> [[Bobby Sands]] begoud the 1981 strick, sayin that he wad fest till daith unless preeson inmates wan concessions ower thair leevin condeetions.<ref name="strike">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/3/newsid_2451000/2451503.stm|title=3 October 1981: IRA Maze hunger strikes at an end|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|year=2008}}</ref> Thatcher refuised tae coontenance a return tae poleetical status for the preesoners, declarin "Crime is crime is crime; it is not political",<ref name="strike"/> but nivertheless the UK govrenment privately contactit republican leaders in a bid tae bring the hunger stricks tae an end.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article6036723.ece|url-access=limited|title=Was Gerry Adams complicit over hunger strikers?|accessdate=20 April 2009|date=5 April 2009|newspaper=The Sunday Times|last=Clarke|first=Liam|archive-date=2011-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301124629/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article6036723.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref> Efter the daiths o Sands an nine ithers, the strick endit. Some richts war restored tae paramilitar preesoners, but nae offeecial recogneetion o poleetical status.<ref name="CAIN-hs"/> Violence in Northren Ireland escalatit signeeficantly during the hunger stricks; in 1982 [[Sinn Féin]] politeecian [[Danny Morrison (Erse republican)|Danny Morrison]] descrived Thatcher as "the biggest bastard we have ever known".{{sfnp|English|2005|pp=207–208}}

Thatcher narraely escaped injury in an IRA [[Brighton hotel bombin|assassination attempt]] at a Brighton hotel early in the mornin on 12 October 1984.<ref name="bbc-bomb">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/12/newsid_2531000/2531583.stm|accessdate=29 October 2008|title=12 October 1984: Tory Cabinet in Brighton bomb blast|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|year=2008}}</ref> Five fowk war killed, includin the wife o Cabinet Meenister [[John Wakeham]]. Thatcher wis stayin at the hotel tae attend the Conservative Pairty conference, which she inseestit shoud open as scheduled the follaein day.<ref name="bbc-bomb"/> She delivered her speech as planned,{{sfnp|Thatcher|1993|pp=379–383}} awbeit rewritten frae her oreeginal draft,<ref>{{cite news |last=Travis |first=Alan |title=Thatcher was to call Labour and miners 'enemy within' in abandoned speech |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/03/thatcher-labour-miners-enemy-within-brighton-bomb |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 October 2014 |accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref> in a muive that wis widely supportit athort the poleetical spectrum an enhanced her popularity wi the public.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lanoue|first1=David J.|last2=Headrick|first2=Barbara|title=Short-Term Political Events and British Government Popularity: Direct and Indirect Effects|journal=Polity|volume=30|issue=3|date=Spring 1998|pages=423, 427, 431, 432|ref=harv|doi=10.2307/3235208}}</ref>

On 6 November 1981, Thatcher an Erse [[Taoiseach]] [[Garret FitzGerald]] haed established the Anglo-Erse Inter-Govrenmental Cooncil, a forum for meetins atween the twa govrenments.<ref name="CAIN-hs">{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm|title=The Hunger Strike of 1981&nbsp;– A Chronology of Main Events|publisher=[[CAIN]], University of Ulster|accessdate=27 January 2011|archive-date=2007-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070531003915/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 15 November 1985, Thatcher an FitzGerald signed the Hillsborough [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]], the first time a Breetish govrenment haed gien the Republic o Ireland an adveesory role in the govrenance o Northren Ireland. In protest the [[Ulster Says No]] muivement attractit 100,000 tae a rally in Belfast,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/aia/chron.htm |title=Anglo Irish Agreement Chronology |publisher=[[CAIN]], University of Ulster |accessdate=27 January 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206111841/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/aia/chron.htm |archivedate=6 December 2010 |df= }}</ref> [[Ian Gow]] resigned as [[Meenister o State]] in the [[HM Thesaury]],<ref>{{cite news|title=15 November 1985: Anglo-Irish agreement signed|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/15/newsid_2539000/2539849.stm |accessdate=4 May 2010 |work=On this day 1950–2005 |publisher=BBC |year=2008}}</ref>{{sfnp|Moloney|2002|p=336}} an aw fifteen Unionist MPs resigned thair pairlamentar seats; anerly ane wis nae returned in the subsequent [[Leet o Unitit Kinrick bi-elections (1979–2010)#1983–1987 Pairlament|bi-elections]] on 23 Januar 1986.{{sfnp|Cochrane|2001|p=143}}

===Environment===
Thatcher supported an active climate pertection policy an wis instrumental in the creaution o the [[Environmental Protection Act 1990]] an in foundin the [[Intergovrenmental Panel on Climate Chynge]] an the Breetish [[Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research]] in Exeter.<ref name=gw>{{cite web |last=Bell |first=Alice |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-green-hero |title=Greenwashing Thatcher's history does an injustice both to her and to science and technology policy |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 April 2013 |accessdate=25 August 2014}}</ref> She helped tae put climate chynge, [[acid rain]] an general pollution in the Breetish mainstream in the early 1980s,<ref name=gw/> an gained distinction as the first warld leader tae wairn o [[global wairmin]].<ref name="Booker">{{cite web |last=Booker |first=Christopher |authorlink=Christopher Booker |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/7823477/Was-Margaret-Thatcher-the-first-climate-sceptic.html |title=Was Margaret Thatcher the first climate sceptic? |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=12 June 2010 |accessdate=3 June 2017}}</ref> Her speeches includit ane tae the [[Ryal Society]] on 27 September 1988<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107346|title=Margaret Thatcher Speech to the Royal Society|date=27 September 1988|accessdate=27 April 2016|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> an tae the [[Unitit Naitions General Assembly|UN General Assembly]] in November 1989. Houever, upon her retirement as Prime Meenister in 1990, she missed the [[Earth Summit]] 1992 an acame sceptical aboot [[Politics o global wairmin|climate chynge policy]].<ref name=gw/><ref name="Booker" />

===Foreign affairs===
Thatcher's first foreign policy creesis came wi the 1979 Soviet invasion o Afghanistan. She condemned the invasion, said it shawed the bankruptcy o a [[détente]] policy, an helped convince some Breetish athletes tae boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. She gae waik support tae US Preses [[Jimmy Carter]] wha tried tae punish the USSR wi economic sanctions. Breetain's economic situation wis precarious, an maist o NATO wis reluctant tae cut tred ties.<ref>Daniel James Lahey, "The Thatcher government's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979–1980," ''Cold War History'' (2013) 13#1 pp&nbsp;21–42.</ref>

Thatcher acame closely aligned wi the [[Cauld War]] policies o US Preses [[Ronald Reagan]], based on thair shared distrust o Communism.<ref name="thatcher-cw"/> A disgreement came in 1983 when Reagan did nae consult wi her on the [[invasion o Grenada]].<ref>Gary Williams, "'A Matter of Regret': Britain, the 1983 Grenada Crisis, and the Special Relationship." ''Twentieth Century British History'' 12#2 (2001): 208–230.</ref> During her first year as Prime Meenister she supportit [[NATO]]'s deceesion tae deploy US nuclear [[BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile|cruise]] an [[Pershing II]] missiles in Wastren Europe<ref name="thatcher-cw"/> an permittit the US tae station mair nor 160&nbsp;cruise missiles at [[RAF Greenham Common]], stairtin on 14 November 1983 an triggerin mass protests bi the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]].<ref name="thatcher-cw"/> She bocht the [[Trident nuclear programme|Trident]] nuclear missile submarine seestem frae the US tae replace Polaris, triplin the UK's nuclear forces<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922079,00.html|title=Trident is go|accessdate=16 January 2011|date=28 July 1980|magazine=Time|archive-date=2013-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826001043/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922079,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> at an eventual cost o mair nor £12&nbsp;billion (at 1996–97 prices).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/uk/slbm/vanguard.htm|title=Vanguard Class Ballistic Missile Submarine|accessdate=16 January 2011|date=5 November 1999|publisher=Federation of American Scientists}}</ref>

On 2 Apryle 1982 the rulin [[Naitional Reorganisation Process|militar junta in Argentinae]] ordered the invasion o the Breetish-controlled [[Falkland Islands]] an [[Sooth Georgie an the Sooth Sandwich Islands|Sooth Georgie]], triggerin the [[Falklands War]].{{sfnp|Smith|1989|p=21}} At the suggestion o [[Harold Macmillan]] an [[Robert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong o Ilminster|Robert Armstrong]],{{sfnp|Jackling|2005|p=230}} she set up an chaired a smaw [[War cabinet#Falklands War|War Cabinet]] (formally cried ODSA, Owerseas an Defence committee, Sooth Atlantic) tae tak chairge o the conduct o the war,{{sfnp|Hastings|Jenkins|1983|pp=80–81}} which bi 5–6 Apryle haed authorised an dispatched a [[Breetish naval forces in the Falklands War|naval task force]] tae retak the islands.{{sfnp|Hastings|Jenkins|1983|p=95}} Argentinae [[Argentine surrender in the Falklands War|surrendered on 14 Juin]] an the operation wis hailed a success, naewistaundin the daiths o 255&nbsp;Breetish servicemen an 3&nbsp;Falkland Islanders. The "[[Falklands factor]]", an economic recovery beginnin early in 1982, an a bitterly dividit opposeetion aw contreibutit tae Thatcher's seicont election veectory in [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1983|1983]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sanders|first1=David|last2=Ward|first2=Hugh|last3=Marsh|first3=David|title=Government Popularity and the Falklands War: A Reassessment|journal=British Journal of Political Science|volume=17|date=July 1987 |pages=281–313|issue=3|doi=10.1017/s0007123400004762 |ref=harv}}</ref>

In September 1982 she veesitit Cheenae tae discuss wi [[Deng Xiaoping]] the [[Transfer o sovereignty ower Hong Kong|sovereignty o Hong Kong]] efter 1997. Cheenae wis the first communist state Thatcher haed veesitit an she wis the first Breetish prime meenister tae veesit Cheenae. Efter the ta-year negotiations, Thatcher concedit tae the PRC govrenment an signed the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]] in Beijing in 1984, greein tae haund ower Hong Kong's sovereignty in 1997.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=116}}

Awtho sayin that she wis in favour o "peaceful negotiations" tae end [[apartheid]],<ref>See Hansard HC Debs (25 February 1988) [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1988/feb/25/engagements#S6CV0128P0_19880225_HOC_113 vol 128 col 437] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319104336/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1988/feb/25/engagements#S6CV0128P0_19880225_HOC_113 |date=2016-03-19 }} and Written Answers HC Deb (11 July 1988) [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1988/jul/11/south-africa#S6CV0137P0_19880711_CWA_21 vol 137 cols 3-4W] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630103039/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1988/jul/11/south-africa#S6CV0137P0_19880711_CWA_21 |date=2017-06-30 }}</ref> Thatcher stuid against the sanctions imponed on Sooth Africae bi the [[Commonweel o Naitions|Commonweel]] an the [[European Economic Commonty|EC]].{{sfnp|Campbell|2011|p=322}} Thatcher dismissed the [[African Naitional Congress]] (ANC) in October 1987 as "a typical terrorist organisation".<ref>See Mr Winnick, Hansard HC Deb (13 November 1987) vol 122 [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1987/nov/13/the-commonwealth-and-south-africa#S6CV0122P0_19871113_HOC_85 col 701] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034325/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1987/nov/13/the-commonwealth-and-south-africa#S6CV0122P0_19871113_HOC_85 |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Howe|1994|pp=477–478}}

The Thatcher govrenment supportit the [[Khmer Rouge]] keepin thair seat in the UN efter thay war oostit frae pouer in Cambodie bi the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]]. Awtho Thatcher denied it at the time, it wis revealed in 1991 that frae 1983 the [[Special Air Service|SAS]] wis sent tae saicretly train the "non-Communist" members o the [[Coaleetion Govrenment o Democratic Kampuchea|CGDK]] tae fecht against the Vietnamese-backed [[Fowkrepublic o Kampuchea]] govrenment.<ref>{{cite Hansard|house=House of Commons|date=26 October 1990|column_start=655|column_end=667|title=Cambodia|url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198990/cmhansrd/1990-10-26/Debate-3.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Observer|title=Butcher of Cambodia set to expose Thatcher's role|date=9 January 2000|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/09/cambodia|accessdate=26 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=newst>{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2014/04/how-thatcher-gave-pol-pot-hand|title=How Thatcher gave Pol Pot a hand|date=17 April 2000|first=John|last=Pilger|authorlink=John Pilger|work=[[New Statesman]]}}</ref>

Thatcher an her pairty haed supportit Breetish membership o the EC in the [[Unitit Kinrick European Communities membership referendum, 1975|1975 naitional referendum]],<ref name="upi19750604">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M7QsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lQoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2825%2C608551|title=Conservatives favor remaining in market|work=Wilmington Morning Star|date=4 June 1975|agency=United Press International|accessdate=26 December 2011|page=5}}</ref> but she believed that the role o the organisation shoud be leemitit tae ensurin free tred an effective competeetion, an feared that the EC's approach wis at odds wi her views on smawer govrenment an deregulation.{{sfnp|Senden|2004|p=9}}

Thatcher wis ane o the first Wastren leaders tae respond wairmly tae reformist Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]. Follaein Reagan–Gorbachev summit meetins an reforms enactit bi Gorbachev in the USSR, she declared in November 1988 that "We're not in a Cold War now", but raither in a "new relationship much wider than the Cold War ever was".<ref name="reforms1988">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2DC1738F93BA25752C1A96E948260 |title=Gorbachev Policy Has Ended The Cold War, Thatcher Says|date=18 November 1988|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=30 October 2008}}</ref>

===Challenges tae leadership an resignation===
Thatcher wis challenged for the leadership o the Conservative Pairty bi the little-kent backbench MP [[Sir Anthony Meyer, 3rd Baronet|Sir Anthony Meyer]] in the 1989 leadership election.<ref name="89election">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/5/newsid_2528000/2528339.stm|accessdate=1 November 2008|title=5 December 1989: Thatcher beats off leadership rival|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|year=2008}}</ref> O the 374&nbsp;Conservative MPs eligible tae vote, 314 votit for Thatcher an 33 for Meyer.<ref name="89election"/> Her supporters in the pairty viewed the result as a success, an rejectit suggestions that thare wis discontent within the pairty.<ref name="89election"/>

Opeenion polls in September 1990 reportit that Labour haed established a 14% lead ower the Conservatives,<ref name="howe"/> an bi November the Conservatives haed been trailin Labour for 18&nbsp;months.<ref name="ridley">{{cite news|last=Ridley|first=Matt|title=Et Tu, Heseltine?; Unpopularity Was a Grievous Fault, and Thatcher Hath Answered for It|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=25 November 1990|page=2}}</ref> Thir ratins, thegither wi Thatcher's combative personality an willinness tae owerride colleagues' opeenions, contreibuted tae discontent within her pairty.<ref name="resign-nyt"/> On 1 November 1990, [[Geoffrey Howe]], the last remeenin member o Thatcher's oreeginal 1979 cabinet, resigned frae his poseetion as [[Depute Prime Meenister o the Unitit Kinrick|Depute Prime Meenister]] ower her refuisal tae gree tae a timetable for Breetain tae jyn the [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism]].<ref name="howe">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/1/newsid_2513000/2513953.stm|accessdate=1 November 2008|title=1 November 1990: Howe resigns over Europe policy|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|year=2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Millership|first=Peter|title= Thatcher's Deputy Quits in Row over Europe |agency=Reuters News|date=1 November 1990}}</ref> His resignation pruived fatal tae Thatcher's premiership.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Walters|first1=Alan|title=Sir Geoffrey Howe's resignation was fatal blow in Mrs Thatcher's political assassination|newspaper=The Times|date=5 December 1990}}</ref>

On 14 November, [[Michael Heseltine]] moontit a challenge for the leadership o the Conservative Pairty.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=473}} Opeenion polls haed indicatit that he wad gie the Conservatives a naitional lead ower Labour.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Lipsey |title=Poll swing followed downturn by Tories; Conservative Party leadership |newspaper=The Times |date=21 November 1990}}</ref> Awtho Thatcher wan the first ballot wi 204 tae 152 votes an 16 abstentions, Heseltine haed attractit sufficient support tae force a seicont ballot. Unner pairty rules, Thatcher nae anerly needit tae win a majority, but her margin ower Heseltine haed tae be equivalent tae 15% o the 372 Conservative MPs in order tae win the leadership election ootricht; wi 54.8% against 40.9% for Heseltine, she came up fower votes short.<ref name="number-10">{{cite web|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/past-prime-ministers/margaret-thatcher|title=Margaret Thatcher profile|accessdate=6 August 2012}}</ref> Thatcher ineetially statit that she intendit to "fight on and fight to win" the seicont ballot, but consultation wi her Cabinet persuadit her tae widraw.<ref name="resign-nyt">{{cite news |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6DB1438F930A15752C1A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title=Change in Britain; Thatcher Says She'll Quit; 11½ Years as Prime Minister Ended by Party Challenge|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=23 November 1990|newspaper=The New York Times|last=Whitney|first=Craig R.}}</ref><ref name="resign-bbc">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2549000/2549189.stm|title=22 November 1990: Thatcher quits as prime minister|accessdate=1 November 2008|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|year=2008}}</ref> Efter an audience wi the Queen, cryin ither warld leaders, an makkin ane feenal Commons speech,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108256 |title=HC S: [Confidence in Her Majesty's Government] |date=22 November 1990 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |accessdate=21 March 2017}}</ref> she left Downing Street in tears. She reportitly regairdit her oustin as a betrayal.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=474}}

Her resignation surprised internaitional observers includin [[Henry Kissinger]] an [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/30/margaret-thatcher-resignation-shocked-us-ussr-files|title=Margaret Thatcher's resignation shocked politicians in US and USSR, files show|last=Travis|first=Alan|date=30 December 2016|work=The Guardian|accessdate=30 December 2016}}</ref> Thatcher wis replaced as Prime Meenister an pairty leader bi her Chancellor [[John Major]], wha prevailed ower Heseltine in the subsequent ballot. Major owersaw an upturn in Conservative support in the 17&nbsp;months leadin up tae the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 1992|1992 general election]] an led the Conservatives tae thair fowert successive veectory on 9 Apryle 1992.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/apr/04/electionspast.past3|title=Pollsters taxed|work=The Guardian|date=4 April 2005|accessdate=23 January 2011|last=Kettle|first=Martin}}</ref> Thatcher haed favoured Major ower Heseltine in the leadership contest, but her support for him waikened in later years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/463873.stm|title=Major attacks 'warrior' Thatcher|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=3 October 1999|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

==Later life==
Thatcher returned tae the [[backbenches]] as a constituency pairlamentarian efter leavin the premiership.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=118}} Her domestic appruival ratin recovered efter her resignation; the balance o public opeenion wis that her govrenment haed been guid for the kintra.<ref name="Crewe">{{cite journal |last=Crewe |first=Ivor |authorlink=Ivor Crewe |title=Margaret Thatcher: As the British Saw Her |url=https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-perspective/ppscan/22/22015.pdf |journal=The Public Perspective |accessdate=1 March 2017 |date=January 1991 |pages=15, 16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Margaret Thatcher (1925&ndash;2013) |url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013 |publisher=[[Ipsos MORI]] |date=8 April 2013 |accessdate=25 May 2017 |quote=At the time of her resignation in November 1990, 52% of the public said that they thought her government had been good for the country and 40% that it had been bad. |archive-date=2017-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722003205/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Aged 66, she retired frae the Hoose at the 1992 general election, sayin that leavin the Commons wad allae her mair freedom tae speak her mynd.<ref name="lords">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_2523000/2523395.stm|title=30 June 1992: Thatcher takes her place in Lords|accessdate=1 November 2008|work=On this day 1950–2005|publisher=BBC|year=2008}}</ref>

===Post-Commons: 1992–2003===
Upon leavin the Hoose o Commons, Thatcher acame the first umwhile Prime Meenister tae set up a foondation;<ref>{{cite web|title=Thatcher Archive|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/archive/thatcher-archive.asp|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|accessdate=26 August 2013}}</ref> the Breetish weeng o the Margaret Thatcher Foundation wis dissolved in 2005 acause o financial difficulties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/11/conservatives.politics|title=End of an era for Thatcher foundation|last=Barkham|first=Patrick|date=11 May 2005|work=The Guardian|accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> She wrote twa volumes o memoirs, ''[[The Downing Street Years]]'' (1993) an ''[[The Path to Power (Margaret Thatcher)|The Path to Power]]'' (1995). In 1991 she an her husband Denis muived tae a hoose in [[Chester Square]], a residential gairden square in central Lunnon's [[Belgravia]] destrict.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-estate-family-secret|title=Margaret Thatcher's estate still a family secret|date=9 April 2013|accessdate=14 April 2013|last=Taylor|first=Matthew|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Thatcher wis hired bi the tobaccae company [[Altria|Philip Morris]] as a "geopoleetical consultant" in Julie 1992, for $250,000 per year an an annual contreibution o $250,000 tae her foondation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tobacco Company Hires Margaret Thatcher as Consultant |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-19/news/mn-4763_1_margaret-thatcher |accessdate=25 May 2017 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=19 July 1992}}</ref>

In August 1992 she cried for NATO tae stap the Serbie assault on [[Goražde]] an [[Sarajevo]] tae end [[ethnic cleansin]] during the [[Bosnie War]]. She made a series o speeches in the Lairds creeticisin the [[Maastricht Treaty]],<ref name="lords"/> describing it as "a treaty too far" an statit: "I could never have signed this treaty."<ref>{{cite web|title=House of Lords European Communities (Amendment) Bill Speech|date=7 June 1993|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108314|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|accessdate=9 April 2007}}</ref> She citit [[A. V. Dicey]] when statin that as aw three main pairties war in favour o the treaty, the fowk shoud hae thair say in a referendum.<ref>{{cite web|title=House of Commons European Community debate|date=20 November 1991|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108291|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|accessdate=9 April 2007}}</ref> Rfter [[Tony Blair]]'s [[Labour Pairty (UK) leadership election, 1994|election as Labour Pairty leader]] in 1994, Thatcher praised Blair  as "probably the most formidable [[Leader o the Labour Pairty (UK)|Labour leader]] since [[Hugh Gaitskell]]", addin: "I see a lot of socialism behind their front bench, but not in Mr Blair. I think he genuinely has moved."<ref>{{cite news|last=Castle|first=Stephen|title=Thatcher praises 'formidable' Blair|newspaper=The Independent|date=28 May 1995}}</ref> Blair reciprocated in describing Thatcher as a "thoroughly determined person, and that is an admirable quality".<ref>{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Robert |title=Thatcher seen closer to Blair than Major |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gaZNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s0MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6603%2C5897694 |newspaper=[[The Nation (Thailand)|The Nation]] |date=15 March 1997 |accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref>

At the [[Unitit Kinrick general election, 2001|2001 general election]], Thatcher supportit the Conservative campaign, as she haed done in 1992 an 1997, an in the [[Conservative Pairty (UK) leadership election, 2001|Conservative leadership election]] follaein its defeat, she endorsed [[Iain Duncan Smith]] ower [[Kenneth Clarke]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Letter supporting Iain Duncan Smith for the Conservative leadership published in the ''Daily Telegraph''|date=21 August 2001|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108390|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|accessdate=9 April 2007}}</ref> In 2002 she encouraged [[George W. Bush]] tae aggressively tackle the "unfinished business" o [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq unner Saddam Hussein]],<ref name="Thatcher NYT">{{cite news|last=Thatcher|first=Margaret|date=11 February 2002|title=Advice to a Superpower|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/opinion/11THAT.html|website=The New York Times|accessdate=11 October 2015 }}</ref> an praised Tony Blair for his "strong, bold leadership" in staundin wi Bush in the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="Thatcher Blair Iraq">{{cite web|last=Harnden|first=Toby|date=11 December 2002|title=Thatcher praises Blair for standing firm with US on Iraq|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1415788/Thatcher-praises-Blair-for-standing-firm-with-US-on-Iraq.html|website=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=11 October 2015}}</ref>

She broached the same subject in her ''[[Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World]]'', which wis published in Apryle 2002 an dedicatit tae [[Ronald Reagan]], writin that thare wad be na peace in the Middle East till [[Saddam Hussein]] wis toppled. Her beuk an aa said that Israel must tred [[laund for peace]], an that the European Union (EU) wis "fundamentally unreformable", "a classic utopian project, a monument to the vanity of intellectuals, a programme whose inevitable destiny is failure".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Glover|first1=Peter C.|last2=Economides|first2=Michael J.|title=Energy and Climate Wars: How Naive Politicians, Green Ideologues, and Media Elites are Undermining the Truth about Energy and Climate|date=16 September 2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=1-4411-5307-1|page=20}}</ref> She argued that Breetain shoud renegotiate its terms o membership or ense [[Brexit|leave the EU]] an jyn the [[North American Free Trade Agreement|North American Free Trade Area]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/mar/18/uk.eu|title=Britain must quit EU, says Thatcher|last=Wintour|first=Patrick|date=18 March 2002|work=The Guardian|accessdate=8 May 2014}}</ref>

Follaein several smaw strokes she wis advised bi her doctors nae tae engage in further public speakin.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Statement from the office of the Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher LG OM FRS|publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|date=22 March 2002|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=109305|accessdate=9 November 2008}}</ref> On 23 Mairch 2002, she annoonced that on the advice o her doctors she wad cancel aw planned speakin engagements an accept na mair.{{sfnp|Campbell|2003|pp=796–798}}

On 26 Juin 2003, Thatcher's husband [[Denis Thatcher|Sir Denis]] dee'd o [[pancreatic cancer]], an wis crematit on 3 Julie.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3041546.stm|title=Lady Thatcher bids Denis farewell|accessdate=20 January 2011|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

===Feenal years: 2003–2013===
On 11 Juin 2004, Thatcher, against doctor's orders, attendit the [[Daith an state funeral o Ronald Reagan|state funeral service for Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Thatcher: 'Reagan's life was providential'|publisher=CNN|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=11 June 2004|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/11/thatcher.transcript|archive-date=2017-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109022946/http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/11/thatcher.transcript/|url-status=dead}}</ref> She delivered her eulogy via videotape; in view o her heal, the message haed been pre-recordit several months earlier.<ref>{{cite news|title=Thatcher's final visit to Reagan|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=10 June 2004|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3793565.stm|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Russell|first1=Alec|last2=Sparrow|first2=Andrew|title=Thatcher's taped eulogy at Reagan funeral|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1463874/Thatchers-taped-eulogy-at-Reagan-funeral.html|accessdate=18 July 2016|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=7 June 2004}}</ref> Thatcher flew tae [[Californie]] wi the Reagan entourage, an attendit the memorial service an interment ceremony for the preses at the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3800315.stm|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=12 June 2004|title=Private burial for Ronald Reagan|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> In early 2005 Thatcher creeticised the wey the deceesion tae [[2003 invasion o Iraq|invade Iraq]] haed been made twa years previously. Awtho she still supportit the intervention tae topple Saddam Hussein, she said that as a scientist, she wad ayeweys leuk for "facts, evidence and proof", afore committin the airmed forces.<ref name="grice">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thatcher-reveals-her-doubts-over-basis-for-iraq-war-319542.html|title=Thatcher reveals her doubts over basis for Iraq war|last=Grice|first=Andrew|date=13 October 2005|work=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=22 September 2016|archive-date=2017-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731040334/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thatcher-reveals-her-doubts-over-basis-for-iraq-war-319542.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Thatcher celebratit her 80t birthday at the [[Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Lunnon|Mandarin Oriental Hotel]] in [[Hyde Park, Lunnon|Hyde Park]], Lunnon, on 13 October 2005; guests includit the Queen, the [[Prince Philip, Duke o Edinburgh|Duke o Edinburgh]], [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]] an Tony Blair.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4329132.stm|title=Thatcher marks 80th with a speech|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=13 October 2005|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> [[Geoffrey Howe]], bi then Laird Howe o Aberavon, wis an aa present, an said o his umwhile leader: "Her real triumph was to have transformed not just one party but two, so that when Labour did eventually return, the great bulk of Thatcherism was accepted as irreversible."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4337404.stm|accessdate=1 November 2008|date=13 October 2005|title=Birthday tributes to Thatcher|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Accordin tae a later airticle in ''The Daily Telegraph'', Thatcher's dauchter Carol first revealed that her mither haed [[dementia]] in 2005, sayin that "Mum doesn't read much any more because of her memory loss&nbsp;... It's pointless. She can't remember the beginning of a sentence by the time she reaches the end".<ref name=Langley>{{cite news|last=Langley|first=William|title=Carol Thatcher, daughter of the revolution|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html|accessdate=11 February 2013|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=30 August 2008}}</ref> She later recoontit hou she wis first struck bi her mither's dementia when in conversation Thatcher confuised the Falklands an Yugoslav conflicts; she recried the pyne o needin tae tell her mither repeatitly that her husband Denis wis deid.<ref name="dem-cbs">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/25/health/main4380977.shtml|title=Book Recounts Margaret Thatcher's Decline|accessdate=20 November 2008|date=25 August 2008|publisher=CBS|agency=Associated Press|last=Satter|first=Raphael G.}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2006, Thatcher attendit the offeecial Washington, D.C. memorial service tae commemorate the fift anniversary o the [[September 11 attacks|11 September attacks]] on the US. She wis a guest o Vice Preses [[Dick Cheney]], an met Secretar o State [[Condoleezza Rice]] during her veesit.<ref>{{cite web|title=9/11 Remembrance Honors Victims from More Than 90 Countries|accessdate=1 November 2008|publisher=United States Department of State|date=11 September 2006|url=http://montevideo.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/2006/06-334EN.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922193936/http://montevideo.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/2006/06-334EN.shtml|archivedate=22 September 2006}}</ref> In Februar 2007 Thatcher acame the first [[Leevin Prime Meenisters o the Unitit Kinrick|leevin Breetish prime meenister]] tae be honoured wi a [[Statue o Margaret Thatcher, Palace o Wastmeenster|statue in the Hooses o Pairlament]]. The bronze statue staunds opposite that o her poleetical hero, [[Statue o Winston Churchill, Palace o Wastmeenster|Sir Winston Churchill's]],<ref name="bronze"/> an wis unveiled on 21 Februar 2007 wi Thatcher in attendance; she made brief remerks in the [[Members' Lobby]] o the Commons: "I might have preferred iron{{snd}}but bronze will do&nbsp;... It won't rust."<ref name="bronze">{{cite news|date=21 February 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6384029.stm|title=Iron Lady is honoured in bronze|accessdate=9 April 2007|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

===Daith an funeral: 2013===
Baroness Thatcher dee'd on 8 Apryle 2013, at the age o 87, efter sufferin a stroke. She haed been stayin at a suite in [[The Ritz Hotel, London|the Ritz Hotel]] in Lunnon syne December 2012 efter haein difficulty wi stairs at her [[Chester Square]] hame in [[Belgravia]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Swinford|first=Steven|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980269/Margaret-Thatcher-final-moments-in-hotel-without-her-family-by-her-bedside.html|title=Margaret Thatcher: final moments in hotel without her family by her bedside|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 April 2013}}</ref> Reactions tae the news o Thatcher's daith]] war mixed in the UK, rangin frae tributes laudin her as Breetain's greatest-ever peacetime Prime Meenister tae public celebrations o her daith an expressions o personalised vitriol.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Burns|first1=John F.|last2=Cowell|first2=Alan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/world/europe/british-lawmakers-margaret-thatcher-legacy.html|url-access=limited|title=Parliament Debates Thatcher Legacy, as Vitriol Flows Online and in Streets|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 April 2013|accessdate=25 April 2013}}</ref>

Details o Thatcher's funeral haed been greed wi her in advance.<ref name="Independent, 12 April 2013">{{cite news|last=Wright|first=Oliver|title=Funeral will be a 'ceremonial' service in line with Baroness Thatcher's wishes|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/funeral-will-be-a-ceremonial-service-in-line-with-baroness-thatchers-wishes-8565093.html|accessdate=12 April 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=8 April 2013}}</ref> She received a [[State funerals in the Unitit Kinrick|ceremonial funeral]], includin full militar honours, wi a kirk service at [[St Paul's Cathedral]] on 17 Apryle.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155|title=Ex-Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher dies, aged 87|accessdate=8 April 2013|date=8 April 2013|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="BBC News, 9 April 2013">{{cite news|title=Margaret Thatcher funeral set for next week|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079749|accessdate=9 April 2013|publisher=BBC News|date=9 April 2013}}</ref> Queen Elizabeth II an the Duke o Edinburgh attendit her funeral,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22177366|title=Margaret Thatcher: Queen leads mourners at funeral|publisher=BBC News|date=17 April 2013|accessdate=4 May 2013}}</ref> the seicont time in the Queen's reign that she haed attendit the funeral o ony o [[Leet o Prime Meenisters o Queen Elizabeth II|her umwhile Prime Meenisters]] (the first bein that o [[Winston Churchill]] in 1965).<ref>{{cite news|last=Davies|first=Caroline|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/10/queen-decision-lady-thatcher-funeral|title=Queen made personal decision to attend Lady Thatcher's funeral|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 April 2013|accessdate=3 May 2013}}</ref>

Efter the service at St Paul's Cathedral, Thatcher's bouk wis crematit at [[Mortlake Crematorium]], whaur her husband haed been crematit. On 28 September a service for Thatcher wis held in the Aw Saunts Chapel o the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]]'s Margaret Thatcher Infirmary. In a private ceremony Thatcher's ess war interred in the grunds o the hospital, next tae thae o her husband.<ref name=Telegraph-20130913>{{cite news|title=Baroness Thatcher's ashes laid to rest|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10341402/Baroness-Thatchers-ashes-laid-to-rest.html|accessdate=28 September 2013 |newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 September 2013}}</ref><ref name=BBC-intere>{{cite news|title=Margaret Thatcher's ashes laid to rest at Royal Hospital Chelsea|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24316701|accessdate=28 September 2013|publisher=BBC News|date=28 September 2013}}</ref>

==Notes==
<references group="nb"/>

==See forby==
* [[Sermon on the Mound]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliografie===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |title=Margaret Thatcher |url=https://archive.org/details/thatcher0000beck |first=Clare |last=Beckett |publisher=Haus Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-904950-71-4 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady |last=Blundell |first=John |publisher=Algora |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-87586-630-7 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Margaret Thatcher; Volume One: The Grocer's Daughter |first=John |last=Campbell |publisher=Pimlico |year=2000 |isbn=0-7126-7418-7 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979–2001|first=Earl Aaron|last=Reitan |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2003 |isbn=0-7425-2203-2 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage |url=https://archive.org/details/ronaldreaganmarg00waps_0 |first=Nicholas |last=Wapshott |publisher=Sentinel |year=2007 |isbn=1-59523-047-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=The Path to Power |url=https://archive.org/details/pathtopower0000that |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-00-638753-4 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last=Beckett |first=Andy |title=When the Lights Went Out; Britain in the Seventies |url=https://archive.org/details/whenlightswentou0000andy |year=2010 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-22137-0 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=The Queen and Di: The Untold Story |url=https://archive.org/details/queendiuntoldsto00sewa |first=Ingrid |last=Seward |publisher=Arcade Publishing |year=2001  |isbn=1-55970-561-2 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=The Downing Street Years |url=https://archive.org/details/downingstreetyea0000that_o3q4 |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1993 |isbn=0-00-255354-6 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Britain since 1945: a political history|first=David |last=Childs |edition=6th |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-39326-3 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Politics UK |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsuk0000unse |last1=Jones |first1=Bill |last2=Kavanagh |first2=Dennis |last3=Moran |first3=Michael |publisher=Longman|edition=6 |chapter=Media organisations and the political process |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4058-2411-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last=Thornton|first=Richard C. |title=The Reagan Revolution II: Rebuilding the Western Alliance |year=2006 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1-4120-1356-7 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Floud |first1=Roderick |last2=Johnson |first2=Paul |title=The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain, Volume 3 |year=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52738-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Britain Under Thatcher |url=https://archive.org/details/britainunderthat0000seld |first1=Anthony |last1=Seldon |authorlink=Anthony Seldon |first2=Daniel |last2=Collings |publisher=Longman |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-582-31714-7 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Feigenbaum |first1=Harvey |last2=Henig |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Hamnett |first3=Chris |title=Shrinking the State: The Political Underpinnings of Privatization |year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-63918-7 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=[[A History of Modern Britain]] |first=Andrew |last=Marr |authorlink=Andrew Marr |publisher=Pan |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-330-43983-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA |first=Richard |last=English|isbn=978-0-19-517753-4 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last=Moloney|first=Ed|title=A Secret History of the IRA|url=https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryofi00molo|year=2002|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=0-393-32502-4 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last=Cochrane |first=Feargal |title=Unionist Politics and the Politics of Unionism Since the Anglo-Irish Agreement |url=https://archive.org/details/unionistpolitics0000coch |year=2001 |publisher=Cork University Press |isbn=1-85918-259-3 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Battles of the Falklands War |first=Gordon |last=Smith |publisher=I. Allan |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-7110-1792-4 |url=http://www.naval-history.net/NAVAL1982FALKLANDS.htm |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last=Jackling |first=Roger |contribution=The Impact of the Falklands Conflict on Defence Policy |authorlink=Roger Jackling |editor1-last=Badsey |editor1-first=Stephen |editor2-last=Grove |editor2-first=Mark |editor3-last=Havers |editor3-first=Rob |title=The Falklands Conflict Twenty Years On: Lessons for the Future (Sandhurst Conference Series) |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-35030-3 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Battle for the Falklands |url=https://archive.org/details/battleforfalklan0000hast |first1=Max |last1=Hastings |first2=Simon |last2=Jenkins |authorlink1=Max Hastings |authorlink2=Simon Jenkins |publisher=Norton |year=1983 |isbn=0-393-30198-2 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Conflict of Loyalty |url=https://archive.org/details/conflictofloyalt0000howe |authorlink=Geoffrey Howe |first=Geoffrey |last=Howe |publisher=Macmillan |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-333-59283-0 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Soft Law in European Community Law |url=https://archive.org/details/nlsiu.341.2422.sen.21081 |first=Linda |last=Senden |publisher=Hart Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=1-84113-432-5 |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

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