Margaret thatcher – the first female prime minister of britain

Mid term assignment Subject Introduction to British and American Studies Topic Margaret Thatcher – The first female prime minister of Britain Table of Contents II BIOGRAPHY OF MARGARET THATCHER 4 III POLITICAL CAREER 4 1 Political beginning 4 2 Rise to Prominence Power 5 3 Second Term, Third Term Economic Changes 6 4 Later Years 7 IV THATCHERISM 7 1 Definition 7 2 Effects of Thatcherism 7 2 1 Economic recovery 7 2 2 Cold war 7 2 3 Promote privatization 8 2 4 Transforming the City of London 8.

Mid-term assignment Subject: Introduction to British and American Studies

Topic: Margaret Thatcher – The first female prime minister of Britain

Table of Contents II BIOGRAPHY OF MARGARET THATCHER 4

III POLITICAL CAREER 4

1 Political beginning 4

2 Rise to Prominence & Power 5

3 Second Term, Third Term & Economic Changes 6

4 Later Years 7

IV.THATCHERISM 7

1 Definition 7

2 Effects of Thatcherism 7

2.1 Economic recovery 7

2.2 Cold war 7

2.3 Promote privatization 8

2.4 Transforming the City of London 8

2.5 New style of politic - shattering the postwar political consensus 8

2.6 The revolution in home ownership 9

2.7 A diminished role for trades unions 9

2.8 The decline of the north 9

2.9 Poll tax 10

V Conclusion 10

Reference 10

HỌC VIỆN NGOẠI GIAO KHOA TIẾNG ANH

Mid - term assignment

Introduction to British and American Studies Topic: Margaret Thatcher reputation and disrepute

Lecturer : Ms Nguyen Thi Mai Phuong Student : Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam Class : TA47A2

Student – id : TA47A1-0445

Lang son, day 08, month 10, year 2021

I INTRODUCTION

Margaret Thatcher was Britain’s first female prime minister who held the office from

1979 to 1990 She was also a leader of the British ‘Conservative Party.’ She won three consecutive terms of office in two decades, and became the only British prime minister in the twentieth century to do so One of the most influential prime ministers of Britain, Thatcher was also the most debated stateswoman of the century, earning both respect and hatred from the

public, particularly for her treatment of trade unions She transformed the ‘Conservative Party’ into one of the most successful political parties in Britain She earned the nickname ‘Iron Lady’ because of her leadership style and radical ideologies, which came to be known as ‘Thatcherism.’ Her journey from being a humble grocer’s daughter to winning the position of secretary of state for education and science is an inspiring one Following her appointment as the prime minister, she introduced a new wave of economic initiatives Margaret Thatcher was a woman of staunch values who brought about radical changes, even though her ideas were constantly under siege She strode British politics with great astuteness and had the knack of making the most of opportunities, a trait which made her the most admired, yet controversial leader of the UK

II BIOGRAPHY OF MARGARET THATCHER

Margaret Thatcher, in full Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven,

née Margaret Hilda Roberts, (born October 13, 1925, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England—died

April 8, 2013, London), British Conservative Party politician and prime minister (1979–90), Europe’s first woman prime minister She is the most renowned British political leader since Winston Churchill

Her father was a local politician who owned a grocery store just below the family's apartment After graduating from Oxford University in 1947, he was a British politician, lawyer and chemist She was leader of the British Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990 and the first

woman to lead a major Western democratic party She won three consecutive General Elections and served as Prime Minister for eleven years (1979-1990), the longest in British history since

1827 after William Gladstone Dubbed the Iron Lady, during her tenure, she reshaped almost every aspect of British politics, breathing life into the economy and restructuring unflectable institutions She challenges and attempts to change the mentality of the recession that has taken root in Britain since the end of World War II, pursuing the nation's recovery with iron

determination

Margaret Thatcher is considered one of the most influential politicians in contemporary

determination

Margaret Thatcher is considered one of the most influential politician’s history She was elected the fourth greatest British prime minister of the 20th century in the MORI/University of Leeds poll with the participation of 139 academics; In 2015, in an election held by financial services company Scottish Widows, she was voted the most influential woman of the past 200 years;

III POLITICAL CAREER

1 Political beginning

In 1945, the UK's first post-war election resulted in a shock win not for Winston Churchill' conservatives but for the left-Wing Labor party of Clement Atlee the labourlabor landslide completely untended Britain in his six years in power Ackley created the national health service- the welfare state And what became as the post-war settlement an unspoken agreement between the parties that the state needed to interfere in the economy Naturally Thatcher hated this.

In the 1970s, Britain was on the world's worst roller coaster It was a decade when Britain teetered on the verge of bankruptcy when powerful unions called strikes that paralyzed the country.

Thatcher first stood for Parliament in 1950, and became a Conservative contender for the ‘Dartford Labor Party’ seat She managed to grab the attention of the media as she was the youngest representative and the only female candidate at the time.

In 1952, funded by her husband, she studied law and qualified as a barrister in 1953 She won her first election campaign in 1959, winning the seat of Finchley in London, a position she held until her retirement in 1992.

She rapidly rose within the ranks of the ‘Conservative Party,’ holding a variety of positions before entering the ‘Shadow Cabinet’ in 1967.

In 1970, as the Minister for Education, Margaret Thatcher advocated a hike in the education budget, and the creation of more schools She attracted a lot of negative publicity for her impulsive actions Frustrated with the then Prime Minister Edward Heath and his contrasting ideas, she ironically declared, “I don’t think there will be a woman prime minister in my lifetime” in 1973.

2 Rise to Prominence & Power

The ‘Conservative Party’ lost power in 1974, and she soon became a dominant force

in the political arena.

She got elected as leader of the ‘Conservative Party’ in 1975, becoming the first woman to serve as the opposition leader in the ‘House of Commons.’ She was finally appointed as the prime minister on May 4, 1979, defeating the opposition party which was unpopular and divided.

Britain’s economy in 1979 was in dire financial crisis and Thatcher’s first term in office saw her adopting a new economic theory known as ‘Monetarism.’ During this time, she also changed government regulations on business and subsidies, resulting in business failures, higher unemployment, and mounting inflation She countered this problem with a change in taxation policies and money circulation, which reduced inflation levels, silencing public and economic opposition.

At the beginning of the 1980s, the Thatcher government slowly began to gain popularity after their success in the ‘Falklands War.’ In April 1982 Thatcher directed the British island to victory, which boosted her government’s popularity The success of the

‘Falklands War’ led to a victory for the Conservatives They won by a large majority during the 1982 ‘General Elections.’

After the re-election in 1983, the Conservative majority grew, and she continued to enact her economic policies This time, she welcomed the period of ‘popular capitalism’ and introduced a sweeping drive of denationalizing state monopolies related to telephones, airports, steel, and oil.

Margaret Thatcher and her government were best identified with a set of policies, practices, and ideals known as ‘Thatcherism.’ This belief system was founded on the basis of competition, privatization, self-reliance, and clamps-down on trade unions.

In 1984, the miners protested the closure of ‘uneconomic pits,’ and refused to work While handling the problem, which came to be known as ‘The Miners’ Strike,’ Thatcher forced the miners back to work with no allowances During this period, she also reduced social service expenses and expressed her dislike towards the growing ‘European Union Federalism,’ which closely became associated with ‘Thatcherism.’

3 Second Term, Third Term & Economic Changes

During her second term as prime minister (1983 to 1987), Thatcher handled a number of conflicts and crises, the most important one being the assassination attempt against her in 1984 Fearless and unharmed, she went ahead with a ‘Conservative Conference’ that was due to be held on the same day, and delivered her speech.

In 1984, she signed a treaty with the Chinese government regarding the future of Hong Kong.

In 1986, she voiced her support for Ronald Reagan’s air raids on Libya and allowed the U.S military to use British bases to launch their attacks It is believed that during this time, America and Britain became very close allies and that Thatcher was largely instrumental in forging an important relationship with the USA.

Elected for a third term in 1987, she sought to implement a standard scholastic curriculum across the country, and tried to initiate a socialized medical system However, she lost a lot of political support in the process.

During her tenure as the prime minister for the third term, she introduced a series of new policies and changes in the revenue system She also replaced the local government taxes with ‘Poll Tax’ and replaced residential tax policies with ‘head tax,’ leading to an economic imbalance and dissention within her party.

As a result of these extensive policies, the prime minister’s popularity declined in

1989, and economic unrest started to mount However, she remained unfazed with the negative publicity and the widespread opposition that she received due to her decisions She continued implementing her ideas and refused to compromise on tax and labor laws Several protests were held at ‘Trafalgar Square’ and a number of riots ensued.

4 Later Years

With the economic condition worsening, the Cabinet persuaded her to resign, despite her winning four more votes than Michael Heseltine Nevertheless, she was four votes short

of absolute victory, and she finally resigned on November 28, 1990, sensing a conspiracy against her She was replaced by her Chancellor John Major after the 1992 ‘General Elections.’

IV.THATCHERISM

1 Definition

Margaret Thatcher revised Britain’s economy, implemented tax policies, and subdued trade unions by way of ‘Thatcherism,’ her own political philosophy As a specific phenomenon, Thatcherism is best explained by reference to its ideological, economic and political aspects although, as Peter Taylor observes, "It is fundamentally a set of political actions They are, no doubt, responses to economic circumstances and their collective motives may be designated in ideological terms, but at the heart of Thatcherism is an attempt to restructure political relations.

Thatcherism had three overriding objectives: "To restore the political fortunes of the Conservative Party, to revive market liberalism as the dominant public philosophy and to create the conditions for a free economy by limiting the scope oif the state while restoring its authority to act" Its project was to Centre the free market at the heart of economic activity.

2 Effects of Thatcherism

2.1 Positive impacts

2.1 1 Eeconomic recovery

The Prime Minister Thatcher era was very stressful: the country was in an economic and social crisis The share of British industry in the world economy fell to a quarter after the Second World War Businesses suffered losses, wages dropped significantly And entrepreneurs have been forced to reduce the quality of the products manufactured to reduce costs The economic crisis had begun to develop into a political one, disintegrating the country from within With the hardline regime and the dictatorship of Margaret Thatcher helped Britain and the British as a whole to taste victory and restore the power of the state

1 2.2 Cold war

Thatcher's many great achievements In Europe, the majority of people living behind the Iron Curtain are now members of the European Union and NATO It was the steadfast support of Mrs Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan to the people of Eastern Europe, inspiration and hope to the people of these countries, which led to the emergence of democracy in those countries and the end of the Cold War.

2.3 2 Promote privatization

Lady Thatcher has also changed the way we think about the economy and politics She pushed for the privatization of public utilities, initiated the outsourcing of some public services, and the liberalization of financial markets These are bold ideas that are often at the center of fierce debates and cause much disagreement However, in the years after she left office, these ideas were learned around the world and became increasingly trendy From 1984-1991, the British Government sold state shares in 33 large companies (steel, telecommunications, ports, electricity) While this initially caused a lot of controversy and fierce opposition, the effect of this shift was clear In 1981, these 33 companies needed annual subsidies of up to £1 billion, but when they were privatized their profits increased dramatically In the early 1990s, these 33 companies contributed 4.4 billion in corporate taxes in a year At the same time, consumers benefited greatly through lower consumer prices and increased service quality.

2.4 2.3 Transforming the City of London

Until the late 1970s, the Square Mile was a genteel all-male club dominated by pinstripe suits, public school accents and a culture of long lunches Money was made at the Stock Exchange with effortless panache, as a coterie of licensed dealers acted on behalf of stockbroker firms with redolent names such as Quilter and Co.

The Big Bang blew the ancient regime apart Within six months of Margaret Thatcher's election, exchange controls were lifted and foreign capital flooded into Britain The deregulation of the Stock Exchange in 1986 was an invitation to the world's biggest beasts to enter the trading floor.

Traders began to send huge amounts of money fizzing around the world's financial networks The towers of Canary Wharf rose silver and immaculate from the industrial desert of the former London Docklands The capital began its journey to world financial domination.

The crash of five years ago cast a shadow on the free-for-all spirit that the Big Bang let rip But Thatcher's deregulatory push created the new internationally focused City For better and for worse, it hasn't looked back At the start of this decade the financial sector was estimated to be worth £125.4bn, or 9.4%, in gross value to the UK economy.

2.5 New style of politic - 2.1.4 sShattering the postwar political consensus

After the Second World War, British politics seemed to have come to a lasting settlement on the fundamentals of running the country Both the Conservatives and Labor cherished the

"mixed economy", balanced between public and private ownership Pragmatism was the order of the day, as union leaders such as Jack Jones and Joe Gormley enjoyed beer and

sandwiches at No 10 Economic policy was forged through achieving "tripartite consensus" between employers, unions and the government of the day.

The winter of discontent sounded the knell for that way of doing things Thatcher arrived in power armed with the free-market philosophy of Ronald Reagan's adviser, Milton Friedman "Managers must be allowed to manage" became the mantra, and a new style of politics was born.

2.6 14 The revolution in home ownership

Britain was not always a country obsessed with house prices But the Housing Act of 1980, which allowed council house tenants to buy their own homes, changed the face of home ownership in Britain Many former local authority tenants paid less than £10,000 for homes that would be worth 10 times that a decade later Over the next 30 years, this radical move towards "a nation of home-owners" led to a trail of unintended consequences.

A prolonged boom in house prices took place along with a chronic shortage of affordable housing – yet to be resolved by a series of governments – and the gradual emergence of a culture of debt, incurred on the presumption that the value of property would keep rising In the private sector, rents soared.

In the first half of 1988 alone, house prices rose by 30% On the back of the housing boom, much of Britain mortgaged itself up to the hilt and household debt reached record levels.

20 Changing the world

Defeat in the Falklands war signalled the end of the road for Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli, head of Argentina's last military dictatorship Thatcher's friendship with Mikhail Gorbachev helped hasten the cold war to its end, as the economically moribund Soviet Union collapsed However, her refusal to back sanctions on apartheid South Africa, and description of Nelson Mandela as a "terrorist", arguably delayed the fall of that regime

2.2 Divisive decisions

a) 1 Milk Snatcher

Her tryst with infamy began when she earned the title ‘Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher’ when she abolished a scheme providing free milk to primary school children during school hours

2.7 A diminished role for trades unions

Thatcher came to power ready to take on the the National Union of Mineworkers, which had humiliated her Tory predecessor, Edward Heath, during the 1970s.