Abstract
In May 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first woman in British history to be elected prime minister. When she resigned in November 1990 she was the longest serving prime minister of the twentieth century having won three consecutive general elections. Many saw Thatcher’s Conservative government as the savior of Britain, freeing the nation from trade union power, regenerating individual responsibility and ushering in a new enterprise culture. Others, however, opposed the Conservative’s free-market philosophy, decrying the inequality and social conflict their policies engendered and arguing that Thatcher was unconcerned with the plight of the disadvantaged. But virtually all her supporters and critics agree that Thatcher’s 11 years at 10 Downing Street left an indelible mark on British society.
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Notes
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© 2013 John F. Lyons
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Lyons, J.F. (2013). The United States and the Politics of Thatcherism, 1979–1990. In: America in the British Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137376800_5
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