Margaret Thatcher began her political career in 1959 as an MP for Finchley in Barnet, London. It was twenty years later when she became Prime Minister aged 53 and served in two subsequent terms until 1990.
In her lifetime she was lauded as the first female Prime Minister and yet her tenure took on a genderless tone as she battled foes at home and abroad.
The key features of her time as Prime Minister included The Falklands War, the Poll Tax Riots, and miner’s strikes. These were startling times of uncertainty.
In the politics of this era and later a notable characteristic is a high expectation that leads to a huge disappointment, and the UK went through many of these periods.
Margaret Thatcher lead by her voice but in spite of her speeches found herself in the midst of serious disagreements with journalists and members of the public. Her press was often negative at the time and it weighed on her and broke her Premiership.
In the event of her resignation in 1990 she felt bitter because she had to leave her party behind. Afterwards she said it felt like it was the end of a “relationship” with a party she had served for so long.
Her mainstay was Denis Thatcher, her husband, who was a sort of companion and advisor to her personally.
