...The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher’s political career has been one of the most remarkable of modern times. Born in October 1925 at Grantham, England, she rose to become the first woman to lead a major Western democracy. She won three successive General Elections and served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. When Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of Great Britain, she was regularly singled out for her leadership. She was described in terms such as confident, iron willed, determined and decisive. Opinions on Margaret Thatcher remain divided after her death, but what is hard to argue with is that she was a great and influential leader. And here are three leadership qualities any leader can learn from Lady Thatcher: Passion, Determination and Confidence. Margaret Thatcher was able to lead the UK as the first, and so far only, female prime minister for 12 years and during that time was able to bring about many significant changes including the sales of council houses that allowed many families to own a house for the first time, privatization of utilities, as well as bringing in the disliked poll tax. She was also able to represent the UK well on a global stage by standing up to Europe and the Soviet Union. It was a Soviet journalist who named her the “Iron Lady” to depict her uncompromising politics and leadership style. She relished the nickname—showing full recognition of her powerful public image and demonstrating the strategic savvy to perpetuate...
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...influential and successful people that changed Britain’s political views for the better and had the greatest impact on modern Britain is Margaret Thatcher. Born in October 1925 at Grantham, Thatcher came from a humble background but was soon to become one of the most remarkable politicians the likes of Britain has never seen. The first and most important impact Margaret Thatcher had on modern Britain was her astonishing and strong leadership. Her transformative governance did not only change the course of Britain but also Europe. She contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall which started a major transformation of central and eastern European economies. Thatcher’s own belief in her skills and goals helped her gain the title of the first (and only) female Prime Minister in which many admired and still do today. Another huge contribution Margaret Thatcher had on modern Britain was how she turned the economy around because of her many valuable ideas. Margaret Thatcher was instrumental in putting a stop to the power of the trade unions. Millions of days a year were being lost through strike action and this was extremely harmful to the British economy. By the end of her leadership these days were down to a fraction of what they had been. Mr Scargill, an influential trade leader, has been used to calling a strike by a mere show of hands but Mrs Thatcher put a stop to this and firm regulations were put in place. She used the press to do this. Her policies regarding the trade unions were...
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...the miners strike a success for Thatcher ? She called them "the enemy within" and the 1984-85 miners' strike was the most divisive confrontation of Margaret Thatcher's 11 years in power. In a strike that lasted for a year it pitched striking miners against the police, family members and communities against each other and even saw Britain's security services and foreign governments. The strikes resulted in Mrs Thatcher's status as an unrivalled hate figure for British trade unionists and left-wingers.During the strikes people lost their lives: six pickets, four teenagers looking for coal and a taxi driver taking a non-striking miner to work.More than 11,000 arrests were made and more than 8,000 people were charged, mostly for breach of the peace. But one must argue that despite this public unrest the strike did end in a humiliating way for the strikers and was a success for the conservatives and Thatcher. Maggie said she had seen the strike coming since 1974, when the miners had brought down Edward Heath's Conservative government. Therefore in order to combat this she made plans. She had avoided a miners' strike in 1981 by backing down because coal stocks were low. But after her crushing defeat of Michael Foot's Labour Party in the 1983 general election, she knew a strike was inevitable. The strike was over plans by the National Coal Board to close dozens of uneconomic pits and stem financial losses running into billions. But Thatcher had implemented he plans to combat...
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...strike in 1984 but not necessarily the biggest one. It is relevant to state that the Thatcher Government was concerned over the general power that the unions held and had taken action to curb union powers with the introduction of the Employment Act 1982. Source 1 highlights the fact that the strike was the culmination of a long conflict between the Conservative Party and the mineworkers union. The National Union of Minors (NUM) was the strongest and most powerful union and it was widely accepted that it had been responsible for bringing down the Edward Heath Conservative Government following the minors’ strike of 1973-74. In 1972, the NUM led by Arthur Scargill had put forward a joint bid to gain wage increase and to highlight the increasing number of pit closures that threatened its members livelihood. In order to succeed Scargill had used minors from across the country to bring the movement of coal to a standstill. Heath believed that the government would survive the strike longer than the miners. He cut electricity which led to ordinary people being without light and heating for long periods. Heath held an election as to who ran the country, the miners or the government. The answer of the electorate was not what he expected and the Conservatives lost power with the mood of the public showing some sympathy towards the unions. It might be considered that this provided a motive for Thatcher to take on the NUM and Arthur Scargill. However, there were more specific issues that...
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...Thatcher diligently and faithfully do her homework under the kitchen table during Nazi raids. This lead to a mistrust in Europe and deepened her disposition towards Britain's ally, the United States, against Nazi Germany. In 1943, Thatcher moved to Oxford to attend an all-woman college. She majored in chemistry. She was not prepared socially to move to Oxford, she did not make any friends there. So in turn, she kept to herself and diligently worked to finish her degree in chemistry and joined the conservative association. She was becoming more focused on politics than before. Thatcher finished her degree in chemistry and then left to chase her dream of becoming a Member of Parliament. In 1947, Thatcher began a career as a research chemist....
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...Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher was a prominent politician, public figure, feminist and advocator during the later twentieth century in Great Britain. She was the first female Prime Minister and changed the way politics were seen by introducing a new right-wing way of thinking; Thatcherism. Thatcherism is based off of laissez-faire economics, and a very popular political term during the twentieth century, individual self-determination. She is still quite the controversial figure to this day. There are those who say she saved Britain economically, and then there are her critics who say she destroyed the livelihoods of millions. Despite her doubters, it is evident the positive impact Margaret Thatcher had on not only the political crowd,...
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...Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925. Her original name was Margaret Hilda Roberts and she was born in Grantham, England. She was the daughter of a local businessman. Thatcher was educated at Grantham Girls' High School, which was a small and local grammar school. The family lived in an apartment just above the grocery store that her parents ran. She had one sister named Muriel Roberts. Thatcher was first introduced to conservative politics by her father while she was very young. Thatcher’s dad was a member of the council of their town. Only two years after her college Graduation, Thatcher made her very first bid for a public office. She was a conservative candidate for a Dartford parliamentary seat in elections of 1950. From the...
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...on welfare challenged during the Thatcher years? The post war consensus was the period of political history which emerged in the difficult years following World War II. Britain returned home victorious from war but in a state of social and economic un-rest. The people of Britain had a strong sense of solidarity at this time and begun to reject previous decades’ laissez faire philosophy and non-interventionist government policy. The population’s expectations of the state were high and people had a clearer understanding of the relationship between the state and its citizens. It is argued that attitudes changed due to new accessibility to information people had, such as the Beveridge Report, and they wanted the government to respond (Titmuss, 1950). The public pushed for a greater state intervention to ensure the economic and social wellbeing of the citizens. One of the main policies of the post war consensus was the evolution of the new welfare state which was based on the principles of equal distribution of wealth, equality and the public responsibility for those unable to provide a decent standard of living for themselves. This new collectivist approach covered areas such as education, unemployment, health, housing and poverty that were thought important to overcome to enjoy a reasonable standard of living. The post-war consensus prevailed from 1945 until the election of the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Thatcher challenged the welfare state mainly...
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...Discuss Whether Margaret Thatcher was a Pragmatist or an Ideologist After Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in May 1979, the legislation to implement the ‘Right to Buy’ was passed in the Housing Act 1980 which had a huge impact on Britain's housing market. The high discounts made the offer a fantastic bargain for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. It meant that there was some real growth in levels of owner occupation and was considered to be great for individuals. Half of the proceeds of the sales were paid to the local authorities, but they were restricted on spending the money (they were made to reduce their debt until it was cleared, rather than being able to spend it on building more homes). The effect was to reduce the council housing stock, especially in areas where property prices were high such as London and the south-east of England. 200,000 council houses were sold to their tenants in 1982, and by 1987, more than 1,000,000 council houses in Britain had been sold to their tenants, although the number of council houses purchased by tenants declined during the 1990s. The ‘Right to Buy’ can be argued to be both ideological and pragmatic. Firstly, it could be said that the reason that Margaret Thatcher followed through with this plan is because it appeases the traditional conservative ideology; that home owners are more likely to care for the society/the wellbeing of the country, including the responsibility of owning a home, if they have...
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...The fashion industry poses a serious threat to the environment. A higher level of sustainability in materials production is the key solution. Discuss. Sustainable Fashion Sustainable fashion also known as ‘Green,’ has been successfully promoted in the past years to become the new black. This is a new trend that will hopefully prevail not only for a season but also for years. If people keep supporting it, it could possibly prevail forever. As technology has developed the planet Earth has been deteriorating slowly. This new concept supports and promotes the idea for people to be environmentally conscious. The idea is to care for the place where we humans live. To be more environmental friendly, why not use sustainable clothes? Clothes are one of the major necessities that a human may have. People can look fashionable, in style, and support the planet at the same time. The Better Cotton Initiative, which is backed by companies such as Levi Strauss, Marks & Spencer, IKEA, H&M and Adidas, believes it can transform the textile market and make it more sustainable. If they are proved right, it would have a marked impact not only because cotton is used in 40% of all global textiles, but also that 300 million farmers in 80 countries rely on it for their livelihoods.(Bettercotton.org,2012) Better Cotton Initiative is an organization that commits the farmers to growing sustainable cotton minimizing the impact of crop protection practices, the efficiently use of water and conserve...
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...over Ted Heath. Andrew Marr focuses predominately on ideological transitions within the Conservative Party. The general feeling conveyed in his chapter is that it was good fortune that had played the main part in her rise to power. Edward du Cann, and Keith Joseph, in his view, would have been worthier opponents more desirable to the Tory party, and it was their personal failings to stand for election that meant that Thatcher obtained votes ‘by default’; she had been the only reasonable candidate left standing, and thus obtained the votes necessary to win. Marr puts forward the idea that Thatcher essentially ‘adopted’ the Josephite figure and had good fortune as she inherited a policy that he had laboriously created and promoted, and had only received a large amount votes purely due to her association with the increasingly attractive Josephism. Marr over-focuses on Joseph’s political ‘journey’. Although true that Joseph first brought to attention the idea of free market economics prior to Thatcher and publicised it before her, this does not mean Thatcher necessarily directly adopted Joseph’s theory, “took his place”, and won, as simply as Marr appears to imply. The time period of the book encapsulates postwar Britain to the...
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...From 1981 to 1989, the world had two great leaders in power: President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Between the two of them, they revived the economies of the United States and Great Britain. They helped reform their countries foreign policy. Together, President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher had become a team that was unmatched, even today. For different reasons, both individuals had turn into victims of assassination attempts and both survived to continue their times in office. Ronald Reagan was born February 6, 1911. He worked his way through college where he had studied economics and sociology. In 1937, he was granted a contract in Hollywood and appeared in 53 films. Reagan had toured the United States and had become a spokesman for conservatism. From the big screen to politics, Reagan had been elected Governor of California in 1966 and then again in 1970. He won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and was called into office January 20, 1981. Margaret Thatcher was born October 13, 1925. During her college years, she studied chemistry. She was politically active in her youth and served as president of the Conservative Association at her university. In 1947, she had earned a degree in chemistry and worked as a research chemist. A couple of years after graduation, she ran as the conservative candidate for a parliamentary seat in the 1950 elections. She had been defeated but remained undaunted. After the defeat, Margaret...
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...Hence, how those traits implement to help leaders to lead. As stated by Pierce and Newstrom in Leaders and the Leadership process, traits influence individuals to become or develop themselves as leaders (63). Natural traits, however, have to have bonds with particular situation in order to support one to be a leader (63). These concerns applied to Margaret Thatcher who was Great Britain’s first female prime minister. She had capacity, responsibility, participation, achievement, and status which are considered as the most important traits that influence leaders (Margaret Thatcher). Margaret had “knowledge about the business” that she was an active member of Conservative party from her childhood. This participation and her achievement as a lawyer helped her to become a prime minister, later (Margaret Thatcher). Even though her status was not good among society in her early career as a prime minister, she was visionary enough to understand that her change in traditional industrialization which was massive privatization in both housing and public transportation system would bring her country to development (Margaret Thatcher). As quoted by Gershenoff and Foti explained that one’s gender and...
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...Margaret Thatchers time as Prime Minister (1979-1990), a very aggressive way of governing the country. This style of leadership and the policies associated with it are known as Thatcherism. The main aim of Thatcherism was to create a 'small government' that is one in which the tole of the state is significantly reduced in matters such as public services and the economy, Thatcher desired a free market and a privatised economy. Thatcher was also a firm believer in independence and individualism, this lead to a desire for self-reliant people who provide for their family and are responsible for their own well being. Since this time Conservatism has changed, especially since the appointment of David Cameron MP as their leader and eventually Prime minister. The party has moved away from right wing and is instead now more centred on more liberal policies, This is down to the desire of Cameron for moderation. In this constantly changing society this modernisation is essential for any party that wishes to stay in power. Many policies remain intact from the Thatcher years such as the economy, but many have also changed like foreign policy and socially. Thatcherism demanded a market that was a a free and flexible as possible, a deregulated economy. In 1979 Thatcher shifted the country towards a speculative market economy rather than a manufacturing based economy. An economy in which utilities and industries should not be funded by government or financially assisted. In the thatcher years...
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...brit“No government was able to stem Britain’s economic decline from 1951-1990” Introduction: Whilst there is a blatant division of interpretations of Britain’s economic performances from 1951 to 1990, of those claiming that Britain suffered gradual and miserable decline until the heroine and saviour Mrs Thatcher came to the helm, or of those arguing that a genuine post-war boom existed throughout a large proportion of the era and Thatcher meddled unnecessarily and indeed harmfully, it is more accurate to take a balanced and differential approach. There is clear evidence of British economic decline from 1951-1990, but to claim that it was utter decline is really a pessimistic front. Reasons to disagree: - Period from 1951 to 1973 saw an “age of affluence”, with a genuine post-war boom; Britain’s economy grew around 40% during 1951 to 1964 - Living standards rose steadily until 1973, with low unemployment rates; with a wider sense that Britain was becoming more prosperous and equal. Harold Macmillan captured this in 1957, when he declared that “Britain had never had it so good”; it also highlighted increased consumerism due to greater accessibility to consumer goods throughout the era - Arguments of “relative decline” are unfair and misleading; nations such as Japan and Germany were utterly destroyed after WW2, so it only makes sense for their nations to advance rapidly as they could start from scratch - Arguments of a lack of policy and initiative are misleading. Macmillan...
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