Margaret Thatcher
@realmrsthatcher
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Britain's 49th Prime Minister - In office 4 May 1979 – 28 November 1990. Soundbites, quotes, and facts from the Iron Lady on issues of the day.
Joined February 2022
What absolute nonsense. Don't most people want to work hard to do better by their own families? To have a better house, better holidays, better furniture? Isn't that a worthwhile thing?. Wouldn't life be very much better if more people took responsibility for their families and
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If the right honourable gentleman is suggesting that we ever get to a position where we cannot return illegal immigrants to their country of origin, then he is proposing international chaos.
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Be very wary of high taxes. Any government that has high taxation is giving itself more powers and the people less.
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I happen to believe that when some criminals go out and do such hideous, cruel crimes, and in particular when they do terrible things to children, I think they have forfeited their own right to life.
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If you ever get trial by television or guilt by accusation, that day freedom dies.
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Governments are there to serve the liberties of the people, not to restrict them.
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I'm not concerned with diplomacy. I'm concerned with fighting terrorism. That is my duty to the people of Britain. That is the duty I uphold.
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Europe will be stronger precisely because it has France as France, Spain as Spain, and Britain as Britain—each with its own customs, traditions and identity. It would be folly to try to fit them into some identikit European personality.
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Wogan: "They don't seem to make any concession to the fact that you're a woman.". Thatcher: "No. Why should they? I don't make any concession to the fact that they're men."😂.
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Once you compress incentives from the top-down and say, "It doesn't matter how much you earn I'm going to take the lion's share away," they say, "Alright, I'm no longer going to do the lion's part." Then they stop creating the extra wealth which would benefit both themselves and
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It is a little known fact that Margaret Thatcher also visited AIDS patients at the very hospital Princess Diana attended. There are no pictures, however, as the Prime Minister did not wish to look like she was "trying to upstage her". The below is an excerpt of Thatcher's visit
Princess Diana shook hands with an AIDS patient without gloves in 1991. At the time, this act was groundbreaking because many people didn't fully understand how AIDS was spread. Consequently, those with the disease often had to spend time alone in AIDS wards. Diana visited
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Wogan: "They don't seem to make any concession to the fact that you're a woman.". Thatcher: "No. Why should they? I don't make any concession to the fact that they're men."😂
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Freedom can also be lost little by little, by what the Fabians call the doctrine of gradualness. A little more taxation here, a little more government expenditure there, year after year until the people are no longer the masters of the state but its servants. There are always,
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On 12th October 1984, an assassination attempt was made on Margaret Thatcher and her government by the IRA. Five people were killed and a further 31 were injured. Thatcher narrowly escaped the explosion. Thatcher was greatly lauded for her commitment to ensuring the Conservative
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Britain isn't just another country. We've never been just another country. It was Britain who stood when everyone else surrendered.
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Socialists don't like ordinary people choosing, for they might not choose socialism.
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Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. If the state wishes to spend more, it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. And it is no good thinking that someone else will
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Be very wary of high taxes. Any government that has high taxation is giving itself more powers and the people less.
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We've been ruled by men who live by illusions:. —The illusion that you can spend money you haven't earned without eventually going bankrupt or falling into the hands of your creditors; . —The illusion that real jobs can be conjured into existence by government decree like rabbits
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People are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture. And you know, 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,
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The 'Falkland Islands' was the first case [postwar] where any country decided that an aggressor should not succeed. It was the first case of upholding international law. And if I might gently remind you, it's probably because of that Argentina has democracy today.
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The one thing about left-wing politicians is they're always fanatical. They never let go. It's their religion. They go on and on.
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I looked at the pictures of Mr. Putin trying to look for a trace of humanity. I should have known better.
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Wogan: "They don't seem to make any concession to the fact that you're a woman.". Thatcher: "No. Why should they? I don't make any concession to the fact that they're men." 😂. #InternationalWomensDay
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"To borrow and to borrow and to borrow" is not Macbeth with a heavy cold—it is Labour Party policy.
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We've had the election. We know the result. We warmly congratulate the Prime Minister and his new government. Naturally, I commiserate with John Major and all our candidates who did not win this time. And perhaps I may just remind you that over the last 18 years it was a
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We shall oppose politicians, national or local, who want to interfere in the operational independence of the police. There is no place for politics in policing.
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We didn't vote to go into a European Economic Community in order to give up a large part of our parliamentary sovereignty to a European bureaucracy of non-elected people. Nor did we go into Europe to have a European court tell ours what to do.
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Our first duty to freedom is to defend our own.
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I believe in promoting women on straightforward merit, which is what I did. I wouldn't like it myself for anyone to think I reached my job by a quota. I didn't. I got there by merit.
Eight hundred years of the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Every one, a man. On July 5 this year, we changed that.
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Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay. That "someone else" is you. There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money.
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Yes, there are some people who want a federal Europe, and they would be prepared to sacrifice a large part of our parliamentary democracy to get it. There is no doubt that the Leader of the Opposition desperately yearns for the approval of those who are federalists, including
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#OnThisDay in 1990, Margaret Thatcher announces her resignation as Prime Minister. Later that day, Thatcher gave one of her most memorable performances in the House of Commons. Beith: "Will the Prime Minister tell us whether she intends to continue her personal fight against a
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There has come into existence a fashionable view, convenient to many special interest groups, that there is no need to accept the verdict of the majority: that the minority should be quite free to bully, even coerce, to get the verdict reversed. Marxists, of course, always had
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When you reduce tax you don't necessarily reduce the yield because the incentive itself means that people work harder, get more income, and therefore you get the same tax yield from a greater amount of income although the rates are lower.
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When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business. It will be called 'Rent-A-Spine'.
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"Consensus doesn't give you really any direction in life. It's like mixing all the constituent ingredients together but not necessarily coming out with a cake. I didn't operate on consensus.". "But isn't consensus what democracy is all about?". "No it is not. Democracy is quite
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I believe I represent an attitude; an approach. And I believe that approach is borne out by the development of my own life, going to an ordinary state school and having no privileges at all, except perhaps the ones which count most: a good home background with parents who are
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A society which puts a higher value on state handouts to its able-bodied citizens than on measures to protect those citizens from internal crime and external threats is one which risks becoming decadent.
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Let me give you my vision: . A man's right to work as he will, to spend what he earns, to own property, to have the state as servant and not as master—these are the British inheritance. They are the essence of a free economy, and on that freedom all our other freedoms depend.
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#OnThisDay in 1984, the IRA attempted to assassinate members of the British government at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Five people were killed and a further 31 were injured. Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped the explosion. Thatcher was greatly lauded for her commitment to
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It is easier to tell other people what to do about it than it is to sort it out yourself.
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"'Tis a good thing to read something before you comment on it usually.". -Margaret Thatcher to Alastair Campbell.@campbellclaret
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Nowadays socialism is often dressed up as environmentalism, feminism, or international concern for human rights. All sound good in the abstract. But scratch the surface and you'll likely discover anti-capitalism, patronising and distorting quotas, and intrusions upon the
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Tony Blair has won three consecutive terms since. But here's why Thatcher's is more remarkable:. Thatcher .1979 election—13,697,923 votes .1983 election—13,012,316 votes .1987 election—13,760,583 votes . Blair .1997 election—13,518,167 votes .2001 election—10,724,953 votes .2005.
#OnThisDay in 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister in 160 years to win three consecutive terms of office. "We have a great deal of work to do, so no one must slack. You can have a marvellous party tonight. but on Monday we've got a big job to do."
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When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business. It will be called 'Rent-A-Spine'.
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The rule of law must prevail over the rule of the mob.
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To be soft on crime is to betray the law-abiding citizen. And to make excuses for the criminal is to offer incentives to dishonesty and violence. Crime flourishes in a culture of excuses. We Conservatives know, even if many sociologists don't, that crime is not a sickness to be
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The trouble with Labour is that they're just not at home with freedom. Socialists don't like ordinary people choosing, for they might not choose socialism. That's why Labour wants the state to take more and more of the decisions. “But that's all changed”, we're told. If you
Watch LIVE: Keir Starmer’s speech on fixing the foundations of our country.
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*Interviewer attempts to interrupt Mrs. Thatcher*. "Please let me give the good news because you're always willing to give the bad and you don't chase the good."
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Americans and Europeans alike sometimes forget how unique is the United States of America. No other nation has been built upon an idea—the idea of liberty. No other nation has so successfully combined people of different races and nations within a single culture. Whether in
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Socialists don't like people to do things for themselves. Socialists like to get people dependent on the state. You will never build a great society that way.
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A man's right to work as he will, to spend what he earns, to own property, to have the State as servant and not as master—these are the British inheritance.
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Put your savings in your socks and they'd nationalise socks.
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There are basically two ways of running any country or political system: . One is socialist communism—all power to the state. The state does the planning and the people have to conform to the plan. The people are the pawns of the state. They have no human rights other than those
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Margaret Thatcher talking to a young Justin Trudeau in June 1980 🇨🇦🇬🇧
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You all know full well that if you produce too much of something, its value will fall. That's elementary. Money is just the same. If you print too much of it, its value will fall . It isn't a newfangled theory. It is as essential as the law of gravity.
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Yes, we were isolated in the European Community when we tried to get a fair deal for Britain for the budget, and we stayed isolated until we succeeded and got the fair deal which eluded the Labour Government. Yes, we were isolated when we tried to reform the common agricultural
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"Lady Thatcher, how would you describe your leadership style?". "Clear. Decisive. Purposeful.". "Aggressive? Confrontational?". "I think where there are times you are defending freedom you have to confront those who are diminishing freedom."
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"I do like arguing, absolutely flatly contrary to the image. We argue things out and that is the way we come to a conclusion.". "But in the end they should agree with you?". "In the end, we come to the right conclusion."😂
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I cannot forget the Berlin Wall: a grim monument to a cruel and desolate creed—concrete evidence that the Communists know that when people are free to choose, they choose to be free.
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When principles have to be defended, when good has to be upheld, when evil has to be overcome, then Britain will take up arms.
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Hope is such a precious commodity in the world today, but some are tempted to buy it at too high a price. We shall have to resist the muddled arguments of those who have been induced to believe that Russia's intentions are benign and that ours are suspect, or who would have us
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Socialists say “equality.” What they mean is “levelling down”. Socialists say “publicly owned”. What they mean is “state controlled”. Socialists say “government aid”. What they mean is “taxpayers' aid”. Socialists say “social justice”. What they mean is “selective justice”.
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Nowadays socialism is often dressed up as environmentalism, feminism, or international concern for human rights. All sound good in the abstract. But scratch the surface and you'll likely discover anti-capitalism, patronising quotas, and intrusions upon the sovereignty of nations.
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We're marvellous in Britain. We've saved the world.
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We're marvellous in Britain. We've saved the world.
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Believe you me, from some of the diktats that have come from the [European] Commission, they are really thirsty for power. They like it. They're non-elected. They can come and make decisions by a simple majority. But this is not for a proud nation. There's nothing old-fashioned
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January 10 is known as Margaret Thatcher Day in the Falkland Islands. Situated beside the 1982 Memorial in Stanley is a bronze bust of the Iron Lady with her words:. “They are few in number, but they have the right to live in peace, to choose their own way of life and to
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"Someone once asked me have I had my face lifted. I said it hadn't dropped yet.". —Margaret Thatcher, Behind the Scenes Pre-Interview Footage for ITN (1984)
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"She never stopped. The working day began at 6am with Farming Today and rarely ended until the last red box was completed at 2am or 3am. Weekends were, in her view, an annoying intrusion to the routine, a problem solved by turning Chequers into a second office. Ceaseless
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The character of the British people is unique. It is that which has shaped our institutions. It is that which has made them so valuable. It is that which makes us stand up for liberty more fiercely than any other country in Europe. And we must never submit that character to any
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I am just old enough to remember Nazism, and I remember it especially because my father was a rotarian. All of a sudden in 1938, we had a request from someone in Austria who wrote to my father and said, "The Nazis have entered Austria and those of us who happen to be Jewish are
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I would have loved to have held Hong Kong island for Britain. It would've been an extra reassurance because people could see then that there would be a comparison between the way we did things and the way mainland China did things. Look at the map. We had no option. There's no
Today marks the 26th anniversary of a very sad day: when the United Kingdom gave away British Hong Kong to China. The return of Hong Kong to China has allowed Beijing to crack down on HK’s freedoms whilst violating its own "one country, two systems” policy.
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These days if you want lower tax, it's called right-wing. If you support the police, it's called right-wing. If you say you must uphold the rule of law, it's called right-wing. If you say you want to sell council houses and you want increased owner-occupation, it's called
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You may have noticed there are many people who just can't bear good news. It's a sort of infection of the spirit and there's a lot of it about. In the eyes of these hand-wringing merchants of gloom and despondency, everything that Britain does is wrong.
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Wars are not caused by the build up of weapons. They are caused when an aggressor believes he can achieve his objectives at an acceptable price.
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"This is Margaret Thatcher, speaking from No. 10 Downing Street in London and wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a good New Year. As we look to the year ahead, let us dedicate ourselves anew to that idea of Christendom with its recognition of the unique and spiritual nature
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Socialists don't like ordinary people choosing, for they might not choose socialism.
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Some years ago, we in Britain invented a disease. Its symptoms were a combination of stagnation, inflation, financial problems, labour troubles and loss of confidence. They called it “British disease”. A Canadian commentator, Goldwin Smith, provided an excellent clinical
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I was there for 11 and a half years—they were the 11 and a half most exciting years of my life. They were exciting for Britain. They brought Britain's reputation up. Britain meant something in the world when I left office and that mattered to me more than anything else.
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I'm not concerned with diplomacy. I'm concerned with fighting terrorism. That's my duty to the people of Britain. That is the duty I uphold.
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Wars are not caused by the build up of weapons. They are caused when an aggressor believes he can achieve his objectives at an acceptable price. The war of 1939 was not caused by an arms race. It sprang from a tyrant's belief that other countries lacked the means and the will to
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"To borrow and to borrow and to borrow" is not Macbeth with a heavy cold—it is Labour Party policy.
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Governments had failed to tackle the real problems which afflicted us. They dodged difficult problems rather than face up to them. The question they asked was not, "Will the medicine work?" but, "Will it taste alright?". We were told you can't reform trade union leaders, you
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You must in fact keep your spending within your income. People understand that, and it's a great mistake to think they want more and more spending when they know full well it will either drive up the interest rate, or it will mean they pay extra taxes.
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#OnThisDay in 1990, Margaret Thatcher formally tenders her resignation to the Queen. "We're leaving Downing Street for the last time after eleven and a half wonderful years, and we're very happy that we leave the United Kingdom in a very much better state than when we came here"
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If politicians or bureaucrats are given power that is unaccountable and unrestrained, they will, in the long run, be as corrupt as they can get away with. That's the best possible argument for limited government.
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People were often struck by how closely President Reagan and I could work together. But there was no secret about why it was so. Before coming to power, each of us had drunk deep from the same well of ideas. Because of that, we knew where we stood; we could stand firm; and we
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I think sometimes a Prime Minister should be intimidating. There's not much point in being a weak, floppy thing in the chair, is there?
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This account was started a year ago today. It has been a labour of love to try and post fresh and unique Thatcher moments nearly every day since. The messages are timeless and often just as applicable today as they were then. Thank you all for the support. #MyTwitterAnniversary.
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Those who imagine that a politician would make a better figurehead than a hereditary monarch ought perhaps to make the acquaintance of more politicians.
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I don't think the people necessarily want consensus. They want strong, firm leadership and a clear sense of purpose and direction.
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#OnThisDay in 1984, an assassination attempt was made on Margaret Thatcher and her government by the IRA. Five people were killed and a further 31 were injured. Thatcher narrowly escaped the explosion. Thatcher was greatly lauded for her commitment to ensuring the Conservative
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People used to believe that dictatorships had the advantage of being more efficient and better able to act decisively than the democracies. They were wrong. Now they understand that you cannot plan and regulate everything and that if you try, you lose the driving force of human
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On 30th October 1990, Margaret Thatcher gives her infamous "No. No. No." speech, leading to Geoffrey Howe's resignation the next day, and which arguably precipitated her downfall the following month. In the speech, Thatcher goes off script and outrightly rejects Britain's
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I think sometimes a Prime Minister should be intimidating. There's not much point in being a weak, floppy thing in the chair, is there?. But I spent hours getting the facts. I spent hours deploying them. It was known it was my whole approach. I was fascinated by statistics and
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I was turned out because I said to Europe, "No. No. No."
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