MARGARET

THATCHER: THE

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

🙣

M A R G A R E T T H A T C H E R

A GRANTHAM CHILDHOOD

e lived in a house that was also a place of business. My father,

Alfred Roberts, ran two grocery shops, and our lives were

governed by the rhythm of the shop bell and the Methodist

Church. There was no running hot water and no indoor toilet until I was

much older, but we never felt poor because our lives were rich in purpose

and discipline.

My father was the greatest influence on my life. He was a lay preacher

and a local councillor, later becoming Mayor of Grantham. He taught me

that you do not follow the crowd; you decide for yourself what is right

and you stick to it. We discussed the news every night at the dinner table. I

learned early on that politics was not about sounding good, but about

doing what was necessary for the moral health of the community.

I remember the outbreak of the Second World War clearly. Grantham

was a target for the Luftwaffe because of its engineering works. Those

years of austerity and national effort reinforced my belief that when a

people are united by a common values and a sense of duty, they can

overcome any adversary. It was this foundation of thrift, hard work, and

individual responsibility that stayed with me throughout my life.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography — page 3

OXFORD AND THE CHEMISTRY OF

POLITICS

oing to Somerville College, Oxford, in 1943 was a widening of

horizons. I studied Chemistry, a choice that many found unusual

for someone interested in public life. But science teaches you to

look for the evidence and to respect the facts. It gave me a structural way

of thinking that served me well when I later had to dissect complex

economic policies.

However, my real passion was the Oxford University Conservative

Association. I became its president in 1946. It was a time when socialist

ideas were considered the only intellectual currency, but I found them

fundamentally flawed. They ignored the human spirit. It was at a dinner

in Dartford later on that I met Denis. He was a businessman, a soldier, and

a man of immense common sense. When we married in 1951, I found the

partner who would make my career possible. He was the one person I

could always trust to tell me the unvarnished truth.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography — page 4

THE PATH TO WESTMINSTER

y early attempts to enter Parliament in Dartford were

unsuccessful in terms of the vote, but they were a victory in

experience. I was a young woman in a man's world, and I had to

prove that I could out-work and out-argue any opponent. In 1959, I was

finally elected as the Member for Finchley. I loved my constituency; the

people there were exactly the kind of hard-working, aspirational citizens I

wanted to represent.

Rising through the ranks of the party, I served as Education Secretary

under Edward Heath. It was a difficult time, marked by the 'Thatcher the

Milk Snatcher' headlines. I learned then that if you are to do anything

worthwhile in politics, you must be prepared to be unpopular. By the

mid-1970s, it was clear that Britain was failing. The post-war consensus

had led to stagnation. I knew that someone had to challenge the

leadership and offer a real alternative. In 1975, I took that leap and became

the first woman to lead a major British political party.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography — page 5

A NATION TRANSFORMED

n May 4, 1979, I entered 10 Downing Street. The country was the

'sick man of Europe.' We had to break the power of the trade

union bosses who thought they could run the country better

than the elected government. We had to stop the runaway inflation that

was destroying savings and destroying hope. My first years were a struggle

against 'the wets' in my own cabinet and a skeptical media.

Then came April 1982. The invasion of the Falkland Islands by the

Argentine junta was an act of naked aggression. I was told by some that a

military response was too risky, that we should negotiate a compromise. I

disagreed. Freedom and sovereignty are not for sale. The bravery of our

Task Force restored Britain’s self-respect. It was a turning point. We were

no longer a nation in retreat; we were a nation that stood up for its values.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography — page 6

THE IRON LADY AND THE COLD WAR

he 1984-85 Miners' Strike was a battle for the rule of law. Arthur

Scargill wanted to bring down an elected government, just as the

unions had done in the 1970s. We prepared for it, we stood firm,

and we won. It paved the way for the economic revival of the late eighties.

Simultaneously, we began the great task of privatization—giving people a

stake in their own country through share ownership.

In international affairs, I worked closely with President Ronald

Reagan. We shared a conviction that the 'Evil Empire' of the Soviet Union

could not last if we remained strong. I was the first Western leader to meet

Mikhail Gorbachev and recognize that he was a man we could do business

with. By maintaining our defenses while engaging in honest dialogue, we

saw the Berlin Wall fall and the spread of liberty across Eastern Europe. It

was the proudest achievement of our generation.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography — page 7

THE FINAL BATTLE

y later years in office were increasingly dominated by the

question of Europe. I wanted a Europe of independent,

sovereign states cooperating for trade—not a federal superstate

governed from Brussels. My 'No, No, No' speech in the House of

Commons was a statement of principle, but it cost me the support of

those who favored integration at any price.

In November 1990, the end came not from the voters, but from

within my own party. It was a betrayal I found hard to stomach at the

time. As I left Downing Street for the last time, I was sad to leave the work

unfinished, but I knew the foundations were solid. We had replaced

dependency with enterprise and decline with pride. I had done what I set

out to do: I had given Britain back to the British people.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography — page 8

KEY MILESTONES

1925:

Born Margaret Hilda Roberts in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

1943:

Enters Somerville College, Oxford to study Chemistry.

1951:

Marries Denis Thatcher.

1959:

Elected Member of Parliament for Finchley.

1975:

Becomes Leader of the Conservative Party.

1979:

Becomes Britain's first female Prime Minister.

1982:

The Falklands War victory.

1984:

Survives the IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel, Brighton.

1987:

Wins third consecutive General Election.

1990:

Resigns as Prime Minister.

Margaret Thatcher The Autobiography British Prime Minister Autobiography

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