Margaret Thatcher's Influence on The Legacy of British Politics

Hello, my name is Rowan Shields and I’m here to present my opinion to who should be on the next £20 note. I think that Margaret Thatcher should be on the next £20 note, although this is a controversial choice, I believe that she has had a positive effect on everybody.

Margaret Thatcher born Margaret Roberts in 1925 was surprisingly brought up in a working-class environment. She graduated from Oxford University in 1947 with a science degree and had a firm interest in politics. She was a very good public speaker, so the Dartford conservative association in Kent asked her to apply as a candidate for that area and in 1950 she was selected. From this point, her political career would only get better and in 1979 she became prime minister.

Thatcher had many achievements, one example would be that she tried to fix the recession by cutting public spending in transport, trade and industry, and housing although his did cause lower inflation from 18% to 8.6% unemployment was still over 3 million however by 1982 everything was looking good and the economy was doing better than ever. Another of one of Thatcher’s achievements would be the victory in the Falklands: On the 2nd of April 1982, the Military dictatorship in charge of Argentina ordered the invasion of the Falklands Islands. Thatcher set up a small war cabinet to oversee the conduct which by 6th April had dispatched a naval task force to retake the islands. Argentina surrendered on the 14th June however not without casualties, totally 649 on Argentina’s side because of the controversial decision by Thatcher to sink the Argentina ship ARA General Belgrano on 2nd May. Finally, Thatcher stood up to terrorism she narrowly escaped an attempted assassination by the IRA by a bomb at the Brighton hotel on 12th October in response to her decision to decline IRA prisoners political status in Northern Ireland. She declares that a “Crime is a crime; it is not political”.

Margaret Thatcher remains an intensely controversial figure in Britain. Critics claim that her economic policies were divisive socially, that she was harsh or 'uncaring' in her politics, and hostile to the institutions of the British welfare state. Defenders point to a transformation in Britain's economic performance over the course of the Thatcher Governments and those of her successors as Prime Minister. Trade union reforms, privatisation, deregulation, a strong anti-inflationary stance, and control of tax and spending have created better economic prospects for Britain than seemed possible when she became Prime Minister in 1979.

Critics and supporters alike recognise the Thatcher premiership as a period of fundamental importance in British history. Margaret Thatcher accumulated huge prestige over the course of the 1980s and often compelled the respect even of her bitterest critics. Indeed, her effect on the terms of political debate has been profound. Whether they were converted to 'Thatcherism', or merely forced by the electorate to pay it lip service, the Labour Party leadership was transformed by her period of office and the 'New Labour' politics of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown would not have existed without her. Her legacy remains the core of modern British politics: the world economic crisis since 2008 has revived many of the arguments of the 1980s, keeping her name at the centre of political debate in Britain.

Some of you may disagree with my views by saying that she caused 1000’s of people to lose their jobs. I would say that although this did happen 1000’s more were created. You also could say that she caused a great deal of trouble at the expense of a few small islands. I would respond by asking, how would it feel to be subjugated by some vicious thugs.

To sum up I believe that Margaret Thatcher should be on the new £20 because of all things I’ve pointed out earlier despite all the arguments against it. I would also like to end on a quote by her that I find quite inspirational: “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”