Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was a Conservative politician, member of the Parliament, and prime minister of the United Kingdom.
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History
Thatcher was the daughter of Alfred Roberts, an alderman and mayor in Grantham. He was a member of the Liberal Party but stood in elections as an independent candidate.
Thatcher herself became involved in politics while studying at Oxford. She was nominated by the Conservative Party to contest a safe Labour seat in both the February 1950 general elections and the October 1951 snap elections. She was denied selection for a safer seat that was opened in a January 1955 by-election, and then declined to run in the May 1955 general elections. In 1958 however she found a safe and open Conservative seat; both the party selection for that borough and the October 1959 general elections were close, but she had finally secured a seat in the Parliament. She rose quickly in the opposition, joining the shadow cabinet in 1967.
After the Conservative victory in the June 1970 general elections, Thatcher was appointed secretary of state for education and science in Heath's government.
The February 1974 general elections led to a hung Parliament, and a minority Labour government under Wilson. Snap elections were called shortly after in October, and again Heath led the party into a loss, leading to a leadership challenge. Thatcher rapidly emerged as the candidate favored by the 1922 committee, knocking Heath out of the contest after the first ballot. She won the contest in the second ballot, and appointed the runner-up William Whitelaw as her deputy.
Thatcher was termed as the Iron Lady by Soviet state media in 1976, when reporting on her Britain Awake speech. She quickly embraced the title.
The Liberals dissolved their supply and confidence agreement in 1978. Rather than calling snap elections, Callaghan narrowly survived a September vote of confidence through a deal with the Ulster Unionist Party. He faced another vote in the following March however, which was ultimately lost 311-310. The Conservatives won the ensuing May elections, leaving Thatcher to become PM.