Margaret Thatcher ran a tight ship. British columnist Iain Dale called her “a sensible housewife who pinched pennies as male politicians debauched the pounds.” Thatcher hosted tea and scone parties on her famously coordinated table settings at her home in Belgravia, England. She was domestically involved with both home and family, and as one of the core issues of her campaign, urged women to stock up on “tinned food” for fear of inflation.
Thatcher believed that “the most terrifying thing in life” is not terrorism but is having “time on your hands and nothing to do” . Perhaps this attitude was how she handled so-called Brighton bomb so well. At the Conservative Party conference in 1984, a terrorist placed a bomb in the hotel where Ms. Thatcher was staying—apparently to try and kill her. She “knew immediately that it was a bomb—perhaps two bombs.” But fortunately for her and her country, “those who sought to kill me had placed the bomb in the wrong place.” Although the glass of her hotel suite was shattered, Ms. Thatcher decided to continue the routine of the day. She let it affect her so little, she was more concerned about finishing her speech for the convention.
Thatcher believed in the peaceful coexistence of Britain and Europe in the European Union. She felt that Britain and the countries of the Union could agree more easily because they had a common culture. Instead of just being thrown together because of the “creation of the Treaty of Rome,” the countries were innately similar. She said, “Too often, the history of Europe is described as a series of interminable wars and quarrels.” Now, the countries should learn to live in “peaceful coexistence.
After her election, Margaret Thatcher achieved the impossible. Her peers and country didn’t think of her as a female prime minister, but as a prime minister who did an excellent job and happened to be a woman. Margaret Thatcher rose above her birth poverty and gender to become Britain’s revered “Lady” and one of the most respected Prime Ministers ever. Meryll's got some pretty big shoes to fill.