UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fought with unions, Europe and her own party, archive records reveal

Record ID: 402641

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fought with unions, Europe and her own party, archive records reveal
  • Date: 31st December 2010
  • Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - 1980's) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) LONG QUEUE OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE WAITING FOR WELFARE PAYMENTS
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVABEKEHQXW4L0RZBII86ACN8BAN
  • Story Text: Records released under 30-year rule show Mrs. Thatcher's determination in office and her fights with unions, Europe and even her own party as she tried to bring her brand of government to the UK.
    Former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher's determination to implement change in the United Kingdom and her frustration in office has been revealed in the release of previously secret files.
    The records lay bare among other things her exasperation with the processes and negotiations with the European Union where she even threatened at one time to "openly" fight moves to deny the UK a budget refund and repeatedly demanded her ministers maintain a strong line during the bargaining process.
    The files of the previously secret government documents from 1980 were released by the National Archives in Kew, London, under the 30-year-rule.
    Mrs. Thatcher's time in government was marked by change and social unrest. As Britain's first woman prime minister, she launched straight into a programme of social and economic reform.
    National Archives' record specialist Mark Dunton on Thursday (December 30) said the files, many of which contain hand-written notes by Mrs. Thatcher, give an insight into the woman and the changes she was trying to implement.
    "Here in these files we see the style of Thatcherism being established under very difficult circumstances. It was a very difficult economic background but Mrs. Thatcher wasn't for turning and we see in the files the strength of her convictions in hand-written comments where often her anger and frustration is very clear," Dunton said.
    "The government were trying to introduce public spending cuts during a very difficult time and in one of the files we see Mrs. Thatcher writing, 'we have got to get economies' and the word 'economies' is underlined three times so we see the force of her convictions," Dunton added.
    During her time in power, inflation was reined in by severe financial belt-tightening and loss-making state monopolies were privatised. Unemployment doubled by the mid-1980's to over 12 percent of the workforce.
    The files also contain references to the Mrs. Thatcher's appeal to Iran over US hostages, implementing union reform, and a hunger strike by IRA members in prison, among other subjects.
    Dunton said the files also contained some surprises such as Mrs. Thatcher's thoughts on the Labour Prime Minister who preceded her Conservative government, James Callaghan.
    "One of the things which did surprise me was the warmth that Mrs. Thatcher showed about Jim Callaghan, her old adversary, where she actually, in a transcript of a telephone conversation with Chancellor Schmidt of Germany, she actually says about Callaghan, 'he's such a nice man', and you know, that might come as a surprise to us as we always thought of them as opponents," Dunton said.
    The files also show that Mrs. Thatcher threatened to "openly" fight for a hard-won refund on the European Community Budget when the settlement appeared to be in doubt. Her ministers had negotiated the refund of Britain's net contribution to the budget in May 1980. But, due to complications about VAT and EC procedure, the refund was unexpectedly placed under threat.
    The prime minister showed her fury at the situation via a series of annotations on a letter sent to her by the Treasury explaining the problem. She writes: "No this is ridiculous. Its whole purpose is to demean Britain. We must fight this one. If necessary openly."
    Mrs. Thatcher is Britain's longest serving prime minister of the 20th century, who dominated politics in her own country for a decade and carved out for herself a formidable position on the world stage.
    She won her first parliamentary seat in 1959 and served as minister of Education under Edward Heath, prime minister from 1970 to 1974.
    After Heath's government fell, Thatcher marshalled support to oust him as party leader in February 1975 and embarked on a campaigning four years with the promise: "Socialism is on its way out".
    She came to power in a general election on May 3, 1979 defeating Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan by a margin of 43 seats.
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