Margaret Thatcher's Legacy

Margaret Thatcher was the first female and longest serving Prime Minister in modern Britain. Whilst in office she initiated what became known as ‘Thatcherism’, a series of social and economic changes that dismantled many aspects of Britain’s post war government. During her years in office, Thatcher’s popularity dramatically rose and fell as she made controversial decisions. As a result of Thatcherism, many historians and economic journalists have very definitive views on whether Thatcher was a successful Prime Minister. The legacy of Thatcherism and Thatcher herself still have major power in Britain, both in politics and culture, with many of the policies put in place under the Thatcher government still being of use today and the issues that she endured are managed.

This is often described as her legacy and much of this is still seen in British government, as well as on an international scale. The conviction policies, economic policies and social policies are all parts of Thatcherism, as well as her political style. The term has also been used to describe the British governments following Thatcher to the governments of John Major and Tony Blair. The legacy left by Thatcher is one that has carried on to today’s political issues, both on a national and international level. Many of Thatcher’s achievements took place in her second term, after she had established a base of supporters, confidence and momentum within parliament. One key aspect and example of Thatcher’s legacy is the house price market and ownership of houses, which both increased within years of her taking office. In 1979, the average selling price of a house in 1979 was £19,925. By 1990, this had tripled to £59,785 and by 2010, this again multiplied to £251,634. In turn, this was an achievement as many more people were able to purchase and own their home, but some say that this was why the prices of houses increased, but in relative terms, they increased at the same rate that any other countries did, but because Thatcher was there to increase home ownership numbers, she is blamed for the price rise. Many criticise the speed at which Thatcher brought economic changes to Britain and emphasize that despite the common belief that Thatcher ‘rolled back the state’, the size of the government did actually expand during her residency. Jonathan Portes, the director of the UK’s National Institute of Economic and Social Research, has much to say about the situation of Britain’s huge number of people in Britain who are unemployed and on out of work benefits, and the devastation that Thatcher brought to the government. "When she came to power in 1979 there were two million on out-of-work