“Margaret Thatcher: A leader, a legislator, a lady” By: Stefanie Angeli, Wagner College’16”
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.”
This inspirational piece of wisdom comes from none other than “The Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher spoke these words but also lived by them. Elected to Parliament at a young age, Margaret Thatcher became the first female leader of a political party in Britain in February 1975 and became its first female British Prime Minister in May 1979 (Garnett, 2007). She transformed the role of female leadership while achieving many substantial and noteworthy goals. As a woman in politics, Thatcher was first underestimated and at times seen as inferior to men, yet she proved everyone wrong as she worked her way through the male dominated political world and made it to the top. Through key accomplishments such as implementation of a new conservative policy commonly known as “Thatcherism”, her dealings with the National Miners Union and her foreign policy stance, Margaret Thatcher was an extremely influential leader of her time.
Accomplishments:
“Thatcherism”
The “Thatcher Revolution” or “Thatcherism” was a plan implemented by Thatcher to transform the British government. If successful, the plan would form government unions and allies and on the more radical front preserve businesses by forcing drastic changes to their owners, in order to ensure economic prosperity (Hutton, 1987). Under this policy Thatcher advocated for privatizing state-owned industries and utilities, the reformation of trade unions, lowering taxes, and reducing social spending (Hutton, 1987). Thatcher was praised for her leadership style when it came to this new policy. Not only was she determined to transform the government in this way, but also it was her ability to question the preexisting legislation that allowed for this great change. It was her strong views about the implementation of this revolution of sorts that resulted in Britain’s economic recovery and kept the problem inflation in check.
National Miners Union
In 1984, the National Miner’s Union decided to strike against the British government due to the announcement made by the National Coal Board that it intended to cut national capacity by 4 million tons and close 20 pits with the loss of 20,000 jobs (Evans, 2010). The way Thatcher dealt with this strike is considered a huge achievement not only as a Prime Minister but also as leader of the conservative party. Thatcher’s government closed 25 unprofitable unions in 1985 by 1992 the numbers rose to 97 and eventually the existing ones were sold off and privatized (Evans, 2010). This was a turning point for Thatcher as a leader due to the fact that is was a huge success for her party but a loss for the people. She had to make a decision to either do what was best for the government as a whole or for a group of people, decisions like these are hard to make, but it just emphasizes Thatcher’s profound leadership skills even more. Although she was known for her uncompromising demeanor, she was able to prioritize when it mattered most.
Foreign Policy
The relationship that the Prime Minister had with other countries throughout the world and how she dealt with foreign affairs is one characteristic Thatcher is renowned for. Although there are many key moments in which Thatcher was praised for her foreign political dealings, it is arguable that the most noteworthy dealing was her relationship with the United States and more specifically with President Ronald Regan and their common position against communism. Some would say that her leadership at this time led to democracy’s defeat of communism. Through her belief in NATO and support in the deployment of missiles into Western Europe, the decision to retake the Falklands, and by defeating the coal miners in 1984; Thatcher played a key role in fighting communism and contributed to ending The Cold War (Jenkins, 2007). This was vital to Thatcher’s transformation as a leader because she displayed that she was able to seek peace, believe in democracy, and resist aggression.
Leadership Skill
Amongst the many skills that Margaret Thatcher employed, the most notable was her ability to question. Some criticize her for being “headstrong” meaning she was not willing to compromise her own ideals or question her own beliefs. However, she was able to question the government in which she was leading, as well as other governments around the world. Her ability to see the weakness of Britain’s governmental structure at the time she took office was what enabled her to transform many aspects of it and allow it to thrive. Similarly, she saw the flaws in the views of the communists and was able to support America in its struggle to fight communism and The Cold War. It is because Thatcher questioned legislation in this way, that she leaves a legacy of accomplishment behind, in both domestic and foreign affairs. It was through this way of questioning that she was not afraid to go up against what others deemed “socially acceptable” or what was the consensus. She stood for what was right no matter what, because as she said consensus is “The process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner: ‘I stand for consensus?”
The leadership skills of Margaret Thatcher as well as the her flawed ideology directly coincide with the teachings of the Generation Citizen and the ways in which Wagner College Students had to learn to mentor Port Richmond High School students. Like Thatcher the mentors had to learn to question, regardless of the fact that she rather question others around her more then her own ideals, it was questioning nonetheless. As mentors, Wagner College students had to question themselves and their mentoring skills, in order to adapt their teachings to meet the needs of the students. Similar to the Prime Minister’s dealing with the government, the mentors had to quickly evaluate the situation at Port Richmond, discover what they knew and work towards success from there forward. In both instance, there was a responsibility to lead a group and make it more successful than it had been in the past, acknowledging the weaknesses and channeling those weaknesses into strengths, to improve the community around them. More so, like “the iron lady” both the students and mentors had to be democratic. Not only did the students have to be willing to contribute to the class the also had to be willing to listen to others; the mentors had to be open to this technique, as well. To be democratic is not only to listen ones leaders or government, but to question them, as well. Just as Thatcher questioned the government she inherited, the Port Richmond students had to learn how to question their local elected officials and employ their help for the advancement of the community. The leadership skills that Margaret Thatcher mastered were exceptionally similar to the leadership skills that the Wagner College mentors attempted to teach and successfully instilled in the minds of Port Richmond students.
References:
Evans, Stephen. 2010. “‘A Tiny Little Footnote in History’: Conservative Centre Forward.”Parliamentary History (Wiley-Blackwell) 29, no. 2: 208-228. Academic SearchPremier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 3, 2012).
Garnett, Mark. 2007. “Banality in Politics: Margaret Thatcher and the Biographers.” PoliticalStudies Review 5, no. 2: 172-182. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessedDecember 3, 2012).
Hutton, Will. “Thatcher’s Half-Revolution.” The Wilson Quarterly(1976-). 11. No. 4 (1987):123-134.
Jenkins, Simon. 2007. “Thatcher’s Legacy.” Political Studies Review 5, no. 2: 161-171.Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 3, 2012).