February 11, 1975 - Margaret Thatcher - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

British Conservative Party chooses Margaret Thatcher as leader. The British Conservative Party was not known for being the most progressive. However, on February 11, 1975 the Tories made what was considered great strides for the equality of the sexes by choosing their first woman leader, Margaret Thatcher. In Britain, party leaders are chosen by a vote of the members of Parliament and in 1975 the Conservatives were her Majesty’s Official Opposition party. Thatcher, who was known for showing an interest in the lives of fellow MPs, won handily over her four male opponents in the party. Thatcher began her process by telling former Prime Minister and party leader at the time, Ted Heath, that she would be challenging him for the job. She had served in Heath’s cabinet as Secretary of State for Science and Education when Heath was Prime Minister between 1970 and 1974. The rest, of course, is history: In 1979, Thatcher did indeed become Britain’s first woman prime minister. But if anyone was expecting a more “sensitive” PM in a woman, they didn’t get it in Thatcher. She soon became known as the Iron Lady, and ruled Britain for more than 10 years before being forced to step down. After a decade, her party MPs had had enough of Thatcher’s unbending style, and she lost a leadership vote in November 1990, even though her party remained in power. While Thatcher had many critics, she was credited with making economic reforms that allowed certain members of the public to prosper financially.

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