Thatcher had two things going for her really, first the Labour Party was in an utter mess at the time, ruderless, leaderless and being pulled apart by militant dingbats, it was in the process of spawning the LibDems.
Then the Argies handed her the second election on a plate by invading the Falklands, although one has to give her credit for insisting on taking them back, which I doubt any other PM would have bothered with.
That said Thatcher was never popular, even in the Tories, she was grudgingly respected by her supporters and outright hated by the rest, her election was more an expression of the UK's despair after the winter of discontent than any real love or wish for her to be in power, she was seen as the only strong leader available at a time when the UK felt it needed a strong leader.
Last edited by afc wimbledon; 04-08-2013 at 04:08 PM.
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