Margaret Thatcher was Britains greatest leader since Churchill. Discuss.

[kentonio]

Ok, Mrs T gets a lot of hate from folks, but I'd argue that with the council house selloff, breaking the unions (at a time when they really did need breaking), modernizing the UK and winning the Falklands, she was indeed Britains greatest leader since Churchill. She was by no means perfect, but at the end of her term in office Britain was in a considerably better position than at the start.

Discuss.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

If we're talking Churchill's second term in office (ie- the senile years), the only leader you could really quibble about was Harold Wilson. The rest were all awful.

Churchill's first term does throw up the rather inconvenient Clement Attlee, who even Thatcher admitted was one of Britain's greatest ever PMs.

[kentonio]

Actually thats a major fail on my part. Can't argue with Clem.

[C0ckney]

thatcher she did a lot to fix the mess that the country was in during the 1970s. she also won the political argument with the public and shaped the political discourse in the UK. so much so that only now are we starting to move beyond her legacy.

clement atlee was a great PM. i think laz is being a bit harsh, tony blair, while i've no love for the man personally, did achieve a lot.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Bliar is probably better than Thatcher, but he is really Thatcher lite, so that is moot... fact is that after Attlee there was no clearly good PM.

[Hauldren Collider]

Ok, Mrs T gets a lot of hate from folks, but I'd argue that with the council house selloff, breaking the unions (at a time when they really did need breaking), modernizing the UK and winning the Falklands, she was indeed Britains greatest leader since Churchill. She was by no means perfect, but at the end of her term in office Britain was in a considerably better position than at the start.

Discuss.

Wow, you said something I agree with.

[kentonio]

Wow, you said something I agree with.

You might be surprised, I am a UK conservative after all. UK conservative just happens to = US liberal though.

[Dauphin]

Churchill was a good PM? I know the question is posed as 'leader'. Seems for both Thatcher and Churchill it was their wars wot made 'em great.

[giblets]

What is so great about keeping the Falklands?

[OneFootInTheGrave]

it's about something positive after almost half a century of getting battered and rejected post WWII...

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

i think laz is being a bit harsh, tony blair, while i've no love for the man personally, did achieve a lot.

Note the "was" in the thread title. Blair didn't come between Churchill and Thatcher chronologically.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

What is so great about keeping the Falklands?

Oil.

[MOBIUS]

North Sea oil was what kept Thatcher in power, that and the nationalistic jingoism stoked up by the Falklands War.

Frankly both her and Blair should be strung up...

[Berzerker]

she lead George "dont be wimpy" Bush into the Gulf War and the world paid for it with 9/11 and much more

and then George's son lead Blair into the 2nd Gulf War

who was before them? The word greatest sure wouldn't apply to those two

[The Mad Monk]

Note the "was" in the thread title. Blair didn't come between Churchill and Thatcher chronologically.

I think you're being a little tight in your interpretation, there.