The Fall of Margaret Thatcher | John Major | Leading

A clip of former Prime Minister John Major outlining what he believes to be the reason for Margaret Thatcher's downfall.
#therestispolitics #johnmajor #margaretthatcher

[@jonvincentmusic]

Four words sum up her downfall: she would not listen.

[@Trebor74]

Perhaps she was right. She was the last politician that did what she said she would do. Major was an idiot. And,by the looks of it,still is.

[@iangascoigne8231]

True.

[@splinterbyrd]

Here's another four words: she was an alcoholic

[@DonJuanMarco1994]

Hubris took over her. That killed her.

[@splinterbyrd]

@@DonJuanMarco1994Kinnock said once, and he's right, after she won the Falklands, the 83 Election and the miners' strike, there was a noticeable change in Thatcher. She visibly started to swagger. She became presidential in her manner. When it came to the confidence vote of her Party in November 1990, she couldn't humble herself sufficiently to go round asking her own MPs to vote for her. She just strutted about arrogantly, thinking she was impregnable.

[@spankflaps1365]

One of my friends at school got a full poll tax bill. We were in 5th year, age 15/16 at the time, just before we did our O levels. He hadn’t left school or been expelled or anything like that. Quite the opposite, he went on to do his A levels, and became an airline pilot. Anyway it took his parents 6 months arguing with the council to get the bill cancelled.

[@minskdhaka]

Wow.

[@NickForest999]

Except you weren’t required to pay it until aged 18 as stated in The Community Charge regulations. Still, true story eh bro? 🥴

[@LadyInsipidity]

@@NickForest999you haven’t deflected his point of the administration’s zeal to disenfranchise disabled persons and vindictively fired workers who dared to raise their voice against management excesses. The epitome of ‘🤓👆’ bourgeois bootlicker

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

Major speaks extremely well.

[@raymondedwards8111]

Traitors do

[@Rendell001]

@@raymondedwards8111 You think he was a traitor to Margaret?

[@prof.heinous191]

For a cricket lover who sold all the cricket pitches, for someone who did away with the minimum wage brought in by Winston in Churchill in 1909, he speaks piss eloquent...

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@prof.heinous191 Interesting that you should mention that sale of cricket pitches before the minimum wage. Shows where your priorities are.

[@prof.heinous191]

@@ppuh6tfrz646 Is that a good thing or a bad thing? PS I hate cricket!

[@MiniUsyk]

Poll tax was brought into Scotland a year before the rest of the UK. Tommy Sheridan became the face of the anti poll tax protests in Scotland, burning the poll tax form. Thatcher was especially hated in Scotland and resonates to this day. I remember her at 1985 Scottish Cup final coming in after kick off and whole crowd booing and holding up red cards.

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

Maggie loved Scotland she gave them nearly everything before England got it.

[@Tia-Marie]

1:21 - I love the one second cameo by Rory Stewart

[@Elitist20]

They tried to poll tax me, even though I was an Australian who'd been living there only a year, doing the working holiday thing. Left the UK (was already going anyway) before they could sock me with it. Returned 5 years later for my former London flatmate's wedding (in the country near Winchester, straight out of the first wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral - magic!). They didn't arrest me when I arrived in the country - presumably Ealing Council couldn't afford to put a watch on all the airports - so I think I got away with it.

[@noblemann4898]

I was 20 back in 1990. Working but didn't pay a penny. Didn't worry about fines or prosecutions. I just knew the poll tax was an absolute stinker. On my day off work, I put my feet up and watched the riots live on TV. It was better than watching porn.

[@Elitist20]

@@noblemann4898 I narrowly escaped being caught up in the riots. I was at Leicester Square tube station and saw people coming in, carrying anti-poll tax signs. 'Oh,' I thought, 'there must be a demonstration against the poll tax somewhere.' I then saw smoke coming up from the direction of Trafalgar Square. 'Oh,' I thought, 'there must be a fire somewhere.' I didn't put the two together till I went home and saw it on the 6 O'Clock News.

[@cahillgreg]

@@noblemann4898 You do have a fanciful imagination

[@mustafamar1437]

I remember that my father used to pay £400 in rates, as it was called. Then the poll tax came in and all 6 of us were asked to pay £200 each which made it £1200 for the family. Tripling our rates made us anti Mrs Thatcher.

[@seansmith445]

Now the burden falls on single people who are hammered. Under the present system a family of four adults pays the same as a single person household.

[@Boomer2k6]

@@seansmith445 Not correct on Council Tax. Single person gets a 25% discount on Council Tax That said, it's still carrying a much bigger burden per person The system is simply not designed around 1-income households now

[@gwangjuboy1]

The problem with this narrative, is that the council tax, its successor, was even more onerous, and in many cases made the dustman pay far more than the duke. If you own a 20 million pound townhouse in Belgravia, you pay less than a tenant in a one bedroom flat in Sheffield. How is that fair?

[@pwp8737]

When in history have the rich and those who serve at their behest ever cared about fair?

[@AnhNguyen-hn9vj]

it is happening to US right now. they tax the commoner into homeless. this is just how capitalism work. lol Even warren buffet the billionaire think the whole thing is dumb.

[@malamalinka]

He makes a great point about European integration. It was brought by people who remembered the devastating impact of WW2 and understood that it’s the best way to avoid further armed conflicts in Europe. The separatists movements and whining about sovereignty which resulted in Brexit was brought on by people who grew up after.

[@matthewsemple]

One of the massive errors was to charge students the same rate as anyone else. So halls of residence up and down the country received bills for each room. Some may have had 50 students in a building. The rooms are often tiny and back then, students would share a bathroom and a kitchen between 15 or more people. The buildings are mainly on university campuses which have their own roads, bin collections, etc. and don't really use the council services like a normal property. Utterly ridiculous to charge each student a full bill. Since council tax was introduced, students have been exempt.

[@petergreen5337]

Well said and well OBSERVED.

[@johnridout6540]

Students weren't charged the full amount. As I recall it was 20% of the full amount.

[@matthewsemple]

@@johnridout6540 you're correct - they were only required to pay 20%. I didn't know that. Still most university halls of residences provide all the services of the council so bin collections, lighting, etc. are not provided by the council and it made little sense to try to collect from students in halls of residence. I went to University a few years later and the hall warden told me that the bills were all left unopened in the pigeon holes in the common room and were still all there at the end of the summer term when the students moved out.

[@johnridout6540]

@@matthewsemple Oh, I wasn't defending it.

[@matthewsemple]

@@johnridout6540 no I appreciate that and I thank you for your clarification because I wasn't previously aware that students only had to pay 20%. I remember the unemployed were only charged 20% - which was also daft because they would be paying tax from their benefits.

[@KidarWolf]

I'm rather enjoying these discussions with John Major. While I might disagree with his political stance in many areas, I think this is the sort of leader we need again to regain some semblance of politeness in British politics. I hope that any aspiring politicians take onboard this rather remarkable individual's views on the current political climate as opposed to the past political climate, as his insights in these interviews have been wonderfully refreshing.

[@global001]

So good Campbell let John Major talk this time. The beauty of these podcasts is actually hearing from the people who were there and letting them speak. Last one I watched Campbell interrupted Major telling him he knew the answer better & simply read from a book which we can all do. Always let the person you’re interviewing answer the questions. It’s why we’re all here. To find out from them their current thoughts.

[@petecodes]

Note to the producers - cut out the background music when they are talking :)

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

Seems they did.

[@ER1CwC]

So the attitude that caused Conservatives to lose faith in her at the time (“No no no”) is the very thing that endears her to them today. How times change.

[@JelMain]

Times don't change. The Tory Party has, and a complete car crash.

[@lublondon]

What an amazingly civilised conversation….

[@patrickkelly5609]

Excellent and insightful interview.

[@brianmarshall1637]

The pole tax principle was that everyone should pay for local services not just householders,unfortunately the way it was administered was a failure.

[@deanpapadopoulos3314]

I like John Major. It’s good to see him again and to hear his views. He always came across as an astute person who happened to be a politician.

[@simoncarswell3515]

I've met him (I filmed an interview with him for a conference). Very polite and respectful but at the same time quite intimidating. I got the impression he was a man who was very used to being in control. For example he and his assistant were scrupulous about checking precisely when I was and wasn't recording - presumably because he didn't want to be recorded saying something off the record. I had no problem with that (I'm a vidiot not a journalist!) I enjoyed meeting him, though - like I said, he was extremely courteous and respectful. But I wouldn't want to get on his bad side.

[@mgummer]

Thank God we they got rid of the poll tax, we might have ended up with something else called something ridiculous like "a council tax" or something

[@jamesmccann355]

And the general dismantling of our industry.

[@willhovell9019]

A great moment for the British people. Don't forget that Major subsequently privatised the Railways

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Yep - thanks for that mess. Kind of ironic that he did that - and Thatcher didn't. Our railways have been in a mess ever since. British Rail wasn't great - but I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone to say this implementation of privatisation has improved the railways.

[@michaelmouse4024]

The Poll Tax, Smart Motorways, HS2 & Brexit. Tory pipe dreams encouraged & funded despite clear evidence of significant failure: the sunken cost fallacy.

[@martinramsdale99]

JUNE 2024 The Poll Tax, and the riots it caused. Yet the Council Tax still remains to this day. 🇬🇧Ⓜ️🇬🇧🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@alfching2499]

It’s all designed to keep us struggling.They have a never let them feel comfortable fixation,and people with not much always vote for them,it’s a mystery to me ??????

[@andrewoliver8930]

If the elites hadn't have covered up Sir Jimmy's behaviour, she would have gone earlier. She gave him a job he wasnt qualified for at Broadmoor.

[@nicholasr39]

Who Edwina? I think it came from Thatcher and Edwina was told to be the face of that

[@krisinsaigon]

“The treasury said that if we were going to stop taxing enough money from rich people to cover the cost of services, that shortfall would be made up by increasing the tax burden on ordinary people” Well of course, that’s obvious

[@ruinerblodsinn6648]

When will the complete episode be released?

[@nicksimmons7234]

The podcast was released yesterday.

[@addazarmy6826]

Both episodes are over on Spotify I'm not sure if they're on KZbin

[@glassman1533]

I remember being an international student at the time in Bristol. The "Community Charge" was absolutely mad. Specifically, you can't get blood out of a stone. There are many different ways to raise local revenues such as property taxes (with tweaking) income taxes, local add ons for VAT, etc. The idea that a poor person and a rich person would pay the same amount in real terms for public services is just absolutely crazy. I remember tearing up my poll tax bill. Given that HM revenue hasn't chased after me over the last 30+ years so i think I'm in the clear.

[@lynxo5695]

​@addazarmy6826 it's not on Spotify, just checked

[@addazarmy6826]

@@lynxo5695 search for leading, it's not on the main rest is politics creator

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

John Major was a decent man regardless of the mistakes and Edwina. Mistakes are human after all. Never voted for him but seen through today’s eyes the Tories have nobody decent in their ranks anymore. Thatcher on the other hand was power mad and arrogant and I cried with relief when she walked out of No10 crying.

[@Trebor74]

So you forgive him for his past mistakes but everything he says now is gospel?

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

@@Trebor74 Nope. Thats far from what I said. But run with your own presumptions . Oh and learn to read.

[@themsmloveswar3985]

Nice to hear from Michael Caine again.

[@BarrySW19]

Kind of wish I still had my County Court judgement for non-payment of poll tax - I'd frame the thing now.

[@MegaMOUNDS]

Where can I watch the full interview?

[@dougie6886]

Fascinating

[@markwatkins8309]

I moved from rented to rented only to have to pay an increase in poll tax at the new property. It was a significant amount of extra money to find. Had I not notified the authorities of my move I could have paid that tax year at the lower, existing rate (prev property). More fool me. I'm sure many others experienced such unfairness's based on a postcode lottery rather than what the standard of property was like and/or one's earnings.

[@maded1988]

Brilliant interviews coming from a middle ground voter

[@Kevin-zz9nc]

Everything Major says is measured and well balanced. Thatcher didnt have the capacity to compromise.

[@robin231176]

"The PM had been assured by departmental ministers at the time"- i.e. Ken Baker.

[@chrispalmer7893]

Mostly Ken Baker - it was later said of him that he was clever enough to see the problems with the poll tax but ambitious enough to ignore them...

[@raylast3873]

And the Poll tax was brought down by a mass political campaign that led to 30+ million not paying the tax. It was a perfect storm of the massive anger that existed at the time against the Thatcher government finding an outlet combined with huge numbers of people that simply couldn’t afford to pay. But there was also the political campaign which was led by the Militant Tendency; they had about two years after the policy was announced to prepare a strategy for civil disobedience, protests, solidarity funds, etc. and it was extremely effective. This included small but crucial things like the fact that all Militant supporters refused to pay, from the start. Other leftist groups thought non-payment was not going to be an issue and this led to their own members paying and therefore not being a part of the struggle in the same way. And so we made iron filings of Thatcher.

[@johnwade7430]

But at the same time, by opting not to pay they effectively disenfranchised themselves. So what was the point? Another nail in the coffin was Maggie’s treatment of the Unions - especially the coal miners.

[@raylast3873]

@@johnwade7430 but they didn’t disenfranchise themselves. Yes, many Militant activists spent time in jail over this, but that’s a small price to pay for toppling Thatcher. In the end they forced the government to reverse its policy.

[@harveysmith100]

Privatisation will create competition and thus bring down prices and improve services. Margaret Thatcher. Just heard today that Thames Water is going bust.

[@Trebor74]

I remember when it took 6 months,or longer to get a phone line installed. Privatisation works,as long as done properly

[@kevnwarriner8819]

Poll Tax? Did he forget about closing down the Coal Mines without any Industries to replace the Jobs lost and telling Miners to get on their bikes as Lord Tebbit suggested, despite there being no Jobs for miles around and expecting Men 40+ to learn how to use Computers? There was much more than the Poll Tax considering that they cut Taxes for their wealthy donors and declared War on the poor, disabled, the elderly, the unemployed and the middle class and their Policies haven't changed in 40 years.

[@GBPaddling]

Tebbit was actually a Union Shop Steward.............can you believe that? The lies, Doublespeak, hypocrisy, double standards and connivance from these types is absolutely staggering, and the Media just give them an easy ride.

[@paddysyron]

Brilliant Englishman the Brian Clough of westminister. Respect from Ireland.

[@kevinshanahan6064]

The arrogance that Thatcher thought made her look decisive and just what the country wanted, turned out to be as Major alluded to, was not a skills set, but her downfall. In politics there are no votes in introducing a new tax to the payer taxpayer. Thatcher surrounded herself with “wets” (yes men), and wouldn’t have women in senior positions as rivals - can anyone name a woman in her Cabinets? The “wets” were fed up with her illogical sound bites - pissing into the wind with “no, no no.”

[@raymondbruce7175]

I thought it was because she was a tyrant and bully who was and still is hated by a great many people.

[@alfredthegreat9543]

I was arond 20 at the time, rented with friends, landlord paid the rates. Poll tax came in, rent didn't go down even though he no longer had to pay the rates. It was a massive political error on Thatchers part.

[@matthewbaynham6286]

One good question for John Major to answer is, why was the level of hate directed at Thatcher so high, that when she died large crowds were dancing in the street and the song from the Wizard of Oz titled "the witch is dead" became number one in the charts in celibration of her death. If she was such a great leader you would expect people to like her, but there was absolute hate directed at her on mass. Why was that?

[@jacobite2353]

People do love her, people also hate her.

[@matthewbaynham6286]

@@jacobite2353 people in her own party hated her so much they got rid of her. Now-a-days almost every Tory will say how they love Thatcher, but it was her own party that stabbed her in the back.

[@KidarWolf]

A month late, but I think the thing about Thatcher is that, whichever side of the divide you might have been, she incited people with passion, for better or worse. People, in general, don't celebrate the death of someone who did not incite them with a passionate feeling. Hate and love are opposite sides of the same coin - neither can happen if you don't feel strongly enough.

[@matthewbaynham6286]

@@KidarWolf that passion is pure hatred because she didn't give a damn if people lived or died, she was just pure evil.

[@iangascoigne8231]

@@KidarWolfTrue and when Arthur Scargill falls of his perch, all those Tories who were outraged by the celebrations, will be doing the same.

[@eddyk2016]

He's a good speaker

[@neilfranklin5036]

She destroyed areas like liverpool West Midlands yorkshire and the North East and you still get people sticking up for her with her 16 per cent interest rates she was just for the people with money like all the tories are

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

Very interesting.

[@richardmurphy4520]

A leading clinical cognitive psychologist assured me that Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher was completely & utterly barking mad.

[@s44yyr]

Whre's the full interview?

[@sham5280]

I would listen to John Major all day.

[@kevq761]

It was the Poll tax but i do seem to remember Major was " supposed " to be a joint sponsor in her challenged of leadership by Hestletine and Major " had a tooth out " and went quiet .

[@chrispalmer7893]

Major did second her nomination in the first ballot and had agreed to do so in the second if she had stood. Much as it is tempting to make something out of the wisdom tooth operation, it is well-documented that the operation had been planned some time in advance. Given that Thatcher's downfall happened much faster than anyone expected (and that she was the person most responsible for the timing of it; she had the date for nominations for the mandatory annual leadership election brought forward that year), there's really nothing in that. It would be more interesting if there was a conspiracy here, but sadly the facts just don't bear it out.

[@kevq761]

@@chrispalmer7893 He was as effective as a catflap in an elephant house. Had he's been more supportive the cabinate might have held their nerve

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@kevq761 No, she was finished. No one knew better than her cabinet that she'd lost her touch. If Major had gone all out in support of her and made it clear he wouldn't run they'd have just formed up behind Heseltine or Hurd (I suspect most of the Cabinet would have supported Hurd).

[@kevq761]

@@chrispalmer7893 That i do agree. She had had her time

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Yeah - I have always been suspicious of that incident. I think he knew that her days were numbered, and hence why he went missing.

[@kevinjackson292]

John Major was part of Mrs Thatcher's campaign team in 1990.

[@neilchapman8041]

Nice to hear honesty at last…. He was possibly the most honest and talented man to become PM…. A pity he had to be when he was

[@john.premose]

What brought Thatcher down? Being a miserable b.....

[@glenallen196]

How far the Conservative arty has fallen in selecting their leaders. Wouldn't agree with many of his policies but where politics are concerned (fealty aside) john major has integrity.

[@1951GL]

Any town with rows of small terraced houses was hammered by the poll tax - as were families on low wages with working children living at home. Lawson saw this clearly and the likelihood of local councils upping their spending, hoping to hide the bill, as the poll tax came in.

[@seansmith445]

Now single people are hammered.

[@borismuller86]

Funny he said there have been so many false narratives. I always heard it was Poll Tax. I can’t think of another narrative I ever heard…

[@andrewwalker3312]

tories transferring the financial burdens onto the poor from the rich as much as possible they've done it repeatedly its there reason for being in existance

[@888ssss]

campbell is pure snake

[@davidfellows1650]

I remember when Thatcher died and the musical, Billy Elliott continued with the performance which included the song, Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher! Brilliant.

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

I live with the knowledge she lived to an age that most thieving lowlife scum socialists wont.

[@SmolDeBrol]

The No, No, No, No was about Jacques Delors stating that in the future 80% of national legislation would be determined by the European institutions.

[@johnstirling6597]

Was Edwina whispering in your ear then JM?

[@garymcsullea7330]

She broke Britain. A narcissist.

[@1258-Eckhart]

I got some sort of interference from music in the background.

[@TT_1221]

I get it on the poll tax and the Europe issue but not sure she would have lost the next election for the conservatives. Possibly but its counter factual, no way of knowing that but Major would say that as he won the next election as party leader. I'm sure Thatcher is on record as saying she wanted to carry on into the '91 election and another one after that ('95/'96) which given her leadership style and disconnection from her cabinet would have been impossible anyway. Having won 3 ('79/'83/'87) she should have planned her own departure after Lawson left.

[@johntomlinson6849]

Disappoints me to see Major cosying up to a proven liar like Campbell.

[@stephfoxwell4620]

Loss of Trust.

[@garyh5541]

Two Things! Not Listening Supreme Arrogance

[@mothermovementa]

Definitely poll tax

[@thejoin4687]

yOu mEaN tHe cOmMuNiTy ChArGe

[@chrisnewman7281]

long retired John Major a major voice for rational conservative thinking

[@cgrima117]

Thats actually a very accurate account.

[@lugano1999]

Her hubris. The poll tax. And in re John Major - the big proponent of privatisation which leads to massive wealth for the boards of directors and CEOs (both usually Tory mates) AND no investment in the services involved, low wages and higher costs for the public. Think UK trains and water - and the Tories deliberately decimating the NHS so they could privatise it, something which they have been doing ever since 2010, ramped up further by Jeremy Hunt when he was in charge of it. And he actually wrote about privatising the NHS as a goal of his.

[@ManGoatHamburger]

For all of Thatcher’s many failings, her greatest achievement was that those who organised against her frequently utilised her core values in doing so: initiative, enterprise, resilience, character, voluntarism and a healthy suspicion of the state. Her biggest enemies were often her greatest advertisement.

[@ianhamilton530]

poll tax is dwarfed by council tax now

[@matthewsemple]

This is true. By stealth council tax has become prohibitively expensive while all the council services have been slashed.

[@roscomeon3965]

What an outstanding Prime Minister with an outstanding intellect. A man of dignity integrity class decency and principle. A true patriot. Its enthralling to listen to him in his cool calm courteous way.

[@oldschool3670]

😂😂😂

[@roscomeon3965]

@@oldschool3670 your reply says a lot about you and all of it negative.

[@JelMain]

@@roscomeon3965 Be fair. She was needed after Healeygnomics, but megalomania set in after about 4 years. If someone had brought her back to earth, she'd have been one of the greats, but they all wanted the job, and when she'd finally outstayed her welcome, so had they: Major was the best of the rest, which wasn't saying much. it's certainly my military side coming out there, I expect a firm reply, whatever it is, and handshake with the best - Malmo's Chief of Police had a great one.

[@georgesdelatour]

There’s an incredible irony to Major’s career in government. He persuaded a reluctant Margaret Thatcher to join the ERM. She had said that it couldn’t work because “you can’t buck the market”. But the woman Major claims never listened did listen to him, and complied with his policy preference, even though she thought it was pure folly. But then, in September 1992, with Major now installed as PM, along came Black Wednesday. The Pound crashed out of the ERM, exactly as Thatcher had predicted. After this, it was virtually certain Major would lose the next general election. People were so bitter about the high interest rates and the house repossessions, all for an ideologically motivated policy which had failed disastrously. All the policy had achieved was to make George Soros a billionaire. The final irony is this. Between Black Wednesday and the election of Tony Blair the macroeconomic governance of the UK wound up being the best it's ever been since the end of World War Two. Forced to quietly implement economic policies he despised, Major laid the foundations for the Blair boom years.

[@JelMain]

@@georgesdelatour A case for dispensing with politicians in government completely, the EU's model. I'm a product of Eddie George and Mervyn King's training in 1977, in passing: top theory contrasting with Healey's incompetence. I was the UN's economist of choice to sort Albania out in 1977, and have played, as needed, at that Tier One level ever since.

[@alfching2499]

The Great British we need a Woman Running it.She Run It Alrite and we are paying the price because of her

[@user-oo8xp2rf1k]

At the time my income was you to £320 a month. I worked full time in a restaurant and was 19. The largest single purchase I had ever made at that point was a second had guitar for £35 and a pair of new shoes for £25. I had saved £90 in an account over there previous year. My poll tax bill was £360. I found it hard to imagine what it would be like to have £360, let alone give it to anyone. It just seemed silly - like giving me a tax bill for £10,000,000 and then offering me a £9,999,999 working person's tax support benefit. The admin for that would obviously cost the state about £200 a year to process. It's important to pay for street lamps - but I needed money Fri food rent and clothes. I couldn't live of scraps in the kitchen and sleep in the store room, while the state paid some poor dhss admin assistant £10,000 a year to administrate my meaningless tax bill. I'm sure she meant well. I'm not against conservative perspectives. But the devil is always in the detail .

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

She did not want you wasting your hard enarned money on things you did not need.

[@user-oo8xp2rf1k]

@@rogermoore-gd9do Indeed 🫤!

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

What's a poll tax?

[@Dusty2feathers]

And then we went downhill from there with major then Blair followed by brown. 3 PM's that left a lot to be desired

[@librarian971]

A real gent from a bygone age.

[@Dean_dialectic]

Who slopped his mini member in that human ashtray Edwina Currie

[@AlexLee360]

He was a terrible prime minster

[@raymondwebb4179]

The truth,

[@heatheryearwood9199]

She lived up to hdr second nane Hilda....a right fighter she was.

[@Rich-ng3yy]

She was unpopular for a long time. It's not accurate to state she divided opinion as if it was a sort of 50 50 except in the early days. Once unemployment began to strike across all walks of life, including the media the conservatives as a whole were also unpopular along with her. The thing rhat kept them in power was a narrative that Labour were amateurish, naive in ecconomics and to a certain extent for some , defence. The mantra "You don't want Mr Jones back" from Animal Farm was very like their absurd 70's rewrite of history and yet it was so successful it is repeated to this day pundits who weren't even born at the time. Half of the 70's in fact had a Tory government and being pre Thatcher it was the narrowest the poverty gap had been. Many of the problems alluded to in 70's were temporary, whereas the harm Thatcher did surrounds us to this day.

[@davidgaskin5417]

Because council tax was such a fairer system 🙄 At least the poll tax stopped massive groups all living in 1 place paying 1 amount ..while some poor widow got hit with a massive council tax bill because her late husband left her the house.

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

Yes that is why she brought it in she said so in her autobiography, many people wrote to her about the unfairness.

[@akshayiyer8897]

Yes Minister is truely a documentary

[@haseebur-rehman3218]

The only person who actually ever fought in WW2 and that too entirely singlehandedly.. and of course won the War for Engerland, is Mark François.

[@BossySwan]

Ground control to Major John

[@davidhayes4814]

Thatcher brought down Thatcher.

[@junkboxxxxxx]

Thatcher died from her hubris, she said "No No No" and stood firm against the Grim Reaper.

[@AmyWinehouse.914]

The EU tried to make her go to Rehab she said.......

[@vindolanda6974]

Those pictures of poll tax protestors.. .rather have them than the recent Palestine marches.

[@heldavanwinkle5050]

herself

[@JK-br1mu]

How could you treat Thatchuh like that?

[@Dabhach1]

At the very least, the optics of the poll tax were absolutely insane. In what reality did Thatcher think people would not viscerally react against it?

[@danny1884]

The peas are good tonight dear.

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

How we could do with her now instead of this Abdul, Cornershop should never have been made leader!

[@user-mx6sh2hy8x]

I miss Margaret

[@prof.heinous191]

Remind me, who was the last monarch to try and sing a poll tax, was it an Edward in the Twelfth century, can't quite remember. Think it was his downfall too, thank God Thatcher never learnt any lessons from history...

[@wobblertv8083]

Poll tax, and the fact she had early onset dementia didn't help .

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

She died 23 years later i dont think it takes that long.

[@petemack1161]

Ding dong

[@TheNelster72]

Thatcher was booted out because she opposed European centralisation and a single currency. Don't let any nonsense about the poll tax sway you on that if you weren't around at the time.

[@rogermoore-gd9do]

You are right that was the main reason but it was the Poll tax that made her an Election winner doubt. Most of the public had no interest in the European single currency at the time, but if it was not for her we would have had the euro.