Well howdy, welcome to UK history! It's a messy story, but I'll try to give you what I can.

Thatcher's Britain is generally regarded by all as a turning point in the modern history of the United Kingdom. Opinion, to this day, remains deeply divided on it.

I'll clarify in advance, that as someone living split across South Yorkshire, Durham County and South Wales, my reading of the Thatcher period may be skewed, I'll try to keep this as objective and historical as I can, but I'm wanting to make you aware of my potential subconcious bias in advance.

Firstly, a Brief introduction: Before Government

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Margret Thatcher joined Parliament as an MP in 1959, she was at the time, a neoliberal in the making, having become well reputed for her 1966 Conference Speech criticising the Labour Government's high tax focus, she was also one of a few Conservatives to support a bill to decriminalise male homosexuality and voted in favour of a bill to legalise Abortion.

In 1970 she became Education Secretary following the election victory of Edward (Ted) Heath, an office she served from 1970-74. Thatcher at this time attracted attention for her work trying to cut back on spending, particularly the abolition of free milk for Children, earning her the title 'Thatcher Milk Snatcher'.

In 1974, Heath, dealing with issues with Oil Embargoes and Trade Union demands for wage increases, lost the 1974 election. Thatcher, winning the backing of the party's influential 1922 Committee and The Spectator, challenged Heath and beat him on the first Ballot. She hence won the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1975, the party she inhereted was, at the time, greatly divided, and was responsible for it's reajustment towards Neo-liberal economic ideas at home and abroad, being influenced massively by the Institute of Economic Affairs (A pressure and policy research institute still active to this day - on a total side track, I've met it's current Leader Mark Littlewood who is actally my source on a variety of this!).

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