Summary: On Monday in London, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died at 87. Today, on the DailyCast: we look at the life of Margaret Thatcher. It’s Thursday, and this is the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening today. Margaret Thatcher was the leader of Great Britain for 11 years, from 1979 to 1990, and was the country’s first female Prime Minister. Like most leaders, Margaret Thatcher was controversial. By that, I mean that many people loved her, while many others hated her. Those who loved her called her “The Iron Lady”, because they thought she was a strong leader. She was very conservative and hated that people viewed Britain as being, in her words, the “sick old man of Europe”. As Prime Minister, she tried to change what she called the “culture of dependency” in the country. When she talked about the “culture of dependency”, she was basically referring to her belief that Britons relied too much on help from the British government. She didn’t think that they worked hard enough or were independent enough. So, as Prime Minister, she cut, or reduced, government spending; fought against the unions, which are organized groups of workers; and privatized many industries by changing them from being controlled by the government to being controlled by private companies. Some of her policies, or things that she did as Prime Minister, hurt British workers and poor people. So, instead of calling her “The Iron Lady”, those who didn’t like her called her “Thatcher the Uncaring”. The people who liked and supported her and those who did not disagreed with each other on many things. But they probably agreed that in her 11 years as Prime Minister, she had a huge impact on Britain. In addition to the controversial domestic changes, or changes within the country, Thatcher took some controversial actions internationally. The biggest example of this was in 1982, when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, which are small islands that are close to Argentina, but are controlled by Britain. Thatcher’s response to the invasion was strong and aggressive. She sent the British navy to fight back and ordered it to sink an Argentinian ship, resulting in the deaths of 323 sailors. Many people thought that was unnecessary, because the Argentinian ship was sailing away from the British ships and was not a danger to them. But the short war, which ended just three months later on June 14, made her much more popular. Thatcher celebrated her country’s victory, saying that it would bring a “new spirit” for Britain. And that really was her goal as Prime Minister, to create what she believed was a new and better spirit for her country. Margaret Thatcher was born in 1925, studied chemistry at Oxford University, married in 1951, and had twins in 1953. Only after she became a wife and a mother did she begin her political career, in 1959. Twenty years later, she would become the first – and only – female Prime Minister of Britain. And today, four days after her death, she’s being remembered not only as one of the most controversial, but also as one of the most important, leaders in British history. ~~~~~~~~~~ What are your thoughts on Margaret Thatcher? Do you agree with the people who saw her as “The Iron Lady”, or with those who called her “Thatcher the Uncaring”? Let us know by leaving a comment on our website. ESLnewscast.com is “Your English Window to the World”, and wherever you are in the world, I hope you have a good day. Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. Bye-bye.
