Evaluating Thatcher's Third General Election Of 1979

After winning a third General election in 1987, Thatcher made the unfortunate political mistake of introducing the Poll Tax, which contributed to her downfall. The Poll Tax lead to riots throughout the UK and in March 1990 there was a protest in London which resulted in hundreds of arrests and injuries. The unpopularity of the poll tax was widespread and caused many MPs to lose faith in Thatcher. She refused to give in but former defence secretary Michael Heseltine stood against her in a leadership election. Thatcher won the first ballot but narrowly lost the second ballot. After consulting her cabinet, Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister on the 28th November 1990 and John Major was appointed in her place.
After resigning, Thatcher continued
to be politically active and made speeches around the world. In 2003, her husband Denis died and she began to make less public appearances. Opposite a statue of her hero, Churchill, stands a statue of Thatcher and she was the first living prime minister to be honoured with a statue in the Houses of Parliament. As she grew older, Thatcher grew more frail and had short term memory loss. Margaret Thatcher died in 2013 at age 87, following a stroke.
Thatcher was the first female and longest-serving British prime minister. She was determined, courageous and she fully lived up to her nickname of “The Iron Lady”. She is arguably Britain’s most influential post-war prime minister and although she was and is a very controversial figure, Margaret Thatcher should be recognised as an admirable leader.