Margaret Thatcher became Conservative leader in 1975 and successfully introduced a number of monetarist policies. In 1979, the party was returned to power because of the Labour government's handling of the 'Winter of Discontent' and Britain's growing inflation. Thatcher was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and won the General Elections of 1979, 1983 and 1987. Thatcher's second and third terms saw the privatisation of most of Britain's state-owned industry, such as British Telecom in 1984, British gas in 1986, British Airways in 1987 and British Leyland and British Steel in 1988.