The Iron Lady (film) in the House of Commons, Costume Design: Pearls and Power Suits, Denis: The Man Behind the Woman". The Iron Lady (film) The Iron Lady is a 2011 British-French biographical drama film based on the life and career of Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013), a British stateswoman and politician who was the first ever female and longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th century. The film was directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Thatcher is portrayed primarily by Meryl Streep, and, in her formative and early political years, by Alexandra Roach. Thatcher's husband, Denis Thatcher (1915–2003), is portrayed by Jim Broadbent, and
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom decision-making. Former ministers such as Clare Short and Chris Smith have criticised the lack of decision-making power in Cabinet. When she resigned, Short denounced "the centralisation of power into the hands of the Prime Minister and an increasingly small number of advisers". Graham Allen (a Government Whip during Tony Blair's first government) made the case in "The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest About the UK Presidency" (2003) that in fact the office of prime minister has presidential powers. However, the presidentialisation thesis has been extensively criticised as well. Keith Dowding, for example, argues that British Prime Ministers are already more