Margaret Thatcher become a generic descriptor for strong-willed female politicians. Thatcher became Prime Minister on 4 May 1979. Arriving at Downing Street she said, paraphrasing the misattributed Prayer of Saint Francis: Thatcher was to remain in office throughout the 1980s. For most of her premiership, she was described as the most powerful woman in the world. Thatcher was Leader of the Opposition and Prime Minister at a time of increased racial tension in Britain. Commenting on the local elections of 1977, "The Economist" noted "The Tory tide swamped the smaller parties. That specifically includes the National Front (NF), which suffered a clear
Margaret Thatcher her premiership. Thatcher was parodied by Wells in several media. He collaborated with Richard Ingrams on the spoof "Dear Bill" letters, which ran as a column in "Private Eye" magazine; they were also published in book form and became a West End stage revue titled "Anyone for Denis?", with Wells in the role of Denis Thatcher. It was followed by a 1982 TV special directed by Dick Clement, in which Thatcher was played by Angela Thorne. Since her resignation as Prime Minister in 1990, Thatcher has been portrayed in a number of television programmes, documentaries, films and plays. She was