Margaret Thatcher the Conservatives attracted voters from the NF, whose support almost collapsed. In a meeting in July 1979 with Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington and Home Secretary William Whitelaw she objected to the number of Asian immigrants, in the context of limiting the total of Vietnamese boat people allowed to settle in the UK to fewer than 10,000 over two years. As Prime Minister, Thatcher met weekly with Queen Elizabeth II to discuss government business, and their relationship came under close scrutiny. Her biographer John Campbell writes: Michael Shea, the Queen's press secretary, had reportedly leaked anonymous rumours of a rift, which
Margaret Thatcher Thatcher did not devote herself entirely to studying chemistry as she only intended to be a chemist for a short period of time. Even while working on the subject, she was already thinking towards law and politics. She was reportedly prouder of becoming the first Prime Minister with a science degree than becoming the first woman, and as Prime Minister attempted to preserve Somerville as a women's college. During her time at Oxford, she was noted for her isolated and serious attitude. Her first boyfriend, (1926–2014), recalled that she was "very thoughtful and a very good conversationalist. That's probably what