First Thatcher ministry May 1979. The Winter of Discontent had seen the Labour government's popularity slump during the previous four months, and the opinion polls all pointed towards a Conservative victory. The Tories won the election with a majority of 44 seats and their leader Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first female prime minister. Thatcher inherited some of the worst economic statistics of postwar Britain. The nation was still feeling the effects of the numerous strikes during the recent Winter of Discontent. Inflation had recently topped 20%, and unemployment was in excess of 1.5 million for the first time since the 1930s. Thatcher's monetarist
Diana Gould – Margaret Thatcher exchange extent of Britain's eavesdropping. Diana Gould – Margaret Thatcher exchange An exchange on 24 May 1983 between Diana Gould, an English schoolteacher and former Women's Royal Naval Service meteorological officer, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was voted in 1999 as one of Britain's most memorable television spots. Gould confronted Thatcher on the BBC current-affairs programme "Nationwide" over the sinking of the "General Belgrano" during the 1982 Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina. Gould was appearing as a member of the public on "Nationwide"s "On the Spot" live election special. The "ARA General Belgrano", an Argentine war ship, sank