Third Thatcher ministry Third Thatcher ministry Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 4 May 1979 to 28 November 1990, during which time she led a Conservative government. She was the first woman to hold that office. During her premiership, Thatcher moved to liberalise the British economy through deregulation, privatisation, and the promotion of entrepreneurialism. This article details the third government Thatcher led at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II from 1987 to 1990. The Conservatives were elected for a third successive term in June 1987, with a majority of 102 seats. It enabled Margaret Thatcher to become the longest-serving
Diana Gould – Margaret Thatcher exchange toward it. The exchange between Thatcher and Gould became iconic, remembered because of Gould's persistence in asking why Thatcher had given the order, which seemed to rattle the prime minister. It was described as "the day Margaret Thatcher met her match". Thatcher was reportedly angry that the BBC had allowed the question to be asked. Her husband, Denis Thatcher, told the producer that the BBC was run by "a nest of long-haired Trots and wooftahs". Gould wrote a book about her experience, "On the Spot: The Sinking of the Belgrano" (1984). Diana Sydney Gould ("née" Prigg, 18 April 1926 –