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
Premiership of Margaret Thatcher war and defeated Argentina to recover the Falkland Islands. She was a leader in the coalition against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. She developed an excellent relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Since the death of Margaret Thatcher in 2013, several government documents relating to her premiership have been declassified and released by the National Archives. Papers released in December 2014 show that Thatcher completely disapproved of GCSEs which, in 1986, Sir Keith Joseph was trying to introduce in the face of fierce opposition from teaching unions. At very least she wanted a 2-year delay to ensure rigorous syllabuses and adequate