Margaret Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his Conservative government. In 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition, the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election. Thatcher introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high unemployment and Britain's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an ongoing recession. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly
Statue of Margaret Thatcher (Palace of Westminster) called for the removal of the statue only a week after it was installed. He gained the support of three other MPs, including Glenda Jackson. In 2013, MPs were warned not to touch the statue's toes for good luck as it was damaging it. Statue of Margaret Thatcher (Palace of Westminster) The statue of Margaret Thatcher inside the Houses of Parliament, London, is a bronze sculpture of Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was ordered in 2003 following a change in rules to allow the depiction of living Prime Ministers in Parliament under certain