Margaret Bondfield By 1973, Christmas reported, only 93 women had sat in parliament; their contributions had overall "not been stunning". Their best numerical representation at that point had been in the 1966 general election, when 29 women (out of 630 MPs) had been elected. The 1979 election saw this number fall to 19, but also saw Margaret Thatcher become Britain's first woman prime minister. Cox and Hobley draw attention to Thatcher's early life as a shopkeeper's daughter, and contrast her account of those days with Bondfield's experiences half a century earlier. Thatcher believed that the concept of service to the customer was
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the Garter. The most recent former Prime Minister to die was Margaret Thatcher (served 1979–1990) on 8 April 2013, aged 87. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of the United Kingdom Government. The Prime Minister (informally abbreviated to PM) and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior ministers, most of whom are government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The Office is one of the Great Offices of State. The of