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
Diana Gould – Margaret Thatcher exchange 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 with the loss of