Despite the rampant historical inaccuracies, I largely enjoyed Netflix’s The Crown, but one of the aspects of the show that bothered me the most was its portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. The writers treated her as awkward and bigoted, and Gillian Anderson portrayed the Iron Lady as a caricature, somehow winning an Emmy for it.
Even though The Crown wants viewers to think that she was ineffectual and odd, Thatcher was the leader Great Britain needed in the 1980s. On the centenary of her birth, it’s worth reflecting on her legacy.
Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on Oct. 13, 1925. Her father was a grocer, which led to the name of the Facebook tribute page “The Grocer’s Daughter.” She studied chemistry at Oxford University, but politics began to call her name. She became president of the Conservative Association at Oxford, and she married Denis Thatcher in 1951.
She won her first election to Parliament in 1959 and rose in leadership enough to become the leader of the Tories in a surprise 1975 win. In 1979, the Conservatives won the general election, elevating her to Prime Minister, a position she would hold until 1990.
The UK Government’s official biography sums up her leadership nicely:
Her first 2 years in office were not easy - unemployment was very high, but the economy gradually showed improvement. She brought more of her supporters into the Cabinet, and added to her reputation by leading the country to war against Argentina in the Falkland Islands.
The Conservatives went on to win the 1983 election by an overwhelming majority, helped by a divided opposition. Her government followed a radical programme of privatisation and deregulation, reform of the trade unions, tax cuts and the introduction of market mechanisms into health and education. The aim was to reduce the role of government and increase individual self-reliance.
She also became a familiar figure internationally, creating a famous friendship with US President Reagan and gaining the praise of Soviet leader Gorbachev.
Her legacy as a strong, inspiring leader hasn’t transferred into today’s Conservative Party. Even though Tory leader Kemi Badenoch cited her as an example and influence in her party conference speech last week, the Conservatives have strayed far from Thatcher’s genuinely conservative vision for governing the UK.
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ReformUK’s Nigel Farage cited Britain’s economic recovery in the ‘80s under Thatcher’s leadership as history worth repeating. “The big bang of the 1980s, that’s worth mentioning because today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Thatcher,” he said. “Love her or not, she broke up the City of London, and we got massive investment coming in, and we really made London the world’s leading center.”
“If you ever want to have a look at an example of sensible deregulation, getting rid of ridiculous market practices and customs leading to success, the big bang in London in the 80s is one of them,” he added. “So what we’re going to need is big bang two, with (digital assets) being right at the epicenter of what we want to try to do.”
On her 64th birthday, Thatcher spoke at the Conservative Party conference and received birthday cheers and a 14-minute standing ovation.
Today marks what would have been Margaret Thatcher's 100th birthday.#OnThisDay in 1989, Margaret Thatcher receives a 14 minute standing ovation following her speech at the Conservative Party conference, commemorating both 10 years in office as well as her birthday.
— Margaret Thatcher (@realmrsthatcher) October 13, 2025
The… pic.twitter.com/ci9ypFk90J
“Conviction. Principle. Patience. Clarity. Vision. Loyalty. Courage. Duty. Optimism. Integrity. Faith. Generosity. Those are the characteristics of a real leader, and they epitomise all that Margaret Thatcher stood for,” writes Donal Blaney at CapX. “One hundred years to the day that she was born, it is right that we reflect on what a remarkable woman she was, and how fortunate we were as a nation to be led by her. And perhaps, in our own small way, we can each commit to follow her example.”
Thatcher was a woman of deep conservative conviction and sincere Christian faith, and those values showed up in her governance. Let’s raise a toast to the Iron Lady on what would have been her 100th birthday.
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