MARGARET ROBERTS THATCHER - UNITED KINGDOM

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06239538
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2016
• Case Number: F-2014-01469
• Publication Date: November 6, 1985

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Margaret Roberts THATCHER
Prime Minister (since May 1979)
Addressed as: Prime Minister
UNITED KINGDOM
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has led
the Conservative Party since 1975 and dominates
British politics. She is a demanding leader with
unshakeable self-confidence and conviction in her
ideological and policy views. Furthermore, she sees
any willingness to compromise as a weakness and
meets any challenge to her as party leader or prime
minister with drive and determination.
Thatcher's uncompromising (b)(1)
attitude and passionate commitment�once (b)(3)
admired by Britons�are now widely viewed as
reflecting insensitivity and inflexibility. As a result,
her popularity rating has dropped to its lowest level since 1982. Moreover, the Conservative
Party has fallen to third place in recent public opinion polls, causing many political
observers and Tory politicians to wonder whether Thatcher has become a liability to the
party and should reassess her publicly stated intention of seeking a third term (elections
must be held by 1988).
Thatcher's Team and the Domestic Scene
After she led the Tories to a crushing victory in the 1983 national election, Thatcher
chose for her Cabinet mostly men sharing her own strain of rightwing conservativism and
commitment to self-reliance. Some Tory politicians doubt, however, whether she is well
served by these ministers, inasmuch as many have too narrow a political perspective and lack
the experience, intellectual dynamism, and ability to formulate and effectively defend
government policies. Also, the British media report that many Britons view her Cabinet as
accident prone and uncaring, evident by its muddled and unsympathetic handling of several
domestic issues such as social program spending cuts. Finally, with the Cabinet staffed with
ministers widely viewed as uninspired Thatcher disciples, several traditional Tory
constituencies and large segments of the electorate have become alienated from the
government and increasingly call for modification in Thatcher's personal style and policy
direction.
Thatcher has focused her second government's agenda on continuing what she calls the
"radical" policies of her first term�reducing the government's role in the economy,
reforming social services, creating an enterprise culture to promote job creation, battling
socialism, and curtailing trade union power most
Britons believe these policies are overly confrontational and draconian and defeat
widespread desires for political conciliation and moderation. Since Thatcher is pursuing the
same policy themes as before, her government may be running
out of steam and losing its ability to define the domestic political battlefield. Furthermore,
dissatisfaction with Thatcher's priorities and leadership has also increased among Tory
parliamentarians, who have demonstrated their unease by refusing to support her on several
votes in Parliament. (Thatcher's 140-seat majority in the House of Commons, however,
precludes any real chance of her government falling.)
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CR M 85-15908
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Thatcher blames poor public presentation of her government's successes for its image
problem and geared her September 1985 Cabinet shuffle to highlight more effective
spokesmen. She points to the several years of steady economic growth, low inflation, and
increased exports as proof of the effectiveness of her fiscal policies. Her government's lack of
success on unemployment�now nearly 14 percent and Britain's most politically charged
issue�has, however, effectively negated public perceptions of the government's economic
gains elsewhere. Indeed, we believe that Thatcher's harsh public image, her government's
poor reputation, and its inability to alleviate unemployment have been the primary factors
behind her and the Tories' slide in opinion polls.
Foreign and Defense Policy
Thatcher often acts as her own foreign minister. Well known for her sharply worded
criticism of the Soviet Union, she has also been a leading voice promoting the expansion of
dialogue and greater understanding between East and West. In December 1984 she met now
Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and described him as
someone with whom the West could "do business." Thatcher is a firm ally of the United
States and has publicly stated that Britain cannot defend itself without this country, which
she calls the "final guarantor of Europe's liberty." A strong supporter of President Ronald
Reagan, she believes he shares her views on the importance of private enterprise and the way
to meet the Soviet challenge. Thatcher has repeatedly stated her support for research on
SDI and hopes that British companies will benefit from technological and commercial
exchanges associated with the project. Despite this, she has at other times been outspoken
about US policies with which she disagrees.
Personal Data
Thatcher, 60, is a scathing debater, a tireless worker, and a fast learner who has no
tolerance for bureaucracy or bureaucratic delay. A graduate of Oxford, she has worked as a
research chemist and a lawyer. She has served in Parliament since 1959. In October 1984
she narrowly survived an assassination attempt when the Provisional Irish Republican Army
detonated a bomb in the hotel where she was staying. She and her husband, Denis, a retired
oil company executive, have grown twins: Carol, a journalist, and Mark, a business
consultant.
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6 November 1985
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