1. Thatcherism History 337 / March 26, 2012

2. February 1975: Thatcher replaces Heath as head of the Tories (then in opposition)

3. Thatcher helps to rally the “yes” vote for continuing British membership in the EEC

4. Labour’s James Callaghan at 10 Downing Street in 1976

5. 1978: Workers at a Ford plant in Britain vote to go on strike (and five weeks later, win a 17% pay hike)

6. Public-sector workers demand huge raises, too

7. Garbage goes uncollected as the “winter of discontent” deepens

8. Jan. 11, 1979: The Sun lampoons “Sunny Jim’s” efforts at optimism… borrowing from a 1975 album by Supertramp

9. The Conservatives (“Tories”) mount a slick campaign (produced by advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi)

10. Thatcher derides inflation

11. May 1979: Margaret Thatcher prepares to enter 10 Downing Street

12. Raising the VAT; over time, lowering income taxes

13. Thatcher’s policies yield inflation & a recession in 1980-81 – but then a return to growth

14. Unemployment rises sharply in the early 1980s (TUC poster)

15. Reagan and Thatcher, 1981

16. April 2, 1982: Argentina’s Galtieri announces the seizure of the Falkland Islands (a.k.a. the Malvinas)

17. Thatcher sends a “task force” to the Falklands, including the HMS Invincible

18. British soldiers stage an amphibious landing

20. Thatcher visits the Falklands, 1983… part of a successful reelection campaign

21. Thatcher takes on the miners, 1984-85

22. Scenes of intense bitterness

23. Thatcher demands a rebate (June 1984) (click here for an editorial cartoon by Plantu)click here

24. Thatcher remains controversial in Britain…