Just broaching the subject of her reign brings a tirade from my elderly granddad, an old-school socialist with a fondness for unions and collectivism. Mention her name to other sides of my family though and they'll speak about her more fondly, my aunt and uncle amongst those who benefited from her policies.
It's for this reason I'll be avoiding her name at the next family get together. At the tail end of her reign a full scale debate about Thatcherism erupted over a family meal. So fractious did it get my aunt and granddad had a full-scale falling out. They barely spoke for two weeks.
Speak to families across the British Isles and you'll hear similar stories, as such was the nature of Thatcherism. Divisive, her ideology and policies had an impact that's been unparalleled since.
Ushering in a new era of free-market capitalism, she impacted not only in British shores but also American, influencing President Reagan and his subsequent 'Reaganomics'.
In contrast to British government's post-World War II, key to her philosophy was individualism and upon her election in 1979 her first priority was revamping the British economy and re-energising enterprise culture.
Rather than planning and regulating business, she saw the government's job to get out of the way. Businesses and entrepreneurs were to be seen as the drivers of economic growth, rather than governments.
Putting huge companies like British Telecom, British Airways and Rolls Royce into private hands, she sought to increase efficiency and competition, whilst dismantling Britain's huge trade unions, she took away their stranglehold on the British economy.
Costly state owned industries like mining and shipbuilding were gradually sold off or closed down, Thatcher's economic blueprint to create a service, rather than manufacturing based economy.
A huge sea change from the socialist styled thinking that dominated Britain post war, for many in my granddad's generation this shift was met with scepticism - that was all they knew.
As such, resistance was strong in Britain's industrial heartlands, Arthur Scargill's National Union of Mineworkers amongst those put up the fiercest fight against Thatcher's plans. The strongest union in Britain at the time, their eventual defeat proved a watershed in the British trade union movement. Their influence on British politics significantly decreased and it's debatably never recovered.
Ever divisive, whilst some floundered under her leadership though, others flourished. Small businesses and start-ups grew significantly during her time in Westminster, and the reaction to her death from Britain's entrepreneurs was almost universally positive last week, Richard Branson stating that 'she changed Britain for the better'.
Elsewhere, she deregulated The City, liberalising London's financial district. Abolishing exchange rate controls, she set the path for London to become a global financial centre, big American banks like Goldman Sachs setting up on British shores creating jobs and growth.
So phenomenal was the impact of her laissez faire attitude to the banking sector, that upon taking power in 1997 the Labour party continued to deregulate further, bankers given greater freedom than they had ever had before. Less interference equalled more growth and for a while this policy rewarded Britain considerably... until the financial crisis of 2007.
Her harshest critics will say she sowed the seeds for this and it's accusation that may well hold some weight. Looking at the broader picture and the platitudes given by Branson amongst others, I'd say it's hard to dispute that Thatcher was anything but good for British business.
I just hope my granddad doesn't read this.
Author Bio
Mark James is an in-house Writer for online accountants Crunch and limited company formation agents, GoLimited. He specialises in freelancing and small business.
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