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Margaret Thatcher

347 quotes

“I am a conviction politician. The Old Testament prophets didn't say, 'Brothers, I want a consensus.' They said, 'This is my faith, this is what I passionately believe. If you believe it too, then come with me.'”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Thatcher Speech Warms Up the British Campaign, The New York Times, 19 April 1979
“There are people in this country who are the great destroyers; they wish to destroy the kind of free society we have. They wouldn't have the freedom and the kind of society they wish to impose on us. Many of those people are in the unions. Many many people in the unions do not wish to strike, and I think many of those who struck in hospitals and in the ambulance service didn't wish to. I'm not suggesting that every strike is dominated by those, but a number are.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: TV Interview for Thames TV TV Eye (24 April 1979)
“I can't bear Britain in decline. I just can't.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interviewed by Michael Cockerell for BBC TV's Campaign '79 (27 April 1979).
“We Conservatives...are realists. We know that the British are one of the most creative and gifted peoples on earth. But we also know that the British are individualists, who do not respond to state direction and control. We like leadership—yes. But, above all, we like freedom.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for the News of the World (29 April 1979)
“I proclaim with confidence that Britain can get right back into the world competitive race if only we can break free of the collective chains which hold us back. Unlike the socialists, who trust the state, we trust the people. That is why we are the party of freedom.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for the News of the World (29 April 1979)
“In this over-governed country of ours, the creative majority have too little freedom, and the tiny minority of wreckers have too much licence. The government I shall form next weekend will decisively reverse this state of affairs. Help me to liberate those who create wealth—and to make the wreckers run for cover.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for the News of the World (29 April 1979)
“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: BBC (1979); reported in John Blundell, Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady (2008), page 193.
“I have thought long and deeply about the post of Foreign Secretary and have decided to offer it to Peter Carrington who – as I am sure you will agree – will do the job superbly.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Edward Heath (4 May 1979), who had been hoping for the job of Foreign Secretary in Thatcher's government, quoted in Edward Heath, The Course of My Life (Hodder and Stoughton, 1998), p. 574
“It has been suggested by some people in this country that I and my government will be a “soft touch” in the [[w:European_Community|[European] Community]]. In case such a rumour may have reached your ears, Mr Chancellor...it is only fair that I should advise you frankly to dismiss it (as my own colleagues did, long ago). We shall judge what British interests are and we shall be resolute in defending them.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at dinner for West German Chancellor (Helmut Schmidt) (10 May 1979)
“Communism never sleeps, never changes its objectives, nor must we. Our first duty to freedom is to defend our own. Then one day we might export a little to those peoples who have to live without it. Let no one be under any misunderstanding about the inflexible resolve of Her Majesty's Government to strengthen our defences and to play our full part in the defence of a free Europe.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at "Youth for Europe" Rally (2 June 1979)
“I must be absolutely clear about this. Britain cannot accept the present situation on the Budget. It is demonstrably unjust. It is politically indefensible: I cannot play Sister Bountiful to the Community while my own electorate are being asked to forego improvements in the fields of health, education, welfare and the rest.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Winston Churchill Memorial Lecture (18 October 1979) regarding the UK's contribution to the European Community budget.
“They are all a rotten lot. Schmidt and the Americans and we are the only people who would do any standing up and fighting if necessary.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark to President of the European Commission Roy Jenkins on her European Community colleagues (22 October 1979), quoted in Roy Jenkins, European Diary, 1977-1981 (London: Collins, 1989), p. 511
“Pennies don't fall from heaven, they have to be earned here on earth.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Lord Mayor's Banquet (12 November 1979)
“We are not asking for a penny piece of Community money for Britain. What we are asking is for a very large amount of our own money back, over and above what we contribute to the Community, which is covered by our receipts from the Community.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Press Conference after Dublin European Council (30 November 1979) when she was trying to renegotiate Britain's EEC budget contribution at the EEC Summit in Dublin. Often quoted as "I want my money back".
“I have always gone about this business on the basis that one cannot have a partnership unless there is equity among partners. Equity, of course, is historically a British concept, but I think that it is one that we bring to the [European] Community.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (3 December 1979)
“No-one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: TV Interview for London Weekend Television Weekend World (6 January 1980)
“We will not take money in taxes from those who work hard and pay it out to those who don't. We are trying to roll back the tide of Socialism. We must get ‘stuck in’ and sort out our problems in our traditional British way instead of asking the Government to intervene every time. Intervening means taking from people who work jolly hard and just manage to live within their means and make a profit, money in extra tax to pay for those who don't.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Finchley Conservatives ("We are trying to roll back the tide of Socialism") (26 January 1980)
“Don't try persuading me, you know I find persuasion very counterproductive.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark to President of the European Commission Roy Jenkins (28 April 1980), quoted in Roy Jenkins, European Diary, 1977-1981 (London: Collins, 1989), p. 593
“Gentlemen, there is nothing sweeter than success, and you boys have got it!”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Her comment to the SAS group, at 9.45 p.m. soon after Operation Nimrod (5 May 1980)
“I am the rebel head of an establishment government.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark to a reception at 10 Downing Street (24 June 1980), quoted in Norman St John-Stevas, The Two Cities (London: Faber and Faber, 1984), p. 83
“There really is no alternative.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Press Conference for American correspondents in London (25 June 1980), defending monetarist policy.
“They don't patronize me for being a woman. Nobody puts me down.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview for Daily Express (8 August 1980) on male heads of state, quoted in Chris Ogden, Maggie: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman in Power (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990), p. 341.
“To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. [laughter] The lady's not for turning.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reacting to doubt over her economic policies at a Conservative Party Conference (10 October 1980)
“Let me make one point about the hunger strike in the Maze prison. I want this to be utterly clear. There can be no political justification for murder or any other crime. The Government will never concede political status to the hunger strikers, or to any others convicted of criminal offences in the Province.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (20 November 1980) regarding the Irish hunger strike
“I love argument, I love debate. I don't expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Times (1980), as cited in
“To many of us it seems that there is precious little difference between the policies of the Communist Party and the policies of the Labour Party.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (11 December 1980)
“The nation is but an enlarged family.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at St Lawrence Jewry (4 March 1981).
“Those terrorists will carry their determination to disrupt society to any lengths. Once again we have a hunger strike at the Maze Prison in the quest for what they call political status. There is no such thing as political murder, political bombing or political violence. There is only criminal murder, criminal bombing and criminal violence. We will not compromise on this. There will be no political status.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Belfast (5 March 1981)
“I am a great admirer of Professor Hayek. Some of his books are absolutely supreme—“The Constitution of Liberty” and the three volumes on “Law, Legislation and Liberty”—and would be well read by almost every hon. Member.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (10 March 1981)
“In the past our people have made sacrifices, only to find at the eleventh hour their government had lost its nerve and the sacrifice had been in vain. It shall not be in vain this time. This Conservative Government, not yet two years in office, will hold fast until the future of our country is assured...This is the road I am resolved to follow. This is the path I must go. I ask all who have the spirit—the bold, the steadfast and the young in heart—to stand and join with me as we go forward.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Conservative Central Council (28 March 1981)
“There can be no question of political status for someone who is serving a sentence for crime. Crime is crime is crime. It is not political. To give concessions on political status would put many people in jeopardy.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Press conference in Saudi Arabia (21 April 1981), quoted in The Times (22 April 1981) p. 1, regarding the 1981 Irish hunger strike.
“Economics are the method; the object is to change the heart and soul.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview for The Sunday Times (1 May 1981)
“It is generally acknowledged that the Government are running, in the Maze prison, one of the most liberal and humane prison regimes anywhere...What hunger strikers are asking for—the one who died last was in fact a murderer; let us not mince our words—is political status by easy stages. They cannot have it. They are murderers and people who use force and violence to obtain their ends. They have made perfectly clear what they want. They cannot and will not have it.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (4 May 1981) regarding the 1981 Irish hunger strike.
“In this country over the last five years pay has doubled, whereas output has slightly fallen. That is totally different from the position with many of our competitors. Pay in those countries has gone up hand in hand with productivity. Consequently, they have the jobs and we have a larger proportion of the unemployment.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (2 June 1981)
“My policies are based not on some economics theory, but on things I and millions like me were brought up with: an honest day's work for an honest day's pay; live within your means; put by a nest egg for a rainy day; pay your bills on time; support the police.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: News of the World (20 September 1981), quoted in Chris Ogden, Maggie: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman in Power (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990), p. 342.
“The principle that adequate health care should be provided for all, regardless of ability to pay, must be the foundation of any arrangements for financing the Health Service.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (1 December 1981)
“I am sure you will agree that, in Britain with our democratic institutions and the need for a high degree of consent, some of the measures adopted in Chile are quite unacceptable. Our reform must be in line with our traditions and our Constitution. At times the process may seem painfully slow. But I am certain we shall achieve our reforms in our own way and in our own time. Then they will endure.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter from Margaret Thatcher to Friedrich Hayek (17 February 1982)
“I must tell the House that the Falkland Islands and their dependencies remain British territory. No aggression and no invasion can alter that simple fact. It is the Government's objective to see that the islands are freed from occupation and are returned to British administration at the earliest possible moment...We cannot allow the democratic rights of the islanders to be denied by the territorial ambitions of Argentina.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (3 April 1982)
“The people of the Falkland Islands, like the people of the United Kingdom, are an island race. Their way of life is British; their allegiance is to the Crown. They are few in number, but they have the right to live in peace, to choose their own way of life and to determine their own allegiance. Their way of life is British; their allegiance is to the Crown. It is the wish of the British people and the duty of Her Majesty's Government to do everything that we can to uphold that right. That will be our hope and our endeavour and, I believe, the resolve of every Member of the House.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (3 April 1982)
“We have to recover those islands, we have to recover them for the people on them are British and British stock and they still owe allegiance to the Crown and want to be British. We have to do what is necessary to recover those islands...When you stop a dictator there are always risks but there are great risks in not stopping a dictator. My generation learned that a long time ago.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: TV Interview for ITN (5 April 1982) regarding the Falkland Islands
“I am not talking about failure, I am talking about my supreme confidence in the British fleet...superlative ships, excellent equipment, the most highly trained professional group of men, the most honourable and brave members of Her Majesty's Service. Failure? Do you remember what Queen Victoria once said? “Failure—the possibilities do not exist”. That is the way we must look at it, with all our professionalism, all our flair and every single bit of native cunning, every single bit of professionalism and all our equipment and we must go out calmly, quietly, to succeed.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: TV Interview for ITN (5 April 1982) regarding the Falkland Islands
“Just rejoice at that news and congratulate our forces and the marines... Rejoice.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks to the press in Downing Street (25 April 1982) on announcing the liberation of South Georgia.
“Difficult days lie ahead, but Britain will face them in the conviction that our cause is just and in the knowledge that we have been doing everything reasonable to secure a negotiated settlement. The principles that we are defending are fundamental to everything that this Parliament and this country stand for. They are the principles of democracy and the rule of law...Britain has a responsibility towards the islanders to restore their democratic way of life. She has a duty to the whole world to show that aggression will not succeed and to uphold the cause of freedom.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (20 May 1982)
“The fact is that the two major nuclear powers have not gone to war against each other—because, I believe, nuclear weapons are achieving their purpose as a deterrent that makes the prospect of war too horrific. It is noteworthy that, since the last world war, there have been 140 conventional wars, fought with ordinary weapons, which are themselves horrific, and that nuclear weapons have been a deterrent to war. I therefore believe that we should keep them.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (15 June 1982)
“The battle of the Falklands was a remarkable military operation, boldly planned, bravely executed, and brilliantly accomplished. We owe an enormous debt to the British forces and to the Merchant Marine. We honour them all. They have been supported by a people united in defence of our way of life and of our sovereign territory.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (15 June 1982)
“I do not believe that people who go on strike in this country have a legitimate cause. Throughout the period of the Labour Government and this one, I have never supported any strikes in this country.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's Questions (22 June 1982)
“We fought to show that aggression does not pay and that the robber cannot be allowed to get away with his swag. We fought with the support of so many throughout the world: the Security Council, the Commonwealth, the European Community, and the United States. Yet we also fought alone – for we fought for our own sovereign territory.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Conservative Rally at Cheltenham (3 July 1982), regarding the Falkland Islands War.
“The battle for women's rights has been largely won. The days when they were demanded and discussed in strident tones should be gone for ever. And I hope they are. I hated those strident tones that you still hear from some Women's Libbers'.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech on Women in a changing World (26 July 1982)
“The spirit of the South Atlantic was the spirit of Britain at her best. It has been said that we surprised the world, that British patriotism was rediscovered in those spring days. Mr. President, it was never really lost.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Conservative Party Conference (8 October 1982)