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History Daily

Margaret Thatcher Becomes Britain’s First Woman Prime Minister

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2023

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

May 3, 1979. After climbing through the ranks of the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first ever female Prime Minister.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:03.7

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0:06.0

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0:20.5

It's the morning of May 3rd, 1979, in Chelsea, West London. Margaret Thatcher sits at her

0:26.8

dressing table, carefully combing her wavy blonde hair. And once she is immaculately quaffed,

0:32.6

the 53-year-old politician applies a thin stripe of pink lipstick, fixes on a pair of pearl

0:38.1

earrings, expensive but not too flashy, and then finally gives herself several generous

0:43.1

fritters from a bottle of perfume. Thatcher's steel-gray eyes flicker across to the window.

0:49.1

She can hear the hubbub of excitable reporters outside her garden gate.

0:53.3

They're waiting for a comment from Thatcher on the projected outcome of the general election,

0:57.7

in which she is attempting to oust the incumbent prime minister, James Calligan of the Labor Party.

1:03.0

The results of the election won't be announced until later tonight.

1:06.5

But if the opinion polls are to be trusted, then Thatcher has every reason to feel confident.

1:12.9

Thatcher looks around as the door opens and her husband Dennis pokes his head into the bedroom.

1:17.8

Dennis smiles slightly and says, better not keep them waiting any longer.

1:22.2

Thatcher nods and plucks a piece of lint off the shoulder of her tweed jacket.

1:27.3

And she stands, strides past Dennis and heads down stairs.

1:32.8

As she approaches the front door, Thatcher mutters the line she's been practicing for hours,

1:37.6

rolling the words around her mouth. She pauses at the door and waits for Dennis and her two adult

1:43.0

children, Mark and Carol, to fall in behind her. Then Thatcher flings open the door and steps

1:48.6

outside to meet the press. Thatcher paints on an indulgent smile and strolls to the foot of her

1:54.0

garden, where she withstands the barrage of flash photographs without blinking.

...

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