Changes

Nevertheless, despite all questionable or controversial Thatcherism policies, the Iron Lady altered the course of post-war Britain and Europe. As the leader of the Conservative Party, she consolidated a determined skepticism of European integration, setting the stage for the U.K.’s ongoing efforts to keep its distance from the European Union, making it more pro-US and anti-EU. She also liberalized the British economy and set a gold standard for Anglo-American relations, forging a close solid relationship between the two Superpowers. Perhaps most of all the United States recognized Thatcher as a Churchillian figure that stood alongside America in times of conflict and largely supported NATO and US foreign policy. Teamwork between London and Washington helped guide the course of the Cold War to a peaceful end, which was Thatcher’s most obvious achievement on the world stage. Clearly, she sought to change East/West relations based on both the western ideological reasons and clear economic agenda for growth through opening up new markets for trade among Britain, the USA, Europe and Russia.

Unsurprisingly, the Iron Lady remained a political force and government advisor in retirement. She continued to influence internal Conservative Party policies, and Thatcherism shaped even the priorities of the opposition Labor Party, which she had kept out of office for more than a decade. “Time” magazine named Thatcher one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century as well as the fourth-greatest British Prime Minister of the 20th century. In 2002, though some 20 years past her official resignation, she was still ranked 16th in the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

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