Baroness Thatcher died this morning following a stroke, according to her spokesman Lord Bell.
The former Prime Minister was 87-years-old.
Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990, a period which coincided with economic and social upheaval across large parts of the country.
During her Premiership, she was an advocate of privatising state-owned industries and utilities, reforming trade unions, lowering taxes and reducing social expenditure across the board – all of which proved highly unpopular, especially in the north of England.
Thatcher’s policies succeeded in reducing inflation, but unemployment dramatically increased during her years in power.
She narrowly escaped death in 1984 when the IRA planted a bomb at the Conservative party conference in Brighton.
She had also been suffering from dementia in her later years.
MM’s Consultant Editor Andrew Greaves, a former political correspondent at The Bolton News, said: “There is no doubt that Margaret Thatcher was one of the true political icons of the 20th Century, regardless of whether we agree with her policies or not.
“Many in the north, including those who are not old enough to remember the hardship of the 1980s, will not feel much sorrow at today’s news but I don’t think anyone can fail to appreciate the impact she has had on British and world affairs, including paving the way for more women in frontline politics.”
Picture courtesy of University of Salford, with thanks.
