I'M PROUD OF THE IRON LADY IMAGE

This year has seen two major anniversaries for Margaret Thatcher Thirty years ago this week she became the new member of parliament for Finchley and Friern Barnet Earlier this year she completed a decade as Britain's first woman prime minister Elizabeth Hammond put some questions to the Iron Lady about her political and personal life

The Iron Lady is still very much in control after 30 years in Westminster—ten of them in the hot seat at No. 10.

The image of the Iron Lady is one of which she is proud—not one she regards as an ugly caricature.

“It came because I have always been firm in seeing this country is properly defended and, of course, I have constantly warned against the military might of the Soviet Union,” she explained.

Mrs. Thatcher, who will celebrate her 64th birthday next week, is ready to see herself as that ‘Britannia’

And it is perhaps predictable that she describes her most memorable day in the constituency as one during the Falklands conflict—a victory which returned her to Downing Street on a wave of patriotism in the 1983 general election.

“It was a Friday when I opened Gerson's large new office and warehouse, an event attended by many hundreds of people.

“I remember speaking some relevant words and also saying that although the Falkland Islands were some 8,000 miles distant they were really a heartbeat away.

“The crowds there were not to know what I knew—that our troops were due to land that day.

“Although I was carrying out my duties there, my mind was full of anxiety, wondering whether everything was going well.”

Seeing Mrs Thatcher constantly on television or quoted in the press, it is easy to forget her life beyond her duties at the Palace of Westminster.

Family

But it is just that private background, at home with her family, which gives Britain's first woman prime minister her strength.

Even so, she is quick to play down her juggling act as PM, MP, wife and mother.

“I'm often asked how I cope with the different roles but, throughout the ages, many women have had to work very hard to help earn the family living and be a good mother to their children. The problem is not as new as people think.

“I have been lucky in that we are a very closely-knit family and I have always tried to arrange things so that if anything went wrong—and emergencies do arise—I could always get home quickly.

“Against that background, I feel able to tackle most things.”

Mrs Thatcher was 33 when she won the Finchley and Friern Barnet seat.

During that first campaign she says she quickly appreciated that, although it was on the edge of the metropolis, the constituency had its own atmosphere and very strong sense of community.

That community has made her work as its member of parliament enjoyable.

“Even today, meeting people is the thing which I enjoy most and find stimulating and worthwhile. My constituency days now are even more full than before.

“I like to vary the day's engagements and see some examples of industry and commerce, go and visit something in connection with welfare and cultural affairs and see constituents with personal problems.”

And in 30 years the complexion of the constituency has altered dramatically—culturally, physically and in its population.

“We have many more people from different parts of the world.

“Such a lot of them have taught us anew the importance of family life, looking after one's parents, of teaching one's children all the best values, and the importance of hard work.

“All these are things which are vital to any community.”

Because of her role as prime minister, Mrs Thatcher has to be an ‘extraordinary’ MP.

She says that the ascendency from MP to PM is like the ladder in any career.

“As you ascend the ladder, so you gain in confidence and learn to cope more easily.

“The reason is that each day brings new experiences and they become cumulative.

“You have seen many problems before and have a good idea of what you can do to help and what you can't.”

Mrs Thatcher's first promotion was as parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Pensions. Later she entered the Cabinet as minister for education.

In the intervening years, from the opposition benches, she ‘shadowed’ lots of other political departments: transport, energy, environment and treasury.

“That extensive experience prepares you for the next stage of becoming leader of the opposition and then prime minister.”

The name of her constituency crops up in conversation easily and regularly.

And she is quick to add: “It has never been an island unto itself, but very much a part of the wider world.”

She admits what happens in Finchley and Friern Barnet affects her personal political policies very much.

“You judge quite a lot on the kind of letters you receive in your own constituency and the comments and conversations as you go around.

“You get a very good instinct from the people you represent.”

It doesn't only mean listening but observing too.

“For example, there is very little, if any spare land in Finchley, bearing in mind that we need the open spaces we have.

“Moreover, we are on the edge of the Green Belt, where any extra building is forbidden and yet we need housing for young people.

“We also have far more traffic than we used to from days gone by and this gives us transport problems.

“Consequently from my first Parliament to this one, planning problems, housing and transport have always played a large part my correspondence.

Passion

“Education, too, has been a passion with my constituents.”

There is a softer side to the determined woman.

Mrs Thatcher has affectionate memories of her victorious polling nights, especially the very first.

And she takes pleasure in celebrating those triumphs immediately afterwards with the people she knows really matter, the party workers, although these days there is a compulsory detour to meet the media.

She plays down her legendary memory for constituents. [end p1]

“It's just because of the years of knowing so many of them and meeting them again and again, seeing their families grow up, getting married and having a family of their own.

“Some write to me today who used to write to me 30 years ago.”

And she seems determined not to accept accolades as an extraordinary woman.

“Every mother will tell you that she is constantly having to see that family matters are properly organised, that home is always a welcome place and a place to which you can always bring your problems.

“That seems to me to be very much the womanly part of life.”

She just as easily dismisses her reputation for retaining her femininity.

“I have always been naturally fairly neat and tidy—it makes life very much simpler.”

But sometimes Mrs Thatcher does lay awake at night worrying.

“I don't know that you cope with anxiety or stress, but you do have to learn to live with it.

“In my work there are some things which you can't tell anyone, you shoulder the responsibilities yourself.

“And, yes, sometimes it does keep you awake at night.

“I think the secret is that whatever you are doing you do it with all your concentration.”

Mrs Thatcher may be celebrating a unique milestone in politics, but opponents need not think the journey is run.

The prime minister refused to be drawn on any future for her on the back benches.

She deflected questions on retiring from the political arena with the friendly warning: “I think I shall always be active in some cause—a quiet life is not for me.”

And she admitted there are still several objectives she has set herself to achieve.

For a moment she dared to contemplate what she has achieved as the first woman British prime minister and one of the first women leaders in the world.

“I am very grateful to have that privilege and very conscious of its immense responsibilities.”

And she is aware of the vulnerability those responsibilities bring, five years after the IRA bombed The Grand Hotel in Brighton.

“Each day is important and especially precious. It is good to be alive in a free country like ours.

“I feel a special duty to use my time well in the service of others.”

But her own pride is reserved for her family, and her new grandson.

“That's given me the greatest possible joy. Nothing can quite give you the same feeling for the future, its excitement, its promise.”