A woman with vision, who in the 1981 defense review saw an increase in the RAF as the way ahead at the expense of the Navy.
Indeed, vision of the crystal ball variety. The planned emasculation of the Royal Navy encourages a shower of tinpot dictators to invade a far-off outpost of the British Commonwealth. One small war later and a government that had been deeply unpopular was subsequently re-elected.
The Falklands War could be considered as the making of her Prime Ministership and seems to have perhaps bolstered her when it came to taking on the likes of Arthur Scargill.
These two achievements as well as her stance against the invasion of the Eurocrat outweigh her failures such as failing to utilise the wealth of North Sea oil for the nation as a whole and the simplistic idea which eventually led to her downfall, the "poll tax".
At least she had the courage of her convictions, something you could never accuse the current incumbent of ...
