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Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher Quotes

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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Famous Margaret Thatcher Quotes

“Today I have lost one of my dearest friends, England one of her greatest men. Keith Joseph understood that it was necessary to win again the intellectual argument for freedom, and that to do this we must start from first principles. He was in many ways an unlikely revolutionary. For all his towering intellect, he was deeply humble. He spoke out boldly, however hostile the audience. Yet he hated to give offence. Above all, his integrity shone out in everything he said and did. His best memorial lies in the younger generations of politicians whom he inspired. But for me he is irreplaceable.”

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Author:Margaret Thatcher
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“Geoffrey's personal style was very different from mine. He has a lovely speaking voice, a quiet speaking voice. But at Cabinet we always reported on foreign affairs - we always had this quiet voice. It was so quiet sometimes I had to say 'speak up'. And he gave it in a way which wasn't exactly scintillating. And you know, foreign affairs are interesting. They affect everything that happened to our own way of life, and they are exciting. And so we just diverged.”

KnowsWayDifferentSometimesSpeakVoiceInterestingHappenedStyleMinesQuietExcitingAffairLovelyCabinetsPersonal StyleForeign AffairsQuiet Voice
Author:Margaret Thatcher
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“Every Conservative desires peace. The threat to peace comes from Communism which has powerful forces ready to attack anywhere. Communism waits for weakness, it leaves strength alone. Britain must therefore be strong, strong in her arms, strong in her faith, strong in her own way of life.”

WayDesireStrongForceWaitingPowerfulReadyArmsWeaknessThreatConservativeCommunismBritain
Book:As I said to Denis--: the Margaret Thatcher book of quotations
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“I pay tribute to John Major's achievement in persuading the other 11 Community Heads of Government that they could move ahead to a Social Chapter but not within the treaty and without Britain's participation. It sets a vital precedent. For an enlarged Community can only function if we build in flexibility of that kind... John Major deserves high praise for ensuring at Maastricht that we would not have either a Single Currency or the absurd provisions of the Social Chapter forced upon us: our industry, workforce, and national prosperity will benefit as a result.”

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Author:Margaret Thatcher
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“If I were a German today, I would be proud, proud but also worried. I would be proud of the magnificent achievement of rebuilding my country, entrenching democracy and assuming the undoubtedly preponderant position in Europe. But a united Germany can't and won't subordinate its national interests in economic or in foreign policy to those of the Community indefinitely. Germany's new pre-eminence is a fact - and its power is a problem - as much for Germans as for the rest of Europe.”

IfsCountryFactsProblemWould BeTodayInterestCommunityUnitedDemocracyEconomicPolicyPositionProudAchievementEuropeAssumingWorriedGermanyForeign PolicyMagnificentBe ProudSubordinatesRebuildingNational InterestsEminence
Book:As I said to Denis--: the Margaret Thatcher book of quotations
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“In the same period that the Americans have lived under one constitution our French friends notched up five. A Punch cartoon has a 19th century Englishman asking a librarian for a copy of the French constitution, only to be told: 'I am sorry Sir, we do not stock periodicals.'”

FiveCenturyPeriodsConstitutionAskingSorryCopiesCartoonLibrarianEnglishmen19th CenturyI Am SorryAm Sorry
Book:As I said to Denis--: the Margaret Thatcher book of quotations
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“A democratic Europe of nation states could be a force for liberty, enterprise and open trade. But, if creating a United States of Europe overrides these goals, the new Europe will be one of subsidy and protection”

IfsStatesForceNationsGoalUnitedLibertyUnited StatesCreatingEuropeTradeDemocraticProtectionEnterpriseSubsidies
Book:As I said to Denis--: the Margaret Thatcher book of quotations
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“It had the effect of cementing the Anglo-American alliance. What's the good of having bases if when you want to use them you're not allowed to by the home country. It made America realise that Britain was her real and true friend, when they were hard up against it and wanted something, and that no one else in Europe was. They're a weak lot, some of them in Europe you know. Weak. Feeble.”

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Author:Margaret Thatcher
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“I cannot imagine how any diplomat, or any dramatist, could improve on (Ronald Reagan's) words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva summit: 'Let me tell you why it is we distrust you.' Those words are candid and tough and they cannot have been easy to hear. But they are also a clear invitation to a new beginning and a new relationship that would be rooted in trust.”

Has BeensWould BeEasyClearImagineToughLet MeRootedDistrustNew BeginningsInvitationsSummitDiplomatsCandidNew RelationshipGenevaGorbachev
Author:Margaret Thatcher
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“My belief in free competitive economic enterprise does not rest solely or even mainly on arguments of economic efficiency, though, heaven knows, these are cogent enough. It rests essentially on the view that the free market is the only safe way of ensuring that productive effort is directed towards supplying what individuals actually want, and in a way which secures the dignity and independence of the worker.”

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Author:Margaret Thatcher
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“No theory of government was ever given a fairer test or a more prolonged experiment in a democratic country than democratic socialism received in Britain. Yet it was a miserable failure in every respect... To cure the British disease with socialism was like trying to cure leukemia with leeches.”

TryingCountryGovernmentGivenTheoryDiseaseTestsDemocraticBritishExperimentsSocialismCuresMiserableBritainDemocratic SocialismLeechesLeukemiaDemocratic Country
Author:Margaret Thatcher
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