Quotessence
Home / Authors / Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher Quotes

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Filter quotes by topic

AllIron LadyIfsPeopleGovernmentMenBelieveCountryStatesEuropeThinkingWorldBritainWayWantShouldWarPoliticalPoliticsConservativeKnows

Famous Margaret Thatcher Quotes

“It can be argued - and rightly - that Taiwan is not just another regional issue: after all, the Chinese regard it as part of China. But Taiwan is also a regional issue for three reasons. First, the overthrow or even the neutering of democracy in Taiwan, which is what Beijing effectively demands, would be a major setback for democracy in the region as a whole. Second, if the Chinese were able to get their way by force in Taiwan, they would undoubtedly be tempted to do the same in other disputes. And third, there is no lack of such disputes to provoke a quarrel.”

IfsWayFirstsReasonWholeWould BeAbleThreeForceDemocracyIssuesDemandMajorsThirdsRegardChinaChineseRegionsProvokingTemptedDisputesQuarrelsSetbackTaiwanBeijingNeutering
Author:Margaret Thatcher
Create image

“Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put at risk of arrest and prosecution, the United States will be most reluctant to act in order to curb aggression or prevent genocide. So the effect of the court may well be to diminish, not increase, the numbers of (in the words of the UN Secretary General) 'innocents of distant wars and conflicts'.”

IfsWellsMayWarStatesOrderUnitedNumbersUnited StatesRiskEffectsInvolvedPoliticianConflictMajorsIncreaseCourtInternationalOfficialsGenocideAggressionSecretaryDoomedDiminishInterventionReluctantCurbProsecutionServicemen
Author:Margaret Thatcher
Create image

“If one generation is expected to carry an excessive burden on behalf of another, it will seek by every means to avoid it. It will either demand that past promises are broken, or it will not work, or it will not pay taxes, or the most talented people will leave. Socialist governments which have tried to tax 'till the pips squeak' have ample experience of that.”

PeopleIfsMeanGovernmentPastPayGenerationsBrokenPromiseDemandTaxesBurdenExpectedSocialistBehalfVery MeanSocialist Government
Author:Margaret Thatcher
Create image

“If the Europeans truly wish to improve their NATO contribution they can show it simply enough. They can establish professional armed forces, like those of the UK. And they can acquire more advanced technology. Indeed, unless that happens soon the gulf between the European and US capabilities will yawn so wide that it will not be possible to share the same battlefield. Alas, I do not think that sharing battlefields with our American friends - but rather disputing global primacy with them - is what European defence plans are truly about.”

IfsThinkingEnoughShowsHappensForceWishTechnologyPlansShareWideContributionAcquireCapabilityAlasDefenceBattlefieldsNatoArmed ForcesPrimacyAdvanced Technology
Author:Margaret Thatcher
Create image

“Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you tonight in my … chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up, my fair hair gently waved, the Iron Lady of the Western world. Me? A Cold War warrior? … Well, yes — if that is how they wish to interpret my defense of values of freedoms fundamental to our way of life.”

IfsWorldWayWellsMadeWarFacesValuesWishHairColdFairsFundamentalsWesternDefenseWarriorEveningGentlemanTonightIronCold WarGownsWestern WorldLadies And GentlemenIron LadyEvening Gowns
Author:Margaret Thatcher
Create image

“Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay - that 'someone else' is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers' money.”

PeopleIfsThinkingStatesWishCan DoForgetPaySourceFundamentalsSavingNever ForgetTaxpayersSavingsBorrowingGood ThinkingPublic Money
Book:The revival of Britain: speeches on home and European affairs, 1975-1988
Create image

“I hate extremes of any kind. Communism [seeks] the domination of the state over the individual... All my life I have stood against banning Communism or other extremist organisations because, if you do that, they go underground and it gives them an excitement that they don't get if they are allowed to pursue their policies openly. We'll beat them into the ground on argument...”

IfsGivingKindWarStatesHateIndividualPolicyColdBeatsArgumentI HateExtremesPursueCommunismExcitementCold WarDominationExtremistOrganisation
Author:Margaret Thatcher
Create image