Discover timeless wisdom and unparalleled leadership through this collection of 55 unforgettable quotes by Margaret Thatcher, affectionately known as the Iron Lady. Gain insight into her profound perspectives on politics, leadership, and life, and be inspired by the enduring legacy of one of the 20th century’s most influential figures. Immerse yourself in the words of a trailblazing stateswoman with “Iron Lady Insights,” a captivating compilation of Margaret Thatcher’s enduring wisdom and vision.
Margaret Thatcher Quotes
1- “I shan’t be pulling the levers there but I shall be a very good back-seat driver.” -Margaret Thatcher
2- “What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose.” -Margaret Thatcher
3- “Most women defend themselves. It is the female of the species – it is the tigress and lioness in you – which tends to defend when attacked.” -Margaret Thatcher
4- “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money.” -Margaret Thatcher
5- “If it is once again one against forty-eight, then I am very sorry for the forty-eight.” -Margaret Thatcher
6- “The battle for women’s rights has been largely won.” -Margaret Thatcher
7- “Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.” -Margaret Thatcher
8- “If you want to cut your own throat, don’t come to me for a bandage.” -Margaret Thatcher
9- “And what a prize we have to fight for: no less than the chance to banish from our land the dark divisive clouds of Marxist socialism.” -Margaret Thatcher
10- “I don’t think there will be a woman prime minister in my lifetime.” -Margaret Thatcher
11- “I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air.” -Margaret Thatcher
12- “Platitudes? Yes, there are platitudes. Platitudes are there because they are true.” -Margaret Thatcher
13- “To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.” -Margaret Thatcher
14- “They’ve got the usual Socialist disease — they’ve run out of other people’s money.” -Margaret Thatcher
15- “Defeat? I do not recognize the meaning of the word.” -Margaret Thatcher
16- “It used to be about trying to do something. Now it’s about trying to be someone.” -Margaret Thatcher
17- “Oh, but you know, you do not achieve anything without trouble, ever.” -Margaret Thatcher
18- “A world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us.” -Margaret Thatcher
19- “If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn’t swim.” -Margaret Thatcher
20- “For every idealistic peacemaker willing to renounce his self-defence in favour of a weapons-free world, there is at least one warmaker anxious to exploit the other’s good intentions.” -Margaret Thatcher
21- “We were told our campaign wasn’t sufficiently slick. We regard that as a compliment.” -Margaret Thatcher
22- “If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and would achieve nothing.” -Margaret Thatcher
23- “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.” -Margaret Thatcher
24- “No woman in my time will be prime minister or chancellor or foreign secretary – not the top jobs. Anyway, I wouldn’t want to be prime minister; you have to give yourself 100 percent.” -Margaret Thatcher
25- “It is one of the great weaknesses of reasonable men and women that they imagine that projects which fly in the face of commonsense are not serious or being seriously undertaken.” -Margaret Thatcher
26- “I love argument, I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.” -Margaret Thatcher
27- “There is much to be said for trying to improve some disadvantaged people’s lot. There is nothing to be said for trying to create heaven on earth.” -Margaret Thatcher
28- “Being prime minister is a lonely job… you cannot lead from the crowd.” -Margaret Thatcher
29- “We Conservatives hate unemployment.” -Margaret Thatcher
30- “What Britain needs is an iron lady.” -Margaret Thatcher
31- “During my lifetime most of the problems the world has faced have come, in one fashion or other, from mainland Europe, and the solutions from outside it.” -Margaret Thatcher
32- “Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.” -Margaret Thatcher
33- “There can be no liberty unless there is economic liberty.” -Margaret Thatcher
34- “Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.” -Margaret Thatcher
35- “I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph.” -Margaret Thatcher
36- “I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.” -Margaret Thatcher
37- “Nothing is more obstinate than a fashionable consensus.” -Margaret Thatcher
38- “To those waiting with bated breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only this to say, ‘You turn if you want; the lady’s not for turning.” -Margaret Thatcher
39- “…The larger the slice taken by government, the smaller the cake available for everyone.” -Margaret Thatcher
40- “It pays to know the enemy – not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.” -Margaret Thatcher
41- “Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth.” -Margaret Thatcher
42- “I don’t mind how much my Ministers talk, so long as they do what I say.” -Margaret Thatcher
43- “I just owe almost everything to my father and it’s passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election.” -Margaret Thatcher
44- “You don’t tell deliberate lies, but sometimes you have to be evasive.” -Margaret Thatcher
45- “Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.” -Margaret Thatcher
46- “I’m back… and you knew I was coming. On my way here I passed a cinema with the sign ‘The Mummy Returns’.” -Margaret Thatcher
47- “It’s passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election.” -Margaret Thatcher
48- “Constitutions have to be written on hearts, not just paper.” -Margaret Thatcher
49- “There are still people in my party who believe in consensus politics. I regard them as Quislings, as traitors… I mean it.” -Margaret Thatcher
50- “People think that at the top there isn’t much room. They tend to think of it as an Everest. My message is that there is tons of room at the top.” -Margaret Thatcher
51- “It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.” -Margaret Thatcher
52- “There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families.” -Margaret Thatcher
53- “It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake.” -Margaret Thatcher
54- “To wear your heart on your sleeve isn’t a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.” -Margaret Thatcher
55- “Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.” -Margaret Thatcher