The impact of Thatcherism in popular culture

Margaret Thatcher’s (1925–2013) remarkable legacy marks a period of profound change in British history. As the longest serving and only female British prime minister of the twentieth century she held eleven and a half years of continuous power in office. Following her first electoral victory in May 1979, she won a further two elections for the Conservative Party until her deposition in November 1990. The radical social and economic reform that she designed and delivered as prime minister literally turned the Conservative Party and the country on its head. However, many were discontent with the perceived imbalance and wide devastation that her policies impaled on the country; being further aggrieved by her unsympathetic nature towards others. While politicians voiced their protests in parliament, others were left to find alternative ways to communicate their discontent. Professional artists were accompanied by the public in harnessing the power of aesthetic and acoustic media in popular culture to voice their discontent to the masses. This article explores the influence that Thatcher’s policies had in popular culture including British cinema, the arts and music in her time as prime minster and beyond.