Talk:Margaret Thatcher
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Some of these quotes are incorrect (I want my money back). Some of the attributed quotes were said on national television (Oxygen of publicity).
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[edit] Bus "failure" quote
A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure.
This is almost certainly apocryphal. It has been attributed to Thatcher on numerous occasions, but:
1) There is no definitive source for the quote
2) There is some disagreement on the exact phrasing, and even on the age given (some sources say 30 rather than 26)
3) The quote has been attributed to people other than Thatcher
Basically, I don't buy it. If Thatcher had actually uttered this howler in a public speech, the Labour Party and the likes of the Daily Mirror would have absolutely decimated her. There's absolutely no way something so spectacularly snobbish and offensive would ever have passed without comment. 217.155.20.163 19:41, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
- Further to the above, here's a Guardian article questioning the veracity of the above quote. 217.155.20.163 20:16, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
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- The Economist on 30 September this year remarked that "Margaret Thatcher is reputed to have said [it] in 1986". However, Mrs Thatcher is unusual in that all her public utterances have been transcribed and put on CD-Rom and I am fairly sure it is not on there. It is always possible that she said it at a private meeting (say, for example, meeting Conservative MPs worried about the policy of bus privatisation). Sometimes the age is set at 30, not 26. However, the fact that many people attribute this to her means it should not be removed from the article. Even Brian Souter, the Stagecoach boss, attributed it to her in 1998 (Times reference available on request). Keep it in the 'attributed' section with a note that it is apocryphal and unverified, and may be made up. Fys. “Ta fys aym”. 13:40, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
The letter to the Daily Telegraph disputing the attribution to Mrs Thatcher is attributed to Alistair Cooke and dated November 2006 but he died in 2004. Is this an error or is it a different Alistair Cooke? Dudley Miles 14 March 2007.
- There is an historian with the same name, so maybe it is him.--Johnbull 00:00, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
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- The Alistair Cooke who wrote to the Daily Telegraph sometimes signed himself "Alistair B. Cooke" to make the distinction - he was at the Conservative Research Department for many years and is the party's official historian, IIRC. He is no relation of the American epistolarian. Fys. “Ta fys aym”. 00:06, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] The problem with socialism
A quote attributed to Margaret Thatcher goes along the lines of
- "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money [to spend]."
or
- "Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money [to spend]."
There are a number of similar almost-quotes to be found on the Web, but I haven't found any authoritative sources. She may, in fact, have made the statement in various forms at different times. QuicksilverT @ 15:44, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
Update: Margaret Thatcher, in a TV interview for Thames TV This Week [[1]]on Feb. 5, 1976, Prime Minister Thatcher said, "...and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them."
The popular version seems to be a reasonable contraction.
[edit] Unsourced
Wikiquote no longer allows unsourced quotations, and they are in process of being removed from our pages (see Wikiquote:Limits on quotations); but if you can provide a reliable and precise source for any quote on this list please move it to Margaret Thatcher. --Antiquary 18:13, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
- Every Prime Minister needs a Willie.
- Referring to her Deputy Prime Minister William Whitelaw
- If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim.
- If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.
- If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.
- It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.
- It's a funny old world.
- Opening remarks to the Cabinet on 22 November 1990, announcing her decision to withdraw from the Conservative leadership contest.
- Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it.
- Of course it's the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story.
- Of course, people tell me that I shouldn't gloat. Well, I am gloating.
- On her victory over the Miner's strike.
- One only gets to the top rung of the ladder by steadily climbing up one at a time, and suddenly all sorts of powers, all sorts of abilities which you thought never belonged to you— suddenly become within your own possibility and you think, "Well, I'll have a go, too."
- 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.
- Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.
- 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.
If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.
- To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.
- We were told our campaign wasn't sufficiently slick. We regard that as a compliment.
- When you've spent half your political life dealing with humdrum issues like the environment, it's exciting to have a real crisis on your hands. (On the Falklands conflict.)
- You don't tell deliberate lies, but sometimes you have to be evasive.
- You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.
[edit] Beaten the Germans twice at their national game in the 20th century?
What about the 1990 quote attributed to Mrs. Thatcher, who upon being told that Germany had defeated England at football, or soccer, (which they did, of course) had allegedly replied, "They may have beat us at our national game, but we beat them twice at their national game in the 20th century.? --Matthead 22:03, 16 July 2009 (UTC)
