One forty-nine please.
How much is the milk?
Forty-nine pence.
Thank you.
Too much. Much too much butter. - I like butter.
Milk’s gone up.
49p a pint.
Good grief! We’ll have to economise.
I suppose we could always sell the car. Or take in paying guests!
Watch out. She’s on the prowl.
Eat your egg.
Goodness! There you are.
Yes. Here we are.
I don’t understand how it happened,
how could she possibly have got out? It’s very very important -
Please just make it really clear.
Who’s on after you?
xxx?
Beautiful day. Oh, you’ve made a start.
Carol’s coming soon, I’ll get some bags.
Anything you want to go to Mark, I’ll bring up a suitcase for it.
No no no no. The grey.
You sure?
Yes. ...Definitely the grey.
Righty ho.
Boss knows best.
Don’t let her take my paper away.
Oh, I haven’t had a chance to look at that yet, dear.
Sorry.
Atta-girl.
Damn.
Blot it...Blot it..
pardon.
Now look what you’ve done.
Are they to keep the loonies out or you in?
I’ll be off then.
Wear your scarf. There’s a chill out there.
Good morning Lady Thatcher.
Are you alright? How are you feeling?
I’m fine, thank you Susie.
I’ve just been reading about the bombings.
Yes. Frightful.
Sorry.
These are the books for you to sign.
I brought as many as I could find. Shall we go through your appointments?
We said we’d go through them today.
Yes, of course, dear. Today.
The invitation has come from Downing Street for the unveiling of your portrait.
I’ll put it on the mantelpiece, and there’s an invitation from Lord Armstrong for
lunch on the first Friday of next month.
I said no because you’ve got a concert that afternoon but if you’d like to...
It looks like a very interesting programme.
What are they playing?
I think they said Rogers and Hammerstein.
Silly man.
He hasn’t got his scarf on.
Did someone cover the butter?
I’ll go.
Leave it. Margaret-
Good girl.
Tomorrow, no matter what they do, it’ll be business as usual.
Two of the small beef, Mr. Roberts.
What is the life blood of any community? It’s business...
Not just big business but small businesses, like mine.
Margaret! CUPS!
We on this island are strong. We’re self-reliant.
Sometimes we’re plain bloody minded.
But we also believe in helping each other.
And I don’t mean by state hand-outs...
Margaret, do you want to come to the pictures?
She can’t come, she’s got to study.
Miss Hoity Toity!
Never run with the crowd, Margaret. Go your own way.
xxxOpen it then.
I’ve got a place at Oxford.
Don’t let me down Margaret.
Mother?
My hands are still damp.
Margaret!CUPS!
They’re talking about you again.
What time is it?
Sun’s not quite over the yard arm. Time for tea.
What have you got on your head?
Found it in the cupboard and thought bugger it, it’s Friday, why not fancy dress?
You look ridiculous.
Bosslady no like?
No, Denis, Bosslady no like.
Can I suggest you remove the sticker from the back of your car.
xxx
Well then take the sticker off! I call that false advertising!
xxx - I would say keep the change...
but there isn’t any change.
Hello June, any news? I’ve brought every bag I could find.
xxx
Hello Ma.
Bloody taxi driver. Wouldn’t take my card.
I said don’t have a sticker saying you take Visa and then insist on cash.
Can you believe it? I was rummaging around the bottom of my bag. He didn’t get a tip.
I didn’t know that you were dropping by today, dear.
Yes, you said yesterday... You wanted to make a start on Dad’s things.
The cupboards? Then I can help you dress.
You’ve got Michael and-
Jaqueline... Coming for dinner tonight.
Of course.
We’re having halibut.
Oh God. Isn’t it terrible? They think it’s Al Quaida -
xxx
It’ll be fine. Come on, get your head down, it’s ten to three, for God’s sake.
At ten to three this morning an explosion...
extensively damaged the Grand Hotel in Brighton
scene of the Conservative Party conference.
Where the Prime Minister and a number of her cabinet were staying.
They escaped unhurt -
Five people have died, many others are injured, some critically.
The IRA have claimed responsibility.
We must release a statement, offering our condolences.
I’m sure they’ve already-
We must never, ever, ever give in to terrorists.
Good moring dear.
Now ma, are we going long or just below the knee tonight?
Oh, below the knee I should think.
No! Don’t move those. I haven’t finished sorting them.
I hear you went out today...
You mustn’t go out on your own Mummy. We’ve talked about that.
There was no milk.
Call Robert he’ll get it for you if June’s not up-
I am not for the knackers yet.
Now take it easy, Margaret.
No one is saying that.
If I can’t go out to buy a pint of milk then what is the world coming to.
Really Carol...
please don’t fuss about it.
You’ve always been like this, fuss fuss fuss.
You must find something better to do with your time.
It’s most unattractive in a woman.
When I was your age...
the last thing I wanted to do was fuss around my mother.
Four down, 9 letters.
Something b something t something n...
something something somthing... Refusal to change course-
Obstinate.
What?
Pearls. I’ll wear the pearls.
There they are. My little twins.
Thank you, dear.
It’s nearly all familiar faces, William, Michael and his lovely wife-
Jacqueline.
And then there’s Peter, James R and James T and that very nice man-
Yes- we met last year.
Yes I remember-
I think he’s bringing his new lady friend just to mix it up a bit.
We’re rather short on women - but I’m sure we’ll manage-
I’ve always preferred the company of men-
Ma?
Ah, Miss Roberts.
Hoping to be chosen as our candidate for parliament.
Well I don’t like coalitions, never have...
Start on the outside and work your way in.
Attlee has his sights set on the steel industry, you mark my words.
They’ll be nationalizing the bloody air next.
Yes, hold your breath, sir, that’s government property!
So was your father a political man, too, Miss Roberts?
Oh, yes, to his core. And Mayor of Grantham.
And a grocer as well!
Yes.
And did you help, in the... shop? - Oh, yes. It was a family business.
A very good starting point for the political life, I’m sure.
That and a degree from Oxford.
Whisky.
What I do think is that a man should be encouraged to stand on his own two feet.
Yes we help people of course we help people. But for those that can do...
they must just get up and do.
And if something’s wrong, they shouldn’t just whine about it...
they should get in there and DO something about it, change things.
With all due respect, Miss Roberts, what may have served in Grantham-
Can serve very well for the people of Dartford too.
Really?
I know much more than those who have never lived on a limited income.
Just like the man or woman on the street, when I am short one week...
I have to make economies the next.
Nothing like a slice of fiscal responsibility.
A man might call it fiscal responsibility, a woman might call it good housekeeping.
I’m not sure...
a home economics lesson is quite what...
the Dartford constituents need.
They see industry being nationalized...
the unions on the up, the pound on the slide...
whoever can sort that lot out, he’s my man.
Or woman?
Ladies shall we?
Miss Roberts, do join the ladies.
Well. That’s told us!
So, Margaret, how would you have dealt with this if you’d been Prime Minister?
Where?
The bombings, mummy. Today?
We were just talking about them?
No, uhm, yes - we have always lived alongside evil.
But it has never been so patient,
so avid for carnage, so eager to carry innocents with it into oblivion.
xxxSo, would you -
Western civilization must root out this evil, wherever it hides,
or she risks defeat at the hands of global terror in a nuclear age.
Unimaginable!
The Prime Minister gave a very good statement I thought.
Yes. Clever man. Quite a smoothie.
xxxYou don’t mind if I sit down...
I heard you speak at conference in Brighton in 1984
just after the IRA bombed the Grand Hotel.
You were remarkable.
I hope you appreciate what an inspiration you have been for women like myself.
It used to be about trying to do something.
Now its about trying to be someone.
Well anyway, I...thank you.
Good night, Lady Th... - Good night to you.
OK...hold on to me...
Can you do the clasp, I can’t quite -
Thank you.
You’ve got an eyelash.
Make a wish.
I spoke to Doctor Michael today-
He is very good and very expensive-
...I know you’re not due to see him for another month
but I’ve spoken to him and he can fit you in tomorrow.
Just for a check up.
Ma please-
What does Mark think about it?
Mark?
Yes. Tell him to come up. I want to talk to him about it.
Mark’s with Sarah and the children.
Well tell him to come up and see me after he’s...
kissed them good night, would you Carol darling?
He’s not here Mummy.
Mark lives in South Africa...
you are not Prime Minister anymore...
and Dad is... Dad is dead-
You look exhausted, dear.
You really must try to get some sleep.
Taxis'll be few and far between at this hour...
Righty-ho. Night night Ma. Sleep well.
Good night, dear.
Twenty-four-year-old Miss Margaret Roberts lost her bid to win a seat in Parliament today,
but she has put new life into the Dartford Conservative Association.
Winning candidate Mr Dodds had better watch out,
this bright young woman is on his tail.
Eat!
Disaster.
Hang on...Hang on...
xxx
You shaved thousands off their majority. You did splendidly.
Not splendidly enough.
Ah I see. Self pity.
No one is saying you don’t need a safe seat.
You deserve a safe seat.
But it does not come unless you learn to play the game a little.
What game?
You are a grocer’s daughter-
And proud of being. - in their eyes.
A single grocer’s daughter.
But if you were to become the wife of a moderately successful businessman-
You’d get to parliament,
and I’d get to be the happiest man in...
in wherever they select you.
Margaret, will you marry me?
Well?
Yes. Yes!
What?
I love you so much but...
I will never be one of those women Denis-
who stays silent and pretty on the arm of her husband.
Or remote and alone in the kitchen doing the washing up for that matter.
We’ll get a help for that. - No...
one’s life must matter, Denis.
Beyond the cooking and the cleaning and the children,
one’s life must mean more than that-
I cannot die washing up a tea cup.
I mean it Denis,
say you understand.
That’s why I want to marry you, my dear.
Now eat.
There they are, my little twins.
Cornwall, wasn’t it? Bloody hell...
Look at ‘em, little imps.
You never really got golf, did you?
You look happy.
Yes, I do, don’t I? You’re drinking too much.
Whatcha doing?
Not like you. Looking back.
Don’t want to dig around too deep, M. Don’t know what you might find.
You can rewind it, but you can’t change it.
They grow up so fast.
Mr Eric Deakins,
Labour... 13,437...
Mr xxxx lib... 12,260
Mrs Marg.. Thatcher
con... 29,697
xxx
Mrs Marg.. Thatcher.
xxx... Please.
xxx
Mrs Thatcher!
Mrs Thatcher! Airey Neave. Welcome to the madhouse. Follow me.
Welcome... xxx
Order
The Right Honourable Lady the Secretary of State for Education.
The right honourable gentleman knows that we have no choice but to shut down the schools!
Because...
his union paymasters have called a strike deliberately to cripple our economy.
Teachers cannot teach when there is no heating, no lighting in their classrooms.
And I ask the honourable gentleman, whose fault is that?
Me thinks the Right Honourable lady doth screech to much.
If she wants us to take her seriously she must learn to calm down!
If the right honorable gentleman could perhaps attend more closely to...
What I am saying, rather than HOW I am saying it,
he may receive a valuable education in spite of himself!
Why has this Conservative government failed?
Why has it forced so many in the public sector into
taking strike action to save their own jobs?
Minister...
the breakdown of essential public services in transport, electricity...
sanitation is not the fault of the trades unions...
but of this Conservative government
in which you so shamefully serve!
So these power cuts will continue unless we can reach a compromise.
The miners are asking for a 35% increase in wages.
Obviously we can’t go anywhere near that.
The unions are not our enemies and never have been.
We want- and have always wanted the broadest consensus…
I’m sure we are all in agreement that we must do nothing...
for the moment that will further inflame the current situation.
Hear hear, Prime Minister.
- the fact of the matter is, it’s absolutely crucial...
that we are seen by the public to be acting as conciliators...
and not aggressors. - Yes.
Yes, Education Secretary.
Yes, Prime Minister.
With the Miners’ leader calling today for the army to mutiny...
in support of the strikes, this seems the wrong time for conciliation.
Be patient. They’ll come back on in a minute.
xxx
Thank you, Margaret.
Your thoughts are duly noted.
We on this island are strong.
We’re self-reliant. Napoleon called us a nation of shopkeepers.
He meant it as an insult but to me it’s a compliment.
That’s why he couldn’t beat us, and that’s why Hitler can’t beat us.
We Conservatives believe in giving people the freedom and opportunity to...
fulfil their own potential, especially the young.
There’s no good in pretending we’re all equal...
we’re not all the same, never have been, never will be.
We should encourage our children to aspire to achieve more than we have...
for our children today will be the leaders of tomorrow.
It’s 1974 and you’d think it was WWII.
Blackouts, no petrol. It’s a mess.
Heath should resign now and make way for someone who’s not afraid to tackle the unions.
I swear, it’s all gone completely out of my head.
My driving instructor thinks I should pass but I feel as if I’ve hardly had any lessons.
Ridiculous isn’t it? Maybe third time lucky.
Right.
The only thing you should remember is that everyone else is either reckless or inept.
And often both.
One must be brave if one is to take the wheel-
Right-o.
Move over... Move to your right a little bit...
But if I move to the right aren’t I on the wrong side of the road?
Well he’s in the way! - To the right. Move to the right!
So sorry! Terribly sorry!
Hey, look at me, driving!
Thanks Ma, that was terrific! I really feel I’ve got a handle on it now.
You should have seen us, Pa.
Have you been trying to make breakfast? For Goodness sake, Denis!
I can boil a bloody egg.
Mummy took me for a test drive -
We went absolutely everywhere. All over the place -
I’ve decided. I’m going to run.
What for?
I’m going to run for Leader of the Party.
Silly me! - Good luck!
All the time I thought I was having a driving lesson, it was all about my mother, just for a change!
What’s she on about?
It’s her driving test this morning! - Oh, right. Of course.
Are you saying you want to be Prime Minister?
What I’m saying is that someone must force the point,
say the unsayable. None of these men have the guts.
The Prime Minister has been very loyal to you, MT.
But he’s weak, and he’s weakened the party.
One must know when to go. You’re shaking.
Let... xxx - I can do it!
Goodness me!
What is the matter with everyone this morning?
I’ve told you what the matter is.
The business is a bit rocky at the moment and the Doctor thinks I need a rest.
And do you need a rest?
We both know...
that it’s highly unlikely that I would ever be elected leader,
But I will run. I will run.
Just to nip at their heels and make...
them reaffirm the principles on which the Conservative Party must stand.
There’s so much to do.
You’re insufferable, Margaret, do you know that?
Denis, you married someone who is committed to public service, you knew that.
And it is my duty... - Don’t call it duty.
It’s ambition which has got you this far. Ambition.
And the rest of us, me, the children, we can all go to hell!
Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine!
Where did you go?
South Africa. - Yes.Yes.
How many days passed before you realized I was gone?
Probably had to ask the cleaning woman where I was.
When did I lose track of everyone?
Too busy climbing the greasy pole MT.
Mrs Thatcher I understand you recently visited the United States of America.
What was it you took away from that visit which may be of value here in Great Britain?
Oh that’s rather easy to answer, actually.
They are unafraid of success.
We in Great Britain and in Europe are formed mainly by our history.
They on the other hand are formed by their philosophy.
Not by what has been, but by what can be.
Oh, we have a great deal that we can learn from them, yes. Oh yes!
For a start, that hat has got to go.
And the pearls.
In fact I think all hats may have to go.
You look and sound like...
a privileged Conservative wife and we’ve already got her vote.
You’ve got lovely hair...
but we need to do something with it to make it more, Important.
Yes. Give it more impact.
But the main thing is your voice. Its too high. It has no authority.
Me thinks the Lady doth screech too much
People don’t want to be harangued by a woman or hectored.
Persuaded yes. That ‘oh yes’...
at the end of the interview,
that’s authoritative, that’s the voice of a leader.
It’s all very well to talk about changing my voice, Mr Reece,
but for some of my colleagues to imagine me as their leader...
would be like imagining,
I don’t know, being led into battle by their chambermaid.
It’s my background, and my sex.
No matter how I’ve tried, and I have tried...
to fit in, xxx I will never be truly one of them.
If I may say so - I think that’s your trump card.
You’re flying in the face of everything the Tories have been thus far.
It’s really very exciting.
One simply has to maximise your appeal...
bring out all your qualities...
and make you look, and sound, like the leader that you could be.
You’ve got it in you to go the whole distance.
Absolutely.
Prime Minister?!
Oh no. Oh no no no. In Britain?
There will be no female Prime Minister here, not in my lifetime.
No.
And I told Airey, I don’t expect to win the leadership, but I...
am going to run. Just to shake up the party.
Respectfully, Margaret,
I disagree. If you want to change this party,
lead it. If you want to change the country, lead it.
What we’re talking about here today is surface. What’s crucial...
is that you hold your course, and stay true to who you are.
Never be anything other than yourself.
Leave us to do the rest.
Gentlemen, I am in your hands.
I may be persuaded to surrender the hat.
But the pearls were a gift from my husband on the birth of our twins...
and they are absolutely non-negotiable.
Good, I think we can loose the handbag, Mrs Thatcher.
Hands down the sides...
And...bring it down.
Because this isn’t really about the voice, it’s about belief...
A nice deep breath.
xxx hands
If you’re calling Mr Thatcher, how would you do that?
Denis.
Yes, I want more authority, I want conviction, I want...
That’s right, one more time, deep breath -
Denis.
Yes MT!
You are the backbone of our nation!
Small firms like Loveday’s Ice Cream.
How are you? So nice to meet you ladies.
I’ll just have a small one, because I’m watching my figure.
That’s for you young man!
I passionately believe it’s the growth of small businesses into larger ones...
that is critical for Britain’s future.
It has to be something icy on a stick for Denis.
That’s the only way...
we will produce jobs, real jobs, jobs that sustain.
The Trade Union Movement was founded to protect workers.
Now it persecutes them. It stops them from working.
It is killing jobs and it is bringing this country to its knees.
I say enough.
It’s time to get up. It’s time to go to work.
It’s time to put the Great back into Great Britain!
xxx
Give ‘em hell!
You look magnificent. Next stop Prime Minister.
Let go.
The leader of the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher!
Good night Margaret. My money’s on the filly to win!
Oh, thanks Airey. Goodnight.
No. No, no! Airey!
The Irish National Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the...
death of Airey Neave, Margaret Thatcher’s spokesman on Northern Ireland.
If you want to change the party, lead it.
If you want to change the country, lead it.
You’ve got it in you to go the whole distance!
Now, as the test draws near, I ask your help.
That together we can shake off the shackles of socialism
and restore to greatness this country that we love.
And the only way is for the Conservative Party to win!
xxx
It’s Friday the 4th of May, an historic day for Britain,
a Conservative government led by Mrs. Thatcher is set to lead -
Mrs Ghandi in India, but never in the West has there been a woman Prime Minister.
The place that she has secured in British history, as...
the first woman ever to be invited to form a government.
The bonus of one of the most famous addresses in the world,
Number 10 Downing Street.
This is it, steady the buffs old girl.
Good afternoon, Prime Minister.
I should just like to say...
that I take very seriously the trust...
the British people placed in me today...
and I will work hard every day to live up to that responsibility.
And now, I should like to share with you a prayer...
of St Francis of Assisi:
''Where there is discord may we bring harmony...
Where there is error may we bring truth...
Where there is doubt may we bring faith...
Where there is despair may we bring hope''
Shoulders back, tummies in!
Oh. Thank you, Michael.
Two, one.
I’m perfectly healthy. There’s no need for any of this.
Just let them look under the bonnet, MT.
Check everything is hunky dory.
Really it’s becoming quite tiresome.
What is? - You.
I was on my own for twenty four years...
before I met you and I can manage perfectly well without you now.
So will you please go away and stop bothering me.
Just look straight at me, straight ahead, that’s it.
Are you noticing night sweats? - No.
Hallucinations?
No.
Sleep?
Yes, I sleep. Four, five hours a night.
So you wake early?
And I stay up late. I always have.
We just want to keep abreast of it thats all.
Yes. Of course.
Grief is a very natural state.
My husband has been gone for years. Cancer.
Carol says you’ve decided to let his things go. Probably a good thing.
Yes. It was my idea. To Oxfam.
Perfectly good stuff. People can use these things.
Still it must be a bit disorientating. You are bound to be feeling.
What?
What am I ‘bound to be feeling’?
People don’t ‘think’ any more.
They ‘feel’. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Oh I don’t feel comfortable with that’
‘Oh, I’m so sorry but we, the group were feeling...’
D’you know, one of the great problems of our age...
is that we are governed by people who care...
more about feelings than thoughts and ideas.
Now thoughts and ideas. That interests me.
Ask me what I am thinking-
What are you thinking, Margaret?
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
What we think, we become.
My father always said that.
And I think I am fine.
But I do so appreciate your kind concern.
Oh, do please answer that.
It might be someone who needs you.
I’ll give Carol a quick ring, let her...
know we’re back, then I’ll put your electric blanket on.
Steady, steady, steady!
Damn. Fore!
What about that medicine man, eh?
Ah. Cold supper.
Standards are slipping Margaret.
Well you really gave it to that quack didn’t you, darling?
Just like the old days! Hallucinations my eye!
How dare he?
But then you give us all the run around, don’t you?
I know you can hear me, sweetheart, so there’s no use pretending you can’t.
Enough. Denis, enough!
Dismissed!
She does it in the end. Kills him-
I don’t know why you’re being so scratchy.
It’s not as if you’ve got anyone else to talk to.
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride -
You know, it’s a marvel to me that you can still quote huge chunks of Kipling...
but try remembering the name of that woman who’s...
just made you that godawful cold collation.
No?
Come on. You can do it.
Month of the year.
One syllable. Rhymes with moon.
June. - June! Bingo.
Knew you’d get there in the end.
“When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride...
He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside...
but the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male...”
If I can’t hear you then I can’t see you.
And if I can’t see you then you are not here.
And if you are not here, I am not going mad.
I will not go mad.
I will not... I will not go mad.
Baroness Thatcher made an apparently routine visit to her doctor today.
Although rarely seen in public,
the longest serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century,
remains a controversial figure.
Almost lovingly dubbed by the Soviets The Iron Lady,
she’s also credited, with her friend Ronald Reagan,
with a decisive role in the ending of the Cold War.
Her supporters claim she transformed the British...
economy and reversed the country’s post-war decline.
Her detractors blame her savage public spending...
cuts and sweeping privatization of -
I don’t recognize myself.
Am I out of the doghouse yet?
They’re unveiling that portrait...
of me at Number 10 next month.
The invitation’s on the mantelpiece.
So...
there’ll be Churchill,
Lloyd George and me.
Just the three of us.
I said I didn’t want any big fuss but they insisted.
Lovely little article in The Telegraph.
The Woman Who Changed the Face of History.
Less than two years ago,
the Prime Minister quoted St. Francis...
and talked about bringing faith,
hope and harmony to this country.
Denis?
Can the Right Honourable Lady deny,
that having brought about the highest level...
of unemployment since 1934-
The biggest fall in total output...
in steel and coal production in one year since 1931.
And the biggest collapse in industrial production since 1921.
Order, Order.
Can she also accept that her free market economics...
designed to create a growing middle class...
ensures that the rich get richer and the poor are irrelevant!
Maggie Maggie Maggie! Out Out Out! Maggie Maggie Maggie! Out Out Out!
You’re supposed to be a mother!
You’re not a mother, you’re a monster!
May we have a word, Prime Minister?
Yes, but in order to arrive at the palace on time,
Geoffrey and I are will be walking out of that door in 15 minutes.
As you can see. - I know you’re running late Margaret...
but we have to address this situation in light...
of tomorrow’s blistering press coverage. Blistering!
The knives are out.
Your draft budget’s been leaked, Geoffrey, they are baying for our blood!
Michael we can’t possibly buckle at the first sign of difficulty.
No one is saying we have to buckle. - But is this really the time to...
make these spending cuts in the middle of one of the deepest...
recessions this country has ever experienced?
We need a plan of action, Margaret. - Absolutely. A strategy.
We must be armed.
There’s a perception, Margaret...
rightly or wrongly, that we are now completely out of touch with the country.
Really. How much is a pack of Lurpak?
Lurpak? - Butter, Francis.
Forty two pence.
Anchor butter is forty pence.
Flora margarine, still the cheapest, is thirty eight pence.
I can assure you I am not out of touch.
“Grocer’s Daughter”
What - did you say?
Nothing. Prime Minister, Nothing.
No, no, please. Don’t try to hide you opinions.
Goodness me, I’d much rather you were open and...
straight forward about them
instead of continuously and damagingly leaking them to the press.
Well? - Well,
people can’t pay their mortgages.
The manufacturing industry is practically on its knees.
Honest, hard-working, decent people are losing their homes.
It’s terribly shameful.
The point is, Prime Minister, that we must moderate the pace -
- if we’re even to have a hope of winning the next election-
Quite right. Ah. Worried about our careers, are we?
Gentlemen, if we don’t cut spending we will be bankrupt.
Yes, the medicine is harsh...
but the patient requires it in order to live.
Shall we withhold the medicine? No! We are not wrong.
We did not seek election and win in order to manage...
the decline of a great nation.
The people of this country chose us...
because they believe we can restore the health of
the British economy and we will do just that!
Barring a failure of nerve.
Anything else? - Prime Minister.
You saved the day once again, Crawfie,
you’re an angel.
You can’t close down a discussion because it’s not what you wish to hear.
I don’t expect everyone just to sit there and agree with me.
But what kind of leader am I if I don’t try to get my own way-
to do what I know to be right. - Yes.
But Margaret,
one must be careful of testing one’s colleagues’ loyalty too far.
We are now one split nation,
with a huge gulf dividing the employed from the unemployed.
The Thatcher plan is to break the Trade Union movement.
There must be closures of uneconomic coal mines,
we seek only an efficient industry.
The miners are being starved back to work, the need is desperate!
There are those who would say hold back,
there are those who would make us retreat -
But we shall never give in to them.
We shall never waver, not for a second,
in our determination to see this country prosper once again.
A car bomb has exploded outside Harrods department store, killing...
six people and injuring 71.
Eleven soldiers died today when two bombs were detonated during...
military parades in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park.
Seven horses also died in the blasts.
The IRA have claimed responsibility.
And now, it must be business as usual.
Come on love, get to bed.
I don’t know why you do this to yourself every year,
it’s a speech at conference, not the Magna Carta!
Time to call it a day, darling. It’s ten to three, for God’s sake.
I know, I’m coming DT. Nearly there -
Denis!
Denis-
there you are. Are you alright?
My shoes!
That’s when I thought I’d lost you.
Mark?
Hello darling.
No, I’m fine.
I’m very well, How is...
Sarah?
And the children..?
Oh...
You can’t.
That’s a pity.
I was hoping to see you.
Yes...
Oh... No That’s fine. Really darling.
That’s fine.
Of course... another time.
Yes... Darling.
Yes... Can’t wait... Lovely.
Yes...
xxx Mark?
That was Mark. Not able to come.
Boy’s always going AWOL.
Well it costs him a great deal to fly everyone up here.
There you go, making excuses for him. Now look where it’s got you.
Did you know Yul Brynner was a gypsy from Vladivostok?
Yes. He moved to Paris when he was fourteen.
He played the King of Siam...
4,625 times on the London and Broadway stages.
What are you doing?
One likes to make an effort. A snifter?
You’re dead, Denis.
Ah. Well, if I’m dead... who are you talking to? Shall we dance?
The Falkland islands, the British Colony in the South Atlantic, has fallen.
Argentina claims its marines went ashore as a spearhead this morning...
to capture key targets, including the capital, Port Stanley.
Gentlemen, the Argentinian Junta...
which is a fascist gang...
has invaded our sovereign territory. This cannot be tolerated.
May I make plain my negotiating position.
I will not negotiate with criminals or thugs.
The Falkland islands belong to Britain, and I want them back.
Gentlemen, I need you to tell me today if that is possible.
Possible... just, Prime Minister.
We can have a Task Force ready to sail in forty-eight hours.
Forty-eight hours? But...
We have a very narrow weather window.
We can’t fight in winter down there. Nobody can.
If we are going, we have to go now.
Why were the islands left without any naval protection?
In the last round of Defence cuts we judged the risk of invasion to be small.
Did we?
And if you remember, Prime Minister,
you agreed that we should reduce the naval presence in the area to an absolute minimum.
Margaret, the cost of sending 28,000 men...
and a hundred ships twelve thousand miles, almost to Argentina, will be absolutely crippling.
I don’t think we should be worrying about money at this point, Geoffrey.
We can’t afford to go to war.
We have to go now.
now.
The government has now decided that a large task force will sail,
as soon as all preparations are complete.
Prime Minister we do still have three weeks before our ships reach the islands.
All we’re saying is that we shouldn’t give up on trying to find a diplomatic solution.
The U.S. Secretary of State has arrived, Prime Minister.
So you are proposing to go to war over these Islands.
They’re thousands of miles away, a handful of citizens,
politically and economically insignificant, if you’ll excuse me.
Just like Hawaii, I imagine.
I’m sorry?
1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour.
Did America go cap in hand...
and ask Tojo for a peaceful negotiation of terms?
Did she turn her back on her own citizens there...
because the islands were thousands of miles from mainland United States?
No, no, no!
We will stand on principle or we shall not stand at all.
But Margaret with all due respect when one has been to war...
With all due respect sir...
I have done battle every single day of my life...
and many men have underestimated me before.
This lot seem bound to do the same...
but they will rue the day.
Now, shall I be mother?
Tea, Al, how do you take your tea? Black or white?
The Argentinian ship the General Belgrano and her escorts are pursuing...
course 273 degrees toward the Argentinian mainland.
We are tracking it with our submarine HMS Conqueror.
Is this ship a threat?
Both of these ships are carrying Exocet missiles, Prime Minister.
Just yesterday...
they launched, then aborted an attack inside the exclusion zone.
There is a risk they could try it again.
The Belgrano is sailing directly away from the islands.
Can it really be regarded as a threat?
She’s been changing course continually.
There’s a strong possibility that they’re attempting a pincer movement on our carrier group.
I advise that we engage them:
hit the Belgrano as a warning to the others. Send them all back to port.
It’ll play badly internationally. We’ll be seen as aggressors.
This will be an escalation, Prime Minister.
If there is to be an escalation, it’s better that we start it.
It is steaming away, Prime Minister.
Sink it.
HMS Sheffield, a Type 42 destroyer,
was attacked and hit late this afternoon by an Argentine missile...
it is seen as a retaliation for the sinking of the General Belgrano,
in which over 300 Argentinian sailors died...
xxx. Latest casualty figures from the Sheffield.
I must write to them.
Prime Minister?
The families.
I must write to them...
xxx
Foreign Secretary...
I’ve just been briefed by Admiral Fieldhouse.
He told me bluntly that if the Argentinians are prepared and willing to risk their aircraft,
they have enough missiles to cripple most of our fleet.
President Reagan and President Bellaunde of Peru have
some new proposals for the peace plan -
The peace plan?
There will be no appeasement. This is a war.
A war they started and by God, we will finish it.
I tell you what I’m going to write...
to every single one of these families, these heartbroken families?
I am going to tell them that no British soldier will die in vain...
for the Falklands.
Lieutenant Colonel Jones. Captain Wood. Captain Dench.
I am the only Prime Minister in the history of our country...
who is also a mother with a son of my own,
I can imagine your agony, and your grief.
Prime Minister, we have secured the beach head -
The Argentinian troops are demoralized and ill equipped...
The paratroops have taken Goose Green...
Shortly after dark last night, our forces xxx Port Stanley...
xxx what the Commander in Chief has called a brilliant surprise night attack.
Thatcher, bed.
From their new positions, our forces can see large numbers of Argentine soldiers
retreating and streaming back into Port Stanley.
Our forces are moving forward to exploit their success.
Well done, MARGARET.
We congratulate the men and women of the armed Forces for their skill,
bravery and loyalty to this country.
We were faced with an act of unprovoked aggression...
and we responded as we have responded in times past:
with unity, strength and courage,
sure in the knowledge that though much is sacrificed,
in the end, right will prevail over wrong.
And I put it to the Honourable Member opposite...
that this is not a day for him to carp...
find fault, demand inquiries-
they will happen I can assure him of that...
for we have nothing to hide, no...
this is a day to put difference aside,
hold one’s head high...
and take pride in being British.
GOTCHA! Well that paid off old girl! Your ratings soared!
From the most hated Prime Minister of all time to the nation’s darling...
The world was at your feet, and Britain was back in business!
The Berlin Wall has fallen. The gates have opened!
The police are making no attempt to stop people as they go through.
I don’t agree... I don’t agree in any measure!
But Prime Minister the question of the European single currency will come up.
I don’t think the country is ready for it yet.
But we cannot bury our heads in the sand...
A lot of Conservative MP’s and Ministers are saying -
- that there must be a change in that style of management.
That Mrs Thatcher must listen more, and on occasion, give in.
The point is, Prime Minister,
I don’t think we can sell the idea of a tax that asks everyone to pay the same.
Our policies may be unpopular, but they are the right policies.
Prime Minister I just don’t think we can ask the poorest of the poor...
to pay the same amount of tax as a multi-millionaire.
There it is again! Why not?
Because -
Because people... on the whole... think that the tax is manifestly unfair.
Nonsense. Arrant nonsense.
This is a simple proposition. In order to live in this country,
you must pay for the privilege- something, anything!
If you pay nothing, you care nothing.
What do you care where you throw your rubbish?
Your council estate is a mess, your town, graffiti, what do you care?
It's not your problem, it's somebody else's problem-
it's the government's problem!
Your problem...
Some of you,
is that you haven't got the courage for this fight.
You haven’t had to fight hard for anything.
It's all been given to you- and you feel guilty about it!
Well, may I say, on behalf of all those who have had to fight their way up,
and who don't feel guilty about it...
we resent those slackers who take, take, take...
and contribute nothing to the community!
And I see the same thing, the same cowardice...
in our fight within the European Union.
Cowardice.
For the sovereignty of Britain the integrity of the pound!
Some of you want to make concessions.
I hear some of you...
agree with the latest French proposals.
Well, why don’t you get on a boat to Calais?
Yes, why don't you put on a beret,
and pay 85% of your income to the French government!
Right.
What can we realistically hope to achieve by the end of session, Lord President?
And why have we not made more progress to date?
What is that? Is that the timetable?
I haven't seen that. May I see it?
Here it is, Prime Minister. Of course.
The wording is sloppy here...
and here.
If you say so. - I do say so.
It’s merely a first draft...
This is ridiculous. There are two “T’s” in “committee”!
Two “T’s”. This is shameful. Shameful!
I can’t even rely on you for a simple timetable!
Are you unwell?
Yes. You are unwell.
Give me the pencil, give it to me!
If this is the best you can do I had better send you to hospital,
and I shall do your job as well as my own and everyone else’s.
Gentlemen.
As the Lord President has thosen to come to cabinet unprepared...
I have to close this meeting.
Good morning!
Can’t pay, won’t pay!
Geoffrey-
My letter of resignation.
Our differences, I’m afraid, cannot be reconciled.
I have done what I believe to be right for my party and my country.
The time has come for others to consider...
their own response to the tragic conflict of loyalties...
with which I have myself wrestled for perhaps too long.
Geoffrey’s speech in the House of Commons was devastating.
xxx
He was almost inviting someone to challenge her for leadership of the party.
She behaved appallingly.
I wouldn’t have spoken to my gamekeeper like that.
I don’t think she can survive this.
I’m here to announce my decision
to put my name forward as leader of the Conservative party.
I have nothing but admiration for our Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher,
but I believe...
our party and our country need a new leader.
It’s extraordinary.
I am the Prime Minister. - The rules of the Conservative Party...
make it possible for Conservative MP’s to depose a sitting Prime Minister.
Sweetie?
xxx
As Conservative MP’s gather in Westminster to discus...
who they will back in the leadership contest, the Prime Minister said...
she would not be diverted from critical international affairs.
Tonight in Paris Mrs Thatcher is among thirty four world leaders
who came together to celebrate the end of the Cold War and herald...
the start of a peaceful new age of East/West cooperation.
There’s a general feeling that Mrs Thatcher is going to win on the first ballot.
We’re going to put it to bed tomorrow night, is how one of her campaign staff puts it.
M, I really think you should come home and defend yourself old girl.
Heseltine is campaigning ferociously.
I do think my time is best spent seeing an end to the Cold War...
don’t you? After all this time they know what I stand for.
Will she, or will she not, be in the job tomorrow?
Margaret, they can’t touch you.
Mrs Thatcher has failed to win enough votes to secure an outright...
win in the leadership contest and must now decide...
whether to put her name forward for the second round.
As Mrs Thatcher leaves Paris for London to make a last ditch attempt...
to pull together support for her leadership, the ship may have sailed.
Treachery!
We will never win another election led by that woman.
We need a leader who listens.
This isn’t about her, it’s about the party.
One must know when to go.
The question is, how does anyone put it to her?
If you were to stand, I of course would vote for you Prime Minister-
of course would vote for you Prime Minister, but I don’t think you can win.
The loyalty of my colleagues cannot be counted upon.
It was the people who put me here -
The loyalty of my colleagues cannot be counted upon.
- it’s up to them to tell me when to go.
Margaret, you can’t let them do this to you.
Please, boss.
They’ll destroy you. Throw in the towel now, love.
Don’t let those bastards see you humiliated.
You just won’t win, darling. Not this time.
Oh Denis.
I am the Prime Minister.
Order! Order!
The Right Honourable gentleman is afraid!
This is a naked strategy of closing some coal mines...
and then selling off. - They believe in striking...
I believe in working! - This is the woman who’s watched...
ten men on hunger strike starve themselves to death and never flinched!
Despicable.
More homeowners, more shareholders, more savings -
xxx
I offer my resignation...
after eleven and a half extraordinary years -
proud to have left Britain in a much better state...
than when we took office.
What’s this then?
A radio...
How useful.
Steady, MT.
The greatest Prime Minister since Churchill...
deposed by a bunch of spineless pygmies!
All those years of taking the tough decisions...
does any of it matter now?
It’s all been turned to mush!
What? - By these fools!
These lily-livered pinkos!
These inept placators. - Very good! These vacillators.
Vacillators! Poll takers. - Popularity seekers.
So busy taking the pulse of the public!
Weak. Is weak.
Weak... - All off them. Weak.
Men!
Don’t they know if you take the tough decisions.
Yes, people will hate you today but they’ll thank you for generations.
Or forget you entirely and chuck you out with the rubbish!
All I wanted was to make a difference in the world.
And you did, love, you did.
All I wanted was for my children to grow up well and be happy...
happier than I was certainly.
xxx
Oh, yes.
And I wanted you to be happy of course.
Were you happy, Denis?
Tell me the truth.
Denis?
Here’s your bag. You’re all packed, sorted.
Denis wait. Where are your shoes?
No, you can’t go without shoes!
Not yet. - Steady.
Yes. Steady.
Steady the buffs. - Steady the buffs.
No. Not yet. Denis.
Wait...
I don’t, I cant. I don’t want you to go yet.
Denis. Please.
No, no. You are not.
I don’t want to be on my own.
You’re going to be fine on your own, love. You always have been.
Denis!
xxx
Mummy-
My God, Mum. Are you alright?
Yes. - What are you doing.
Yes.
Mummy you should have called for help, silly old sausage.
Have you not even been in your bed properly?
You’ve done all this? - Yes, all sorted.
Well don’t worry about all this. June and I will crack on with it.
I was just going to get dressed.
Shall I call someone, see if anyone can come over and do your hair?
Oh. No, you do it.
Oh, let me do that, Margaret.
No, dear, I’ll do it.
Carol said you might go to the House of Lords today?
No no. I’m not going anywhere.