Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill

I have read two books in the last year that contrasted the leadership styles of two of Britain's most famous Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill. Admittedly, one of them, 'The Downing Street Years', is an autobiography; and the other, 'Churchill's Secret War' is a rather critical account of Winston Churchill's view of India and its resources during World War II.

I have always been flummoxed by the stark contrast between the reverence that our parents' generation seems to accord Churchill and the disdain with which they tend to regard the Iron Lady.

Churchill is remembered for his oratory; who can forget his speech; 'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.' and 'I have never promised anything but blood, tears, toil and sweat...' in 1942. He is also remembered for holding up his fingers in a V for Victory.

He was however a minister of imperial times. The source of Britain's glory back then, was the empire and Churchill once said, "I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire. For that task, if ever it were prescribed, someone else would have to be found, and under a democracy I suppose the nation would have to be consulted."

Margaret Thatcher on the other hand came to power in the post-empire years, in fact during times when unionism in Britain was crippling public and private life.

Perhaps, it is a sign of the times that a generation brought up within socialist climes does not respect the will required to break the unions and set a country on the path to glory again. Margaret Thatcher was clearly the Prime Minister who managed to shake Britain out of its socialist inclinations and set it on the path of glory again.