The Life and Times of Margaret Thatcher Quiz

Answer: Chemistry

After graduating with a degree in Chemistry, Mrs Thatcher became a research chemist. She later studied for the bar, becoming a barrister specialising in tax law.

Answer: Finchley

Thatcher stood twice for the safe Labour seat of Dartford, losing both times but reducing her opponent's majority. She stood for selection in Orpington in South East London as a Conservative candidate, but just missed out, before securing the safe Conservative seat of Finchley in the 1959 election.

She was born in Grantham in Lincolnshire.

Answer: Secretary of State for Education and Science

Thatcher's successor as Prime Minister, John Major, was noted as being very inexperienced but in fact he had held two major Cabinet positions, albeit briefly, before becoming Prime Minister. Thatcher had held a couple of Shadow Cabinet positions in the 1960s, including Transport and Education, but her only position in government was as Education Secretary. There is a huge contrast in this respect between her and her predecessor, James Callaghan, who before he became Prime Minister in 1976 had held all 'big three' Cabinet posts (Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer).

She acquired the nickname 'Thatcher the Milk Snatcher' as she was held responsible for ending the giving out of free milk in school. Her main achievement, if such it can be called, was to oversee a huge rise in the number of comprehensive schools during her time in office.

Answer: Airey Neave

Neave offered his considerable skills as campaign manager to Keith Jospeh and Willie Whitelaw if they would stand for the leadership, but neither did (Joseph's chances were effectively finished after he made a particularly ill-judged speech as Shadow Education Secretary which appeared to suggest that working-class women should be sterilised). Heath never forgave Thatcher for standing against him; John O'Farrell memorably describes this in his book 'An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain': "Ted Heath took his defeat very sportingly, apart from sulking and sniping for the next thirty years".

Neave himself was killed a few weeks before the 1979 General Election by a car bomb, the Irish National Liberation Army claiming responsibility.

Answer: The Scarman report

Lord Scarman was appointed to enquire into the events that led up to the rioting in Brixton in 1981; a judge and barrister, he also chaired the enquiry into the Grunwick dispute in the 1970s.

The Macpherson report was an enquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence, which introduced a new phrase into the English language: 'Institutional racism'. The Chilcot enquiry was an enquiry into the Iraq war which began in 2009, whilst the Byford report, by Sir Lawrence Byford, was an enquiry into the handling of the 'Yorkshire Ripper' investigation by West Yorkshire police in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Answer: The General Belgrano

The General Belgrano was sunk by HMS Conqueror on 2nd May 1982, killing 323 people. The HMS Sheffield was itself sunk two days later. The Piedrabuena was another Argentinian destroyer involved in the conflict. The sinking of the Belgrano has remained a controversial incident.

Answer: The Westland helicopters scandal

Heseltine was, at the time, Defence Secretary. Westland was the UK's last manufacturers of helicopters, and Heseltine favoured a takeover bid from a European consortium, whilst Thatcher and others favoured an alternative takeover bid from an American company, Sikorsky.

This led to a huge row over Cabinet responsibility etc, and Heseltine resigned over the issue on 9th January 1986. Many have seen some irony in the fact that despite the huge social problems facing the country, one of its leading politicians resigned over an issue that hardly any member of the public cared about, and over a company that hardly anybody not directly involved had ever heard of.

Answer: The Community Charge

The Community Charge was always referred to as the 'poll tax'; it was designed to replace the previous system known as 'the rates'. The main reason it was so unpopular was that it was widely perceived to be unfair, with those owning very large houses paying the same as those with small flats, whereas the rates (in fact the rates were always incredibly unpopular as well, as I recall from my youth) were at least perceived to be designed on an 'ability to pay' basis.

The Community Charge was later abandoned and replaced by the council tax, which in fact was very similar to the 'poll tax' after all. 'Stealth tax' is a phrase applied to almost any tax which is regarded as 'hidden'.

Answer: Geoffrey Howe

Howe's speech, which seems mild now, was seen as something of a sensation at the time; it was particularly damaging for Thatcher, coming as it did from one of her most loyal colleagues who had been at the heart of her governments as Chancellor and Foreign Secretary for 11 years. His closing remark, that it was "for others to consider their own response to the tragic conflict of loyalties with which I have myself wrestled for perhaps too long" was seen as an invitation for others to stand against her for leadership of the Party.

Michael Hesletine did indeed stand against her, but after Thatcher lost the first ballot and stood down others entered the race and John Major emerged as the somewhat unlikely next leader and Prime Minister.

Answer: False

She continued to act as the MP for Finchley until she stood down just before the 1992 General Election. She took up her seat in the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.