It's funny how hatred of the Tories nearly always harks back to Thatcher's era. But for those old enough to remember, you have to think back a little further to get a grasp of what she actually achieved and what was displaced. Fair enough during the 50's and 60's the nation was still the throws of rebuilding itself from the world wars; when everyone, including politicians, was actually "all in it together" to get the country back on it's feet.
But I'm just about old enough to remember what we had in the seventies when Labour were in office; constant strikes and power cuts, 3 day weeks and inflation. We were a nation that was outperformed by every European country, had massive debts and over borrowing cap in had to the IMF on several occasions, Britain was broken.
As F1 already pointed out, the emergence of other economies which brought about cheaper products helped kill off some of the industries we used to be great at. This is the by product of the changing scale and shift of the global economy, the world was changing and we had to adapt. Thatcher recognised that UK could no longer sustain and continue to subsidise industries that we can no longer compete in. Where others before her failed, she had the ***** to say no to the powerful unions that wrecked havoc to our manufacturing industry and during her time in office, pulled the UK out of the myre it was stuck in for the past generation and as a result we outgrew every European country. Despite the tax cuts she brought in, revenues rose, the country's debt was paid and contrary to all the lefties belief, public spending actually increased, encouraged the growth of small businesses and private enterprises and of course securing sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. I would say she laid the foundations of how great this country as become on the global stage; she helped end the Cold War and built strong lasting relations with two worlds super powers of that era that still stands today.
For me Thatcher is one of the greatest political figures this country has had in office and set the foundations to make this country one of the most prosperous in the world. Blair and Brown and all the current crop loathsome politicians that currently sit in parliament doesn't even come close to what she has achieved. So it's sad to see today fragility of such a great leader of our nation and her mind ravaged by dementia.