Margaret Thatcher

Consensus is the absence of leadership.

I always cheer up immensely if anything is said to me that is particularly wounding, because I think, 'There is someone who need not be considered.'

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.

I am not a fan of the welfare state. I think it is an expensive way of trying to do things which could be done better by voluntary effort.

It is not the business of government to nationalize industries. It is the business of government to keep industries competitive.

I'm not a lady who changes her mind. I'm a lady who changes the minds of others.

I am not concerned with the short-term view. I am concerned with the long-term future of this country.

I love arguments. I love debate. I don't expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that's not their job.

I am not concerned with the fact that I am a woman. I am concerned with the fact that I am a Conservative.

I do not believe in failure. I believe in success.

I am still of the opinion that we are not going to get better by spending more money. We are going to get better by spending it more wisely.

It is not enough for people to be good, they must be good for something.

I am not a sentimentalist. I am a pragmatist.

I am an optimist, but I am also a realist.

The state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. If the state wishes to spend more it can only do so by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more.

I came to office with one paramount aim: to change the national mood. From despondency to hope, from dependency to self-reliance.

The choice is between two ways of life: the way of freedom and the way of socialism.

I am not prepared to have my policies dictated by the trade unions.

Freedom under the law is the most precious thing we have.

I believe in the family, I believe in the nation, I believe in the individual.