Margaret Thatcher

“Watch your thoughts, for they will become actions. Watch your actions, for they'll become... habits. Watch your habits for they will forge your character. Watch your character, for it will make your destiny.”

“In politics, if you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman”

“The truths of the Judaic-Christian tradition, are infinitely precious, not only, as I believe, because they are true, but also because they provide the moral impulse which alone can lead to that peace, in the true meaning of the word, for which we all long. . . . There is little hope for democracy if the hearts of men and women in democratic societies cannot be touched by a call to something greater than themselves.”

“Well, there’s a lot to react against! [in response to the accusation that she was a reactionary]”

“Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.”

“I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand 'I have a problem, it is the government's job to cope with it!' or 'I have a problem, I will go and get a grant to cope with it!'; 'I am homeless, the government must house me!' and so they are casting their problems on society and who is society?"There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families, and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first."It is our duty to look after ourselves and then also to help look after our neighbour and life is a reciprocal business and people have got the entitlements too much in mind without the obligations.”

“The Russians are bent on world dominance, and they are rapidly acquiring the means to become the most powerful imperial nation the world has seen. The men in the Soviet Politburo do not have to worry about the ebb and flow of public opinion. They put guns before butter, while we put just about everything before guns.”

“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

“well it used to be about trying to do something, now it is about trying to be someone”

“I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.”

“Do you know, one of the greatest problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas? Now, thoughts and ideas, that interests me.”

“If you want something spoken about, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”

“If you set out to be liked, you will accomplish nothing.”

“Of course it's the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story.”

“Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan”

“It used to be about trying to do something. Now it's about trying to be someone.”

“Do you know that one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas.”

“Being democratic is not enough, a majority cannot turn what is wrong into right. In order to be considered truly free, countries must also have a deep love of liberty and an abiding respect for the rule of law.”

“Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.”

“To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.”

“I'm back... and you knew I was coming. On my way here I passed a cinema with the sign 'The Mummy Returns'.”

“I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”

“Law and order is a social service. Crime and the fear which the threat of crime induces can paralyse whole communities, keep lonely and vulnerable elderly people shut up in their homes, scar young lives and raise to cult status the swaggering violent bully who achieves predatory control over the streets. I suspect that there would be more support and less criticism than today's political leaders imagine for a large shift of resources from Social Security benefits to law and order - as long as rhetoric about getting tough on crime was matched by practice.”

“There are significant differences between the American and European version of capitalism. The American traditiionally emphasizes the need for limited government, light regulations, low taxes and maximum labour-market flexibility. Its success has been shown above all in the ability to create new jobs, in which it is consistently more successful than Europe.”

“As Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990 I had the opportunity to put these convictions into effect in economic policy -We intended policy in the 1980s to be directed towards fundamentally different goals from those of most of the post-war ear. We believed that since jobs (in a free society) did not depend on government but upon satisfying customers, there was no point in setting targets for 'full' employment. Instead, government should create the right framework of sound money, low taxes, light regulation and flexible markets (including labour markets) to allow prosperity and employment to grow.”

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”

“Socialists are happy until they run out of other people's money.”

“When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business, it'll be called rent-a-spine”

“Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.”

“Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.”

“Consensus: “The process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner: ‘I stand for consensus?”

“If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and would achieve nothing. ”

“I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near.”

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it.”

“In politics, If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”

“I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.”

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”

“To those waiting with bated breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only this to say, ‘You turn if you want; the lady’s not for turning.”

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”

“I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”

“In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all – security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.”

“No-one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.”