Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Nicolas Sarkozy

2011-12-25T00:32:03Z

Mij:

{{Officeholder
|name=Nicolas Sarkozy
|party=[[Union for a Popular Movement]]
|spouse=[[Carla Bruni-Sarkozy]]
|religion=[[Catholic]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=France
|number=23rd
|terms=May 16, 2007
|vp=[[François Fillon]]
|preceded=[[Jacques Chirac]]
|former=n
}}
}}
'''Nicolas Sarkozy''' (born in 1955) is a [[France|French]] right-winged [[politics|politician]], who was [[2007 French presidential elections|elected]] [[President]] of France on May 6, 2007. He is a strong admirer of the [[United States]]<ref>[http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20070424-102752-8335r.htm "Sarkozy vs. Royal", The ''Washington Times'' Online]</ref>. Sarkozy has been the target of vicious [[leftist]] attacks since winning the French presidency.<ref>http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/le-pen-brands-sarkozy-as-scum/story-e6frg6so-1111113355628</ref>

Sarkozy was born in [[Paris]] in 1955 to a French mother of Greek Jewish origin (the daughter of a Greek immigrant born to the Mallah family, one of the oldest Jewish families of Salonika, Greece <ref> [http://www.pascalsview.com/pascalsview/2007/05/nicolas-sarkozys-jewish-heritage.html Nicolas Sarkozy’s Jewish Heritage.] </ref>) and a [[Hungarian]] father (real name: Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa) who had escaped [[Communism]]. Sarkozy attended law school at the University of Paris, and also studied at the Institute of Political Studies. In 1983, at the age of 28, he became [[mayor]] of Neuilly-sur-Seine, a major suburb of Paris. He was elected to the French [[Parliament|National Assembly]] in 1988 and named minister in 1993. From 2002 to 2007 he served as interior minister and budget minister during which time he burnished his reputation as a tough-on-crime and straightforward politician. On January 14, 2007, he was chosen by the [[UMP|Union pour un Mouvement Populaire]] (UMP), France's main conservative party, as its candidate for president.

<blockquote>
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is unpopular because of government corruption, because the French economy is weaker than it was supposed to be, because he and his now former foreign minister chose the wrong side in Tunisia, and because he’s erratic and unpredictable. <ref> [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/frances-goals-in-libya-hit-a-little-closer-to-home/2011/03/28/AF4J7mqB_story.html? France’s goals in Libya hit a little closer to home.] </ref>
</blockquote>

Divorced twice, Sarkozy is father to three sons, Pierre and Jean from his first marriage and Louis from his second.<ref>[http://www.support-sarkozy-france.com/nicolas_sarkozy/ Nicolas Sarkozy's Biography]</ref> He was married for a third time on February 2, 2008, to model and singer [[Carla Bruni]].<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/03/europe/03sarkozy.php Elaine Sciolino, "French president and ex-model wed, quietly," ''International Herald Tribune'' 3 Feb. 2008.]</ref>

Sarkozy also has engendered much controversy in France with his advocacy of economic reforms, [[immigration]] controls, a youth employment law that the [[government]] was compelled to repeal by widespread protests,<ref>[http://worldnews.about.com/od/france/g/sarkozy_nicolas.htm "France - The News From France", ''About.com'']</ref> and his notorious comment that his intention was to "wash away the scum", when referring to the [[2005 Paris Riots]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2063783,00.html "Troubled Suburbs Rally to Stop Sarkozy", ''The Guardian'' Online]</ref>

== Zionist ancestry ==

<blockquote>
"Sarkozy’s grandfather, Aron Mallah, nicknamed Benkio, was born
in 1890. Beniko’s uncle Moshe was a well-known Rabbi and a
devoted [[Zionist]] who, in 1898 published and edited "El Avenir",
the leading paper of the Zionist national movement in Greece at
the time. His cousin, Asher, was a Senator in the Greek Senate
and in 1912 he helped guarantee the establishment of the
Technion – the elite technological university in Haifa, [[Israel]].
In 1919 he was elected as the first President of the Zionist
Federation of Greece and he headed the Zionist Council for
several years." <ref> [http://www.pascalsview.com/pascalsview/2007/05/nicolas-sarkozys-jewish-heritage.html Ibidem] </ref>
</blockquote>

== Libyan affair ==

[[Bernard Henri Levy]], a friend of Sarkozy since 1983 but with an extremely complicated relationship, is the man who, some consider, waged a war in Libya. Lévy, 62 (born in Algeria in 1948, to a wealthy Sephardi Jewish family), a Zionist French philosopher is the man behind the French and American War on Libya... After persuading Sarkozy, Mr. Lévy, gives Mr. Sarkozy sole credit for persuading London, Washington and others to support intervention in Libya. <ref> [http://anarchitext.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/bhl-war-in-libya/ B.H. Levy: the man who waged a War in Libya.] </ref>

Two French lawyers said they planned to initiate legal proceedings against French President Nicolas Sarkozy for crimes against humanity over the [[NATO]]-led military campaign in [[Libyan uprising 2011|Libya]]... Dumas, a former French minister, said "the NATO mission, which was meant to protect civilians, was in fact killing them." <ref>[http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=46395 French lawyers plan Libya lawsuit against Sarkozy.]</ref>

==See also==
*[[List_of_French_Presidents]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.ejpress.org/article/22741 A Greek book on Nicolas Sarkozy.]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3673102.stm Profile: Nicolas Sarkozy.]
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/frances-goals-in-libya-hit-a-little-closer-to-home/2011/03/28/AF4J7mqB_story.html? France’s goals in Libya hit a little closer to home.] by Anne Applebaum.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkozy, Nicholas}}
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:French Politicians]]

John Edwards

2011-12-23T04:36:15Z

Mij: /* Early Life and Education */

*''For the 18th century preacher, see [[Jonathan Edwards]]''.
*''For the British athlete, see [[Jonathan Edwards (athlete)]].
----
{{Officeholder
|name=John Edwards
|image=SenatorJohnEdwards.jpg
|party=[[Democrat]]
|spouse=[[Elizabeth Edwards]] (separated)
|religion=Methodist
|offices=
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=North Carolina
|terms=January 3, 1999 - January 3, 2005
|preceded=Lauch Faircloth
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Richard Burr]]
}}
}}

'''John Edwards''' is a prominent [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] politician who served as the United States Senator from [[North Carolina]]. He was [[John Kerry]]'s Vice Presidential running mate during the [[2004 Presidential Election]]. He is known for his advocacy of [[liberal]] policies [[class warfare|pitting rich against poor]]. A contender for the 2008 [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] nomination for president, Edwards' reputation collapsed overnight with his admission that he had had an affair with [[documentary]] film-maker Rielle Hunter. He denied fathering her child at the time, but in January, 2010, admitted he was a [[Lies|liar]]. <ref>[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/01/john-edwards-admits-fathering-child-bafta-nominations-tara-reid-gets-engaged/1 USA Today; John Edwards admits fathering child]</ref> In addition, John Edwards declared he is an [[evolution|evolutionist]].<ref>http://www.funmurphys.com/blog/archive/001406.html</ref>

===Early Life and Education===

Edwards was born in Seneca, [[South Carolina]] on June 10, 1953, where his father was the manager of a textile mill. He grew up in Robbins, [[North Carolina]], and graduated from North Carolina State University in 1974. He received a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977.

In 1977, he married Elizabeth Anania (1949-2010). Their son, Wade, was born in 1979 and daughter, Cate, in 1982. Following Wade's death in a car accident in 1996, the couple chose to have more children. Emma Claire was born 1998, and Jack was born in 2000.

In November of 2004, Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast [[cancer]]. After undergoing treatment, the cancer seemed to have been eradicated. At a March 22, 2007 press conference, Elizabeth announced that doctors had found her cancer had returned; it metastasized to her ribs, lungs and liver.

===Private Sector===
Edwards served as a personal injury [[trial lawyer]] in [[Tennessee]] and in North Carolina for 20 years, specializing in negligence and medical malpractice suits. Critics describe Edwards' personal fortune as having been amasssed by preying on malpractice victims and using [[junk science]] to win large settlements. <ref>Peter W. Huber, ''Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom'', 1993. ISBN 0-465-02624-9. </ref> [[Michael Medved]] said, "Ambulance chasers like Edwards don’t create wealth; they seize wealth from its creators...There are also serious questions about his misuse of his own S-type corporation to dodge taxes, and the shady sale of his previous mansion in Georgetown in a sweetheart deal with a supporter who’s currently under government investigation....lawsuits on which Edwards built his career damaged the economy ...building nothing at all and benefiting only the lawyer and his clients. On what basis can Democrats argue that government should cap or actively discourage big salaries for successful corporate heads, but never consider such a limitation for a court-room conniver like Edwards?" <ref>[http://michaelmedved.townhall.com/Blog/issue9 For Presidents Day: Our Most Under-rated Chief Executive], Michael Medved, February 20, 2007.</ref> The most lucrative deal for Edwards was a $25 million suit for a girl who was disemboweled by a swimming pool drain.

Social commentator [[Ann Coulter]] quoted an article from the ''[[New York Times]]'' about Edwards' behavior in the courtroom with this description, "He's the trial lawyer who pretended in court to channel the spirit of a handicapped [[fetus]] in front of illiterate jurors to scam tens of millions of dollars off of innocent doctors. According to ''The New York Times'', Edwards told one jury:

{{Cquote|She speaks to you through me ... And I have to tell you right now -- I didn't plan to talk about this -- right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She's inside me, and she's talking to you. <ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21345 That Was No Lady -- That Was My Husband], by Ann Coulter, ''Human Events'', 06/28/2007.</ref>}}

===Political Career===
In 1998, Edwards ran as the Democratic candidate for a seat in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]. He beat incumbent Senator Lauch Faircloth to win the seat.

Edwards served in the Senate for one 6 year term, declining to stand for re-election so that he could run for the 2004 Democratic party nomination for President. He withdrew from the presidential race on March 2, 2004 after failing to win any state of the 10 contested states in the Super Tuesday elections. Democratic nominee John Kerry named Edwards as his vice-presidential candidate for the Democratic ticket.

===2004 Vice-Presidential Candidacy===

Democratic National Committee insider [[Bob Shrum]] reported in his book ''No Excuses'' about the 2004 loss of Kerry/Edwards. In the book Shrum told of private Kerry-Edwards discussions when Democratic Presidential Nominee [[John Kerry]] was considering Edwards for the Vice-Presidential slot;

{{Cquote|(Kerry) was even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he'd never told anyone else -- that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before -- and with the same preface, that he'd never shared the memory with anyone else. Kerry said he found it chilling, and he decided he couldn't pick Edwards unless he met with him again.}}

The Kerry-Edwards ticket lost to incumbent president George W. Bush and Dick Cheney with 48% of the vote to the Republicans' 51%.

===Post 2004 Election===

After losing the bid for Vice President in the 2004 election, he became the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill.

===2008 Presidential Candidacy===

On December 28, 2005, John Edwards officially announced that he would again seek the Democratic nomination for president for the 2008 election.

Edwards is reported to be miffed over having been branded "the Breck Girl" <ref>[http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-edwardsbreckgirl.htm John Edwards the Breck Girl] ''"Sometimes another pretty face is just another pretty face."''</ref> in the 2004 Vice Presidential contest. Columnist Joan Vennochi characterized Edwards problem, "Usually, women are forced to ward off stereotypical thinking that equates beauty with brainlessness. But Edwards is not the first male politician to feel the double-edged sword that comes with being too pretty to be taken seriously." <ref>[http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/vote/5289.php Edwards' obstacle: 'Breck girl' good looks], Joan Vennochi, ''The Boston Globe'', 01.10.2004. </ref> In the spring of 2007, Edwards was ridiculed for getting $400 haircuts and charging his political campaign for them. He later said that he reimbursed his campaign $800.<ref>CBS News, [http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/04/24/publiceye/entry2722181.shtml ''John Edwards And The Case Of The "Breck Girl" Comment''], April 24, 2007.</ref>

On [[Memorial Day]] 2007 Edwards was accused of using the National Holiday to "trash the sacrifice, honor and glory of American soldiers."
<ref>[http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/05/john_edwards_criticized_for_en.php John Edwards criticized for 'trashing' troops on Memorial Day], Jim Brown, ''OneNewsNow.com'', May 30, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May26/0,4670,EdwardsInterview,00.html Edwards Defends Stepped-Up War Opposition], By Mike Glover, Associated Press, May 26, 2007. </ref>

The ''New York Times'' reported Edwards created a nonprofit organization with the stated mission of fighting poverty. The organization, the Center for Promise and Opportunity, raised $1.3 million in 2005, and — unlike a sister charity he created to raise scholarship money for poor students — the main beneficiary of the center’s fund-raising was Mr. Edwards himself, according to tax filings. The organization became a big part of a shadow political apparatus. Its officers were members of his political staff, and it helped pay for his nearly constant travel, including to early primary states.

While Mr. Edwards said the organization’s purpose was “making the eradication of poverty the cause of this generation,” its federal filings say it financed “retreats and seminars” with foreign policy experts on Iraq and national security issues. Unlike the scholarship charity, donations to it were not tax deductible, and, significantly, it did not have to disclose its donors — as political action committees and other political fund-raising vehicles do — and there were no limits on the size of individual donations. <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/us/politics/22edwards.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin In Aiding Poor Edwards Built Bridge to 2008], Leslie Waynem ''New York Times'', June 22, 2007.</ref>

John Edwards has ended his run to become the Democratic candidate for the 2008 election cycle after the [[Florida]] primaries on January 29, 2008. It was over when he became a distant third to [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]]. It was the third primary in a row where he ended third, and he dropped out before Super Tuesday, when voters in twenty-two states allocating about 45 per cent of the delegates.

==FEC==
The Federal Election Committee has recommended fines exceeding $170,000 for 2004 campaign violations that included the transfer of $500,000. to his Senate account from his Presidential campaign. <ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/florida/story/931460.html Campaign of Sen. John Edwards faces $170K fine, Miami Herald, March 4, 2009]</ref>

In addition, the FEC is investigating his 2008 presidential campaign for money transfers to his mistress, another violation of the law.

===Political views===
During his Senate career and the 2004 presidential campaign, one of Edwards' main themes was "Two Americas," contrasting the poorer working-class Americans with wealthier Americans. Critics cite the hypocrisy of Edwards call for "affordable health care," when it is [[malpractice]] attorneys that use junk science to win big awards such as himself that have made the cost of health care beyond the reach of the poor.

===Criticism===
Edwards came under fire for not firing two of his campaign workers who made bigoted and hateful statements on their blogs. Statements included calling Christian supporters of President Bush his "wingnut Christofascist base", asking what would have happened if the Virgin Mary had taken an emergency contraceptive<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/13/politics/p171426S05.DTL&type=politics</ref>, and asking religious conservatives "What don't you lousy motherf——ers understand about keeping your noses out of our britches, our beds and our families?".<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251620,00.html</ref><ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251009,00.html</ref> These incidents were largely ignored by the mainstream media.<ref>http://www.mediaresearch.org/realitycheck/2007/fax20070222.asp</ref> Edwards was criticized for not firing the employees, but they later resigned themselves.

Critics also cite Edwards lack of government experience. One often heard criticism is that, other than the fact he has a full head of hair, there is little else to qualify him as a candidate.

In 2005, with a big announcement from the [[liberal]] media, John Edwards started the College for Everyone scholarship program. The goal was to reward a [[college]] student should they make it through the four years of school by paying a year's tuition for each [[graduate]]. John Edwards cancelled the program in July 2008. <ref>[http://blog.indecision2008.com/2008/08/01/millionaire-playboy-john-edwards-little-kid-problem/ Millionaire Playboy John Edwards' Little Kid Problem] Comedy Central Indecision 2008, August 1, 2008</ref>

In 2007, Elizabeth Edwards was stricken with incurable [[breast cancer]]. The link on John Edwards' [[campaign]] web site invites people to send get well wishes to Elizabeth. John Edwards used those well-wishers' information to solicit email donations to his Presidential campaign. <ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/04052007/news/nationalnews/edwards_cashing_in_on_wifes_cancer_nationalnews_maggie_haberman.htm EDWARDS CASHING IN ON WIFE'S CANCER] NY Post, April 5, 2007</ref>

Repeatedly [[lied]] while running for the highest office in the nation.

August 9th, Rielle Hunter's sister Melissa, calls on John Edwards to come clean about the child and to take a [[paternity]] test. <ref>[http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/09/blowback-starts-hunters-family-challenges-edwards-to-paternity-test/ Hunter’s family challenges Edwards to paternity test] Hot Air Network, August 9, 2008</ref>

===Scandal===
[[Ann Coulter]] wrote:
:"In 2008, he based his entire presidential campaign on his selfless dedication to a cancer-stricken wife. Meanwhile, in order to pass the time between giving $50,000 speeches on poverty, Edwards was cheating on the cancer-stricken wife." [http://www.hebookservice.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c7315]

In October 2007 the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' accused Edwards of having an extramarital affair with [[Rielle Hunter]], a claim that Edwards repeatedly denied even while running for [[President]]. Armed with knowledge that Edwards planned to visit Rielle at her hotel on July 22nd 2008, the ''Enquirer'' confronted Edwards at 2 A.M. when he left her room after being there for a considerable time. Edwards ran, hid in a bathroom and security was called to escort him out.

With a few exceptions, [[liberal bias]] ensured the silence of the major Internet and television news organizations. Edwards disavowed the allegations in a brief statement, saying that he would not dignify lies with responses. He asserted that he was telling “99 percent” of the truth before coming clean. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,401462,00.html Inconsistencies Raise Concerns Edwards May Still Be Lying About Affair] Fox News, August 11, 2008</ref> Most liberal-owned networks and Internet sites were still silent.

[[File:Edwards-lies.jpg|thumb|280px|Edwards was notorious for fathering many lies]]

The [[conservative]] media's pursuit of the truth forced the issue into the public eye and further raised serious questions about Edwards. Edwards chose to give an interview to [[ABC News]] less than two weeks after being caught with his mistress yet again. He claimed that some elements of the story were false, including the allegation that he was the father of Rielle's child.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&page=1 Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate] ABC News, August 8, 2008</ref> At that point, the [[mainstream media]] finally began to give the story serious coverage.

There may be elements of the scandal that are still being glossed over. Apparently, a close political friend of Edwards had been sending Hunter $15,000 a month, something that Edwards says he knew nothing about, and that he attempts to explain away by speculating that it might simply be a case of a friend helping out a person in distress. Fox News has also pointed out that elements of Edwards story and the timeline are inconsistent <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,401462,00.html Inconsistencies Raise Concerns Edwards May Still Be Lying About Affair] Fox News, August 11, 2008</ref>

The seriousness of the allegations led Edwards to cancel all public appearances during the election campaign, recognizing that his presence could only be a detriment to his party.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,417042,00.html</ref> Beyond the 2008 election, the gravity of the situation, which was compounded by the fact that these events took place as Elizabeth was being treated for cancer, the scandal has in all likelihood derailed Edwards' future political prospects.

The ''Enquirer'' reported that a DNA test confirmed that Rielle's son was fathered by Edwards. In January 2010, Edwards admitted that the child is his and that he has separated from his wife. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/12/report-dna-tests-proves-edwards-fathered-videographers-daughter/?test=latestnews DNA Test Proves Edwards Fathered Videographer's Daughter, Fox News, August 13, 2009]</ref>

If there was any doubt before as to Edwards's honesty, the facts now prove he is one of the most pathetic liars to have ever served in American politics.

A sex tape of Edwards and Hunter was formerly in possession of one of Edward's aides. His aide was going to release tape before a judge intervened and ordered it confiscated.

An indictment of Edwards over campaign finance violations is expected by a federal grand jury in April 2010. He will likely be charged with converting political action committee money to personal use and lying to hide breaking the law. <ref>[http://www.breitbart.tv/national-enquirer-editor-says-john-edwards-indictment-could-come-soon/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter NATIONAL ENQUIRER EDITOR SAYS JOHN EDWARDS INDICTMENT COULD COME SOON, Breitbart.tv Video]</ref>

==Miscellania==
===Books===
''The Four Trials'' (with John Auchard), about his career as a lawyer

===Trivia===
The $25 million settlement was the largest in NC history.

==See Also==
[[Previous Breaking News/John Edwards|Articles about '''John Edwards''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

== References ==
<references/>

==Sources==
http://johnedwards.com/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, John}}
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:North Carolina]]

Elizabeth Edwards

2011-12-23T04:31:52Z

Mij: encyclopedias do not use euphemisms, eg. 'passed away'

'''Elizabeth Edwards''' (July 3, 1949 – December 7, 2010) was the wife of former U.S. Senator and [[Democratic]] Vice Presidential nominee [[John Edwards]], until she died of breast cancer on December 7, 2010.<ref>She separated from her husband John but they did not divorce.</ref> Elizabeth Edwards was a political activist on behalf of her husband who was pursuing the [[2008 Presidential Election|The 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination]].

In the context of her husband's unsuccessful campaign for president, Edwards confronted social commentator [[Ann Coulter]] alleging Coulter is asking young people to "participate in a dialogue that's based on hatefulness and ugliness," and declaring "we can't have a debate about issues if you're using this kind of language."

Edwards, in accepting the "Rage for Justice Award" on June 8, 2007 from the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, stated,
{{Cquote|We needed uncompromising rage, and we got silence. We needed courage, and we got silence. And that silence was, have no doubt about it, a betrayal: of the soldiers, of the voters in 2006, of humanity and morality. <ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BrentBozellIII/2007/07/04/elizabeth_edwards_favors_rage Elizabeth Edwards Favors "Rage"], By Brent Bozell III, July 4, 2007. Retrieved from Townhall.com July 14, 2007.</ref>}}

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Elizabeth}}
[[Category:Americans]]
[[Category:Political Activists]]
[[Category:Spouses of Famous People]]

Norman Lamont

2011-12-23T01:30:28Z

Mij:

'''Norman Lamont''' is a [[British]] [[Conservative Party|Conservative]] politician, most famous for his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 to 1993. Lamont, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, ran [[John Major]]'s campaign for the party leadership in 1990, and was subsequently promoted to Chancellor. Lamont's credibility was heavily damaged by the events of Black Wednesday, and by a series of quotes ("Singing in the bath" at leaving the ERM, and "Green shoots of recovery".). He was removed as Chancellor in a reshuffle in 1993, after being offered the position of Enviroment Secretary, which he turned down.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamont, Norman}}
[[Category:British Politics]]
[[Category:Scottish People]]

Norman Lamont

2011-12-23T01:30:16Z

Mij:

Category:Scottish People

2011-12-23T01:29:38Z

Mij:

People from [[Scotland]]

[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Scotland]]

Margaret Thatcher

2011-12-23T01:27:36Z

Mij: /* Primary sources */

{{Prime Minister
|image=Margaret_Thatcher.jpg
|seq=71
|term_start=May 4 1979
|term_end=November 28 1990
|party=Conservative Party
|previous=James Callaghan
|next=John Major
|birth_date=October 13 1925
|birth_place=Grantham
|spouse=[[Denis Thatcher|Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt]]
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''Margaret Hilda Thatcher (nee Roberts)''', later Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven (born October 13, 1925), was [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the position. Her leadership permanently moved Britain to the right and reshaped the nation's political environment to stress economic growth and international competitiveness. The [[Labour Party]] in response under [[Tony Blair]] jettisoned their old leftist ideas and followed Thatcher-lite programs.

Thatcher was chosen to be the leader of the Conservative Party in February 1975, succeeding former Prime Minister [[Edward Heath]]. She was opposed to [[socialism]] and out-of-control union power which had brought down the previous Conservative government in 1974. She led the Conservatives to victory in the May 1979 [[General Election]] and thus became Prime Minister.
{{cquote|'''The economic success of the Western world is a product of its moral philosophy and practice. ''The economic results are better because the moral philosophy is superior.'' Choice is the essence of ethics: if there were no choice, there would be no ethics, no good, no evil; good and evil have meaning only insofar as man is free to choose.''' <ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103336 1977 speech by Margaret Thatcher; Zurich Economic Society]</ref>}}

Thatcher sold many of the UK's nationalized industries back to private investors and made tax cuts. She broke the power of the trade unions which stood in the way of industrial progress, especially in the mining, print and shipbuilding industries and the public sector. Due to her strong standards and her leadership style, she became known as the "[[Iron Lady]]," a term originally coined as an insult by the communist [[Soviet Union]], but one she adopted. A famous statement of hers was "You turn if you want to, but the lady's not for turning", in reference to calls from within her own party to back down (in the political terminology of the time, "U-turn") on issues that were important to her. Thatcher was always a strong supporter of close relations with the [[United States]], and was a good friend of President [[Ronald Reagan]], uniting with him in actions against the Communists.

She led Britain to victory against [[Argentina]] in a 1982 war over Argentinian aggression against the [[Falkland Islands]]. The United States was allied with both countries, and initially tried to broker a negotiated settlement. When Thatcher rejected the proposed compromise, the U.S. supported Britain with intelligence information and the supply of advanced AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles. The conflict led to a strong friendship with the Chilean leader [[Augusto Pinochet]] after Chile helped Britain in the conflict. In 1986, she banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools in a piece of legislation known as [[Section 28]].

Thatcher led the Conservative Party to victory in three general elections (1979, 1983 and 1987). By 1990, her popularity was waning and there were calls from within her own party for her to step aside. She was challenged for the party leadership and just failed to gain the necessary majority in the first election despite getting more votes than her rival [[Michael Heseltine]]. After being convinced by colleagues that she would narrowly fail to gain the necessary votes she decided not to stand for a second ballot and resigned as party leader on 22 November 1990. [[John Major]] won the party leadership vote, and was subsequently appointed to succeed Thatcher as Prime Minister. Heseltine's reputation was destroyed by his actions and his career in the Conservative Party slowly declined.

''Thatcher was the longest serving British Prime Minister in more than 150 years and, alongside [[Winston Churchill]], is considered to be one of the two most important British political leaders of the twentieth century.''

She fundamentally moved the British economy from factories and mines to services and finance. [[Time|Time Magazine]] wrote of Lady Thatcher:
{{cquote|'''She was the catalyst who set in motion a series of interconnected events that gave a revolutionary twist to the century's last two decades and helped mankind end the millennium on a note of hope and confidence. The triumph of capitalism, the almost universal acceptance of the market as indispensable to prosperity, the collapse of Soviet imperialism, the downsizing of the state on nearly every continent and in almost every country in the world — Margaret Thatcher played a part in all those transformations, and it is not easy to see how any would have occurred without her. ''Champion of free minds and markets, she helped topple the welfare state and make the world safer for capitalism and mankind.''''' <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html Time Magazine; Time 100 citation]</ref>}}<br />

==Career prior to 1979==

The predominant influence in Lady Thatcher's early life was her father, [[Alfred Roberts]]. Roberts was a grocer by occupation who was active in local politics. She attended Somerville College, [[Oxford University|Oxford]], where she read chemistry and became chairman of the university Conservative association. After graduating, she worked for a time as a research chemist before qualifying as a barrister and practicing as a tax lawyer, an indication of her interest in financial matters. In this time period, it was uncommon in Britain for a woman from a background to go to an upper-class university and then to pursue a career in the elitist male world of the Bar.

Lady Thatcher married Denis Thatcher, a successful businessman whom she met at a Conservative Party meeting; a quiet man, he kept out of the spotlight. They had two children, twins Mark Thatcher and Carol Thatcher.

Under the weak and troubled Conservative premiership of [[Edward Heath]] (1970-1974), Thatcher served as Secretary of State for Education during which time her most noted achievement was the withdrawal of a daily milk ration to primary age schoolchildren earning her the nickname Milk-Snatcher. After the Conservatives were defeated in the elections of February and October 1974, Thatcher challenged the more liberal Heath for the leadership of the party. When she went into Heath's office to tell him her decision, he did not even bother to look up. "You'll lose," he said. "Good day to you." [http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]

Though at the time she was a relatively untested figure (and many in the party were wary of choosing a woman leader), she defeated both Heath and other male rivals in the contest in February 1975. Heath subsequently became a prominent personal and political adversary of Thatcher, drawing accusations of bitterness.

In the 1970s, Thatcher's strongly conservative, pro-capitalist stance resonated with a new mood among the British electorate, many of whom had become dissatisfied with the post-[[World War II]] statist consensus (the "post-war consensus", sometimes also called "Butskellism" after the centrist Conservative politician [[Rab Butler]] and the moderate Labour politician [[Hugh Gaitskell]]). Thatcher and the Conservatives offered a clear alternative vision for an increasingly aspirational society. The Conservative politician Sir [[Keith Joseph]] was the primary intellectual force behind these theories that later became known as ''Thatcherism''. They were strongly influenced by the pro-market intellectuals [[Friedrich von Hayek]] and [[Milton Friedman]].
[[Image:503px-Thatcher-loc.jpg|right|thumb|Margaret Thatcher as Leader of the Opposition in 1975.]]

===Attitude to Abortion===
Thatcher, throughout her parliamentary career, voted in favor of liberal abortion laws.[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1988thatcher.html]

==1979 election==
The Labour party under [[James Callaghan]] (prime minister 1976-79) contested the May 1979 election as unemployment passed the one-million mark and unions became more aggressive. The Conservatives used a highly effective poster created by Saatchi and Saatchi, showing a dole queue snaking into the distance and it carried the caption "Labour isn't working".
[[Image:THATCH~1.JPG|right|350px]]
Voters gave Conservatives 43.9% of the vote and 339 seats to Labour's 269, for an overall majority of 43 seats. People generally voted against Labour rather than for the Conservatives. Labour was weakened by the steady long-term decline in the proportion of manual workers in the electorate. Twice as many manual workers normally voted Labour as voted Conservative, but they now constituted only 56% of the electorate. When [[Harold Wilson]] won narrowly for Labour in 1964, they had accounted for 63%. Furthermore they were beginning to turn against the trade unions—alienated, perhaps, by the difficulties of the winter of 1978-9. In contrast, Tory policies stressing wider home ownership, which Labour refused to match. Thatcher did best in districts where the economy was relatively strong and was weaker where it was contracting.

==Prime Ministership==
===Economic policy===
Thatcher's chief goals in power were to reverse Britain's economic decline and to reduce the range of the state as well as standing taller on the international stage. She found a soul-mate in Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980 but whom she had met in 1975. Thatcher started by increasing interest rates to drive down inflation which hit the manufacturing sector and caused unemployment to rise sharply and there was a deep recession in the early 1980s blamed on her Government's economic policy. This led to her famous quote: 'the lady is not for turning', and she refused a policy reversal and, despite an open letter from 364 "economists", taxes were increased in the middle of a recession. Although unemployment did not reach 3 million till 1982, a year earlier British cities burned as thousands took to the streets to demonstrate their frustration. Inflation was going down though, allowing interest rates to fall, proving those "economists" wrong.

===Falkland Islands===
As the economy started to recover Argentina invaded the Falklands, the first (and unprovoked) invasion of sovereign British territory by a foreign government since the Second World War. This invasion was preceded, and possibly encouraged, by her withdrawal of the Royal Navy's antarctic patrol ship ''HMS Endurance'' from the South Atlantic. Thatcher immediately declared her resolve to recapture the islands in line with the wishes of their inhabitants, and dispatched a naval task force to that end. With help from President [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]] of [[Chile]] and, more covertly, [[Ronald Reagan]], the British forces swiftly recaptured the islands. The resulting wave of patriotic enthusiasm as well as her right to buy policy for council homes, and a uselessly divided opposition, meant she got a landslide victory in the June 1983 general election.

===Unions===
The central theme of Thatcher's second term was reducing the power of the trade unions with a series of measures that a number of unions reacted to with industrial action. In particular the National Union of Mineworkers led by Arthur Scargill. The Tories had prepared for the strike by building up coal reserves and the deploying well paid police units fitted out with new riot gear brought in after the disturbances of 1981 who taunted the strikers by waving fivers at them. The miners responded with bricks and very ugly scenes developed on picket lines that split the country. Scargill's failure to hold a ballot for the strike undermined public support and the striker's chant of 'vote with your feet' calling miners to join the strike was turned on them as more and more returned to work over the year of the strike.
===IRA===
In the middle of the strike, on October 12 1984, the IRA detonated a bomb during the Conservative Party conference in Brighton. Thatcher escaped injury but five people died in the attack and Margaret Tebbit was left paralyzed; the conference went on as normal.
===Privatization===
Thatcher's political and economic philosophy emphasized free markets and since gaining power she had experimented in selling off nationalized industries starting with the National Freight company, most of the large utilities followed.

Privatization was perhaps the most enduring legacy of the political economy developed under Thatcher. She privatized long-nationalized corporations (such as the telephone and aerospace firms) and, most important, sold public housing to tenants, all on favorable terms. Theis turned Labour-minded tenants into Conservative-minded property owners and mortgage payers. The policy developed an important electoral dimension during the second Thatcher government (1983-90). It involved more than denationalization: wider share ownership was the second plank of the policy, and this provides an important historical perspective on the relationship between Thatcherism and 20th-century conservatism.<ref> Richard Stevens, "The Evolution of Privatisation as an Electoral Policy, c. 1970-90." ''Contemporary British History'' 2004 18(2): 47-75. Issn: 1361-9462 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

===Foreign policy===
Thatcher supported Reagan's [[Cold War]] policies of [[rollback]] of Communism. She supported the stationing of nuclear missiles in Europe and at British bases, ignoring the last-gasp protests by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She supported the American bombing raid on [[Libya]] from bases in Britain in 1986 and, by refusing to side with a European consortium, in backing the American-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation over a British company Westland. [[Michael Heseltine]] resigned in protest at her style of leadership over this.

In 1984 she visited [[China]] and signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration with [[Deng Xiaoping]] that agreed the handover of [[Hong Kong]] in 1997. At the Fontainebleau summit in 1984 Thatcher argued that the UK paid far more to the EEC than it received in spending and negotiated a budget rebate using the argument that ‘We want our money back’. In 1985, the University of Oxford voted to refuse her an honorary degree in protest against her cuts in funding for education.
===Reelected 1987===
In 1987, Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister to win three consecutive general elections since [[Lord Liverpool]] (1812-1827).
===Environment===
In the late 1980's Thatcher began to be concerned by environmental policy and in 1988 she made a major speech accepting the problems of global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain. <ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=107346 Speech to the Royal Society, 9/27/1988]</ref>

===Europe===
At Bruges, she made a speech in which she outlined her opposition to proposals from the European Communities for a federal structure and increasing centralization of decision-making believing that the role of the EC should be limited to ensuring free trade and effective competition. She was specifically against Economic and Monetary Union, through which a single currency would replace national currencies, and for which the EC was making preparations. In 1989 the economy high interest rates were imposed to stop an unsustainable boom. At the Madrid European summit, Nigel Lawson and Geoffrey Howe forced Thatcher to agree the circumstances in which she would join the Exchange Rate Mechanism, a preparation for monetary union. She took revenge on both by demoting Howe and listening more to her adviser Sir Alan Walters on economic matters. Lawson resigned that October and in November, a so-called ‘stalking horse candidate Sir Anthony Meyer challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party. In 1989 a new system of local government finance to replace the rates was introduced for Scotland in 1989 and for England and Wales in 1990. Called the 'Community Charge' but known as the Poll Tax was applied at the same amount to every individual resident with only limited discounts. Widespread opposition culminated in a huge [http://newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk/article.php?story=200510081953085 demonstration] in London on March 31 that turned into the largest outbreak of public disorder central London had seen in a century which was followed by millions of people refusing to pay the tax. This along with her government's handling of the economy, her perceived arrogance and a general feeling that she would never retire, made her politically vulnerable. Geoffrey Howe resigned on November 1 and condemned Thatcher's policy on the European Communities then openly invited 'others to consider their own response'. Michael Heseltine's response was a leadership challenge which resulted in a narrow failure, by two votes, for Thatcher to win automatic re-election. After consulting with cabinet colleagues she found a vast majority thought that she could not win on the second ballot. On November 22nd Thatcher announced that she would not be a candidate in the second ballot. She supported John Major as her successor, and retired from Parliament at the 1992 election.

==Thatcherism==
[[Thatcherism]] refers to Thatcher's economic policies while prime minister 1979 and 1990.
It consisted of
*[[free market]] [[Supply-side economics|supply-side economics]]
*[[tax]] reduction
*artificial manipulation of the money supply to reduce [[inflation]]
*[[privatization]] of public industry
*reining in of [[labor union|trade union]] influence and power

==Life after being Prime Minister==

After leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher was dubbed '''Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven''' and entered the House of Lords. Denis Thatcher was given a Baronetcy, which ensured that their son, Mark, would inherit the title of "Sir Mark".

She publicly endorsed [[William Hague]] against Kenneth Clarke for the Conservative leadership in 1997. She made many speaking engagements around the world, including very vocal support of former General [[Augusto Pinochet]], whom the new Labour administration extradited to Spain on trumped-up charges of torturing political opponents. In March 2002 she suffered a mild stroke, and made few speeches. In 2004 she attended the funeral of her old friend and political soul-mate, Ronald Reagan. Baroness Thatcher is still seen at Tory party gatherings and has continued endorsing party leaders, such as Iain Duncan Smith. In August 2008, it became known that she was suffering from [[dementia]] and had withdrawn from public life. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7579352.stm Thatcher suffers from dementia]</ref>
[http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html][http://www.fandmpublications.co.uk/pages/margaretbiography1.htm][http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp]

==Quick Facts==
*Born: 13 October 1925 in [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]]

*First entered Parliament: 8 October 1959

*Became leader of the [[Conservative]] Party in February 1975

*Elected as Prime Minister in May 1979

*Age she became PM: 53 years, 204 days

*Maiden Speech: 5 February 1960 during the second reading of her Private Member's Bill

*Total time as PM: 11 years, 209 days

*Nickname: "The Iron Lady"

*Education: Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School and Somerville College, Oxford

*Before Thatcher became an MP, she worked as a research chemist for British Xylonite and then Lyons & Company, where she helped develop methods for preserving ice cream.

*Family: Margaret Thatcher is the younger of two daughters. She often gave her father as an example of an outstanding citizen. She married [[Sir Denis Thatcher]], and has one son and one daughter.

*Interests: Music, art, opera and reading.

[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp][http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]

==Husband==
Denis Thatcher, ''as the first male PM spouse in history'', was always likely to be the center of media attention - and he didn't disappoint.

When she met him, Baroness Thatcher remarked that "it was clear to me at once that Denis was an exceptional man - he had a certain style and dash." Described as a man of integrity, humor and common sense, he had a strong business background and fought with the Royal Artillery during the war.

It was said that Denis was in 'the Thatcher party not the Tory party'. He once famously remarked, recalling the words of Mark Twain, that: "it's better to keep my mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt."

When he died in 2003 his wife paid tribute to the man she loved by saying: "Being PM is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be - you cannot lead from a crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend."

[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp][http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]

== Notable quotes==

*"I like Mr Gorbachev, we can do business together."

*"The lady is not for turning"

*"I have made it quite clear that a unified Ireland was one solution that is out. A second solution was a confederation of two states. That is out. A third solution was joint authority. That is out-that is a derogation of sovereignty."

*"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."

*"If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you."

*"I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near."

*" There is no such thing as [[society]]. There is living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate"<ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106689 Interview in ''Woman's Own'']</ref>

*"What Britain needs is an iron lady."

*"Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant memory of an offshore island, lost in the mists of time like Camelot, remembered kindly for its noble past."

*"I just owe almost everything to my father [and] it's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election."

*"Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend."<ref>[http://www.quoteworld.org/authors/margaret-thatcher/1/ Quotes by Margaret Thatcher]</ref>

*"It will be years before a woman either leads the Conservative Party or becomes Prime Minister. I don't see it happening in my time" (in 1970.) This quote was parodied in the 2006 TV series Life on Mars, when DCI Gene Hunt (speaking in 1973) stated "There'll never be a woman Prime Minister as long as I have a hole in my ar*e."

*“You may have to fight the battle more than once to win it.” <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=zac9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA283&dq=fight+the+battle+more+than+once+to+win+it.&ei=3hpnS82IAaSyNNvx1PwN&cd=2 The Routledge dictionary of quotations‎ - Page 283 by Robert Andrews]</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Thatcherism]]
*[[Conservative Links]]

==External Links==
* [http://www.margaretthatcher.org/ Margaret Thatcher Foundation]

==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
[[File:Thatcher-pic.jpg|thumb|260px]]
===Biography===
* Blundell, John. ''Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Thatcher-Portrait-Iron-Lady/dp/087586631X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256981278&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]
* Campbell, John. ''Margaret Thatcher. Vol. 1: The Grocer's Daughter.'' (2000); ''Margaret Thatcher. vol. 2: Iron Lady'' (2007), 520pp; 913pp; long, detailed authoritative biography
* Clarke, Peter. "Margaret Thatcher's Place in History: Two Views," ''Journal of the History of Economic Thought'' 2002 24(3): 357-368 online at EBSCO
* Geelhoed, Bruce E. and Hobbs, James F. ''Margaret Thatcher's Last Hurrah: In Victory and Downfall, 1987 and 1990.'' (1992). 193 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/15091359?title=Margaret%20Thatcher%3a%20In%20Victory%20and%20Downfall%2c%201987%20and%201990 online edition]; also [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Margaret-Thatcher-Victory-Downfall-1987/dp/0275941485/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212823416&sr=8-34 excerpt and text search]
* King, Anthony. "The Outsider as Political Leader: the Case of Margaret Thatcher." ''British Journal of Political Science'' 2002 32(3): 435-454. Issn: 0007-1234 Fulltext: [[CUP]] and [[Jstor]]. Thatcher was a social outsider, psychological outsider and political outsider.
* Thompson, Juliet S., and Wayne C. Thompson. ''Margaret Thatcher: Prime Minister Indomitable'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/read/85710688?title=Margaret%20Thatcher%3a%20Prime%20Minister%20Indomitable online edition]
* Young, Hugo. ''The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher.'' (1989). 570 pp. well-written and well researched

===Political studies===
* Adonis, Andrew, and Tim Hames, eds. ''A Conservative Revolution: The Thatcher-Reagan Decade'' (1994), comparative perspective
* Backhouse, Roger E. "The Macroeconomics of Margaret Thatcher," ''Journal of the History of Economic Thought'' 2002 24(3): 313-334 online at EBSCO
* Dellheim, Charles. ''The Disenchanted Isle: Mrs. Thatcher's Capitalist Revolution.'' (1995) 352 pp.
* Evans, Brendan. ''Thatcherism and British Politics, 1975-1997'' (2000)
* Evans, Eric J. ''Thatcher and Thatcherism.'' (2nd ed. 2004). 176 pp [http://www.questia.com/read/107494201?title=Thatcher%20and%20Thatcherism online edition]
* Fry, Geoffrey K. ''Politics of the Thatcher Revolution: An Interpretation of British Politics 1975 - 1990'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Thatcher-Revolution-Interpretation-British/dp/0333751965/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256981278&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]
* Haseler, Stephen. ''The Battle for Britain: Thatcher and the New Liberals.'' (1990). 195 pp.
* Holmes, Martin. ''The First Thatcher Government, 1979-83: Contemporary Conservatism and Economic Change'' (1985); ''Thatcherism: Scope and Limits, 1983-87.'' (1989). 174 pp. a sympathetic assessment.
* Jenkins, Peter. ''Mrs. Thatcher's Revolution: The Ending of the Socialist Era.'' (1988). 417 pp. critical
* Johnson, Christopher. ''The Grand Experiment: Mrs. Thatcher's Economy and How It Spread.'' (1993). 341 pp.
* Kavanagh, Dennis. ''Thatcherism and British Politics: The End of Consensus?'' (1987). 334 pp.
* Kavanagh, Dennis, and Anthony Seldon, eds. ''The Thatcher Effect'' (1989), major interpretive essays by experts
* Krieger, Joel. ''Reagan, Thatcher, and the Politics of Decline.'' (1987). 247 pp.
* Moon, Jeremy. ''Innovative Leadership in Democracy: Policy Change under Thatcher.'' (1993). 157 pp.
* Morgan, K.O. ''The People's Peace: British History, 1945-90'' (1990) survey by leading scholar
* Pugliese, Stanislao, ed. ''The Political Legacy of Margaret Thatcher.'' (2003). 419 pp.
* Reitan, Earl A. ''The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979-2001.'' (2003). 260 pp.
* Reitan, Earl A. ''Tory Radicalism: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979-1997.'' (1997). 222 pp.
* Riddell, Peter. ''The Thatcher Decade: How Britain Has Changed during the 1980's.'' (1989). 236 pp.
* Roy, Subroto and Clarke, John, eds. ''Margaret Thatcher's Revolution: How It Happened and What It Meant.'' (2005). 209 pp.
* Savage, S.P., and L. Robbins, eds. ''Public Policy under Thatcher'' (1990), essays by experts
* Sharp, Paul. ''Thatcher's Diplomacy: The Revival of British Foreign Policy.'' (1997). 269 pp.
* Smith, Geoffrey. ''Reagan and Thatcher.'' (1991). 285 pp.
* Waine, Barbara. ''The Rhetoric of Independence: The Ideology and Practice of Social Policy in Thatcher's Britain.'' (1992). 172 pp.
* Wall, Stephen. ''A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Europe-Britain-Thatcher-Blair/dp/0199284555/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212823185&sr=1-26 excerpt and text search]
* Walters, A. A. ''Britain's Economic Renaissance: Margaret Thatcher's Reforms, 1979-1984.'' (1986). 200 pp.
* Wapshott, Nicholas. ''Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage.'' (2007) 329 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Ronald-Reagan-Margaret-Thatcher-Political/dp/159523053X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256981278&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Whipple, Amy C. "'Ordinary People': The Cultural Origins of Popular Thatcherism in Britain, 1964-1979." PhD dissertation Northwestern U. 2004. 253 pp. DAI 2004 65(5): 1926-A. DA3132626 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]
* [http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Thatcher-Bibliography-Bibliographies-Statesmen/dp/book-citations/0313282889/ref=sid_dp_av?ie=UTF8&citeType=citing#citing additional books]
===Primary sources===
* Clark, Alan. ''Mrs. Thatcher's Minister: The Private Diaries of Alan Clark.'' (1994). 421 pp.
* Thatcher, Margaret. ''The Path to Power (1995); ''The Downing Street Years.'' (1993). 914 pp., highly detailed memoirs

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[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:British Politics]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:English people]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]

Roy 'Chubby' Brown

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'''Roy 'Chubby Brown''' is a [[British]] comedian, born Royston Vasey in [[Middlesbrough]], known for his racist and foul-mouthed "adult" material and performing clad in a multicoloured suit and flying helmet. His real name Royston Vasey was used as the name of the fictional village in the British comedy series [[The League of Gentlemen]], where Brown appeared as foul-mouthed mayor Larry Vaughan.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Roy}}
[[Category:English people]]
[[Category:Comedians]]

Category:Presbyterians

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People, ideas and institutions associated with Presbyterianism.

[[Category:Biographies by Religion]]
[[Category:Christians]]

Gordon Brown

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{{Prime Minister
|image=Gordon Brown.jpg
|seq=74
|term_start=June 27 2007
|term_end=May 11 2010
|previous=Tony Blair
|next=David Cameron
|party=Labour Party
|birth_date=February 20 1951 (aged 57)
|birth_place=Glasgow
|spouse=Sarah Brown
|religion=[[Church of Scotland]]
}}
'''Dr. James Gordon Brown''', generally known as '''Gordon Brown''', is the former [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and former leader of the British [[Labour Party]]. He succeeded [[Tony Blair]] in these positions in June 2007.

A Scottish [[Labour Party|Labour]] politician, Brown served as Britain's [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] for ten years. His mutual enmity with former Prime Minister Blair was a consistent feature of British political life for a number of years.

In Britain, Brown is seen as being a more sombre, sober and serious figure in contrast to Tony Blair, who is regarded as charismatic and has at times been perceived as lightweight and as an overly "slick" media performer (not unlike [[Bill Clinton]]). This resonates with a stereotype that many English people have of Scottish people being humorless and dour. Brown's father was a Minister in the [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] [[Church of Scotland]], and it is thought that Brown's religious beliefs have influenced his serious, sober style. On the negative side, some believe that he is insufficiently likeable and sunny to appeal to voters. He has also been criticized for secretiveness, control-freakery and an awkward personal style. However, his communication skills, especially reading from autocues and being interviewed under bright lights in television students, may be adversely affected by the fact that his eyesight is extremely poor. He is blind in one eye and his vision in the other is weak, owing to a sporting injury sustained when he was a teenager.

Brown was one of the longest serving Chancellors in history, and took credit for the consistently healthy state of the British economy during his tenure - credit which many are reassessing in light of the current (as of October 2008) perilous condition of the British economy. He is a passionate advocate of reducing poverty in the [[Third World]]. He has made speeches in which he has praised the concept of "Britishness" and suggested that the British should display the British flag outside their houses, as many Americans do with the US flag. However, his patriotic convictions are expected to have consequences in foreign policy which are arguably negative: it is widely believed that he will be zealous in defending British interests (narrowly defined), but that he will neglect broader elements of Tony Blair's foreign policy such as support for the United States and the [[War on Terror]].

During Brown's tenure as Chancellor, the UK enjoyed sustained economic growth and generally positive reports from the [[International Monetary Fund]], although there were concerns at extreme inflationary pressures in the housing market. These concerns were more than borne out by the collapse in the housing market and credit crunch of 2007-2008.

Brown followed a generally redistributionary policy, increasing spending in the [[National Health Service]] and [[education]], and giving tax breaks to some poorer families whilst significantly increasing taxes on many others. His most significant achievement in the early days of the Labour Government was to grant fiscal independence to the Bank of England.

Just two days after the Brown ministry began, Islamic terrorists initiated several [[June 2007 UK terror attacks|attempted attacks]] against the UK, consisting of two car bombs in [[London]] on June 29 and a suicide-bomb attack at Glasgow International Airport on June 30.

By the Fall of 2008, Brown's premiership was increasingly seen as catastrophic by the country as a whole and his own party. Labour's opinion poll ratings dropped to historic lows, with widepread predictions of a Conservative landslide at the next General Election. The events of early October 2008, gained him new respect, though not necessarily popularity, as he exercised cool, firm international leadership in the midst of the banking crisis. Opinion polls show that Brown's popularity is significantly lower than that of his main opponent, [[David Cameron]].

He has been married to Sarah since 2000. They have a daughter (deceased) and two sons.

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[Labour Party]]

==References==

http://www.imf.org/external/country/GBR/index.htm

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Gordon}}
[[Category:Presbyterians]]
[[Category:Scottish People|Brown, Gordon]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers|Brown, Gordon]]

Category:Anglicans

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Anglicans

[[Category:Biographies by Religion]]
[[Category:Christians]]

David Cameron

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{{Prime Minister
|image=674uyyhju.jpg
|seq=75
|term_start=May 11 2010
|term_end=present
|previous=Gordon Brown
|party=Conservative Party
|birth_date=October 6, 1966
|birth_place=London
|spouse=Samantha Sheffield
|religion=[[Church of England]]
}}
'''David Cameron''', born 9 October 1966, is the current Prime Minister of the [[United Kingdom]] and leader of the British [[Conservative Party]]. Following the May 2010 election, the Conservatives won the most seats but were short of a majority, resulting in a hung parliament. Labour Leader [[Gordon Brown]] resigned, and Cameron was appointed Prime Minister, leading a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

==Personal==

Cameron was born in [[London]], but spent his early years near Wantage in [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]], though his family's roots lie in [[Inverness]], [[Scotland]], and "Cameron" is well known in Britain as a Scottish name.

Cameron was educated at [[Eton College | Eton]], Britain's most prestigious public school (a "public school" in the UK referring to a privately run institution, as opposed to a "state school"), and at [[Brasenose College]], [[Oxford University|Oxford]], Britain's most ancient and prestigious university.

Cameron is self-described as "upper middle class", though his bloodline is noble, and he is a direct descendent of William IV, and thus a distant cousin of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. His family has historically been involved in finance and banking, with his great great grandfather being head of HSBC in the late 19th century, and worked alongside the Rothschilds to finance the Russo-Japanese war.

Cameron's leadership and indeed his own party are supported by businesses, as opposed to the liberal, socialist aligned Labour Party, led by [[Ed Miliband]]; which is funded and largely controlled by the [[trade union]]s. Many intervening leaders have been middle-class ([[Edward Heath]], [[Margaret Thatcher]]) or even working-class ([[John Major]]).

Cameron's reluctance to discuss his past, citing the right to a private life before politics<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4340328.stm</ref> has led to class-based attacks on his education and ancestry from a small proportion of left-wing media sources and opposition members of Parliament.

He has been married to Samantha since 1996. She is of direct noble bloodline, the daughter of 8th Baronet Sheffield, and a descendent of Charles II. They have two sons and a daughter. Their eldest son, Ivan Cameron, died on February 25, 2009.<ref>[[BBC News]] - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7909562.stm Cameron's 'beautiful boy' dies]</ref>

==Political career==

Cameron's pre-parliamentary career included spells as a staffer for controversial Conservative politician [[Norman Lamont]] and as a PR executive.

Cameron was elected to Parliament as MP for Witney in Oxfordshire at the 2001 general election.

Cameron was elected leader of the [[Conservative Party]] in December 2005, succeeding [[Michael Howard]].

In late June 2007, at the end of then-Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]'s final Prime Minister's Questions session in the [[House of Commons]], David Cameron led his opposition party in giving the outgoing leader a standing ovation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1555758/Tony-Blair-steps-down-to-a-standing-ovation.html Tony Blair steps down to standing ovation] - Daily Telegraph, June 27, 2007</ref>

==Policies==

Cameron has attempted to move the Conservative party towards what is perceived by some to be the centre ground of British politics. While the party under his leadership has expressed support for some traditional elements of Conservative policy, such as the importance of the [[family]], Cameron has also expressed a passionate concern about [[global warming]]. He has suggested a move towards [[privatization]] within the strongly-socialist [[National Health Service]], in an attempt to combat the economic failures resulting from the flawed socialist ideas upon which the organisation is based. Designed and originated by the leftist [[Labour Party]], the organisation is notorious for its bureaucracy and the failure of its left-wing values in an economic sense.

Some traditional Conservatives, particularly those on the [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] wing of the party, have criticized Cameron for moving the party too far to the left. They point to surveys showing that many voters feel they no longer know what the Conservative Party stands for.<ref>http://www.yougov.com/archives/pdf/TEL060101018_1.pdf</ref> However, he has stated that he is "certainly a big [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]] fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite."<ref name="new identity">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446864.stm "Cameron: Tories need new identity"], ''BBC News Online'', 17 November 2005, accessed 6 November 2006</ref> He has also described himself as a "liberal Conservative" (though "liberal" in British English does not have the same meaning as in the United States, and instead has the meaning of "centrist," "moderate" or "libertarian").<ref name="Rawnsley">Andrew Rawnsley, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,1669957,00.html "'I'm not a deeply ideological person. I'm a practical one'"], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 18 December 2005, accessed 6 November 2006</ref> Some have gone so far as to claim that true conservatism is today represented in Britain not by the Conservative Party but by the [[UK Independence Party]]. On the other hand, the approval ratings of Cameron and his party continue to compare very favourably with those of the Labour Party and its leadership, which is undoubtedly unpopular.

Cameron has said: "My aim is to promote social justice, making sure that everyone has access to good schools, good healthcare and decent housing, take a lead in ending global poverty and do all we can to meet the great environmental threats of our age."<ref>http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=david.cameron.about.page</ref> Some conservative politicians and commentators, notably [[Norman Tebbit]], have criticised him for prioritising issues of the environment and social justice over more traditionally Conservative policy areas, such as tax, immigration and foreign relations. Tebbit said: "Is he the party's [[Chairman Mao]] or [[Pol Pot]], intent on purging even the memory and name of [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcherism]] before building a new modern compassionate green globally aware party somewhere on the left side of the middle?"<ref name="g1">[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,,1698576,00.html Tories must retake centre ground says Cameron], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 31 January 2006</ref> However, Cameron has responded extensively to such criticisms by pointing out that the economic and social problems faced by modern-day Britain are radically different from those faced in the past; he has argued that the Conservative Party needs to re-take the [[centrist|centre ground]] of politics from the [[Labour Party]].<ref name="bbc1">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4661024.stm Cameron denies 'betraying' Tories], BBC News, 30 January 2006</ref> He argued: "The change is not a betrayal. It is a recognition that the challenges faced by Britain are not the challenges of the 1970s. Social justice and economic efficiency are the common ground of British politics. We have to find the means of succeeding where the government has failed."<ref name="g1"/>

==References==

<References/>

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[Conservative Party]]

==External links==
*[http://www.mydavidcameron.com/ Cameron Election Campaign 2010]
*[http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13223:pm-cameron-brushes-off-libyan-war-talk&catid=45:international-news&Itemid=137 British prime minister brushes off Libyan war talk.]

{{DEFAULTSORT: Cameron, David}}
[[Category:Anglicans]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]
[[category:British Politics]]

Christopher Biggins

2011-12-23T01:11:00Z

Mij:

[[Image:Biggins01.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Christopher Biggins]]
'''Christopher Biggins''' is a British [[actor]] whose career has included both [[theater]] and [[television]] roles.

Christopher Biggins was born in [[Oldham]], England in 1948 and later moved to Salisbury, where he began taking elocution lessons and joined a local theatre group. After leaving school he had small parts in a number of British sitcoms (''Porridge'', ''Some mothers do 'av em'') and later went to on to host the game show ''On Safari''. In addition he has also appeared in more serious television dramas, playing [[Nero]] in the [[BBC]] version of ''I, Claudius'' and Revd Osbourne Whitworth in the BBC adaptation of ''Poldark''. Biggins is most famous for his performances as a [[pantomime]] dame, a role that he has filled in a variety of productions almost every year for the past 34 years. More recently he gained fame as the winner of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me out of Here!'' in 2007.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/christopher-biggins-oh-yes-he-is-518257.html "Christopher Biggins: Oh yes he is!" ''The Independent'', 4th December 2005]</ref>

==Personal life==

Christopher Biggins was married to [[Australia]]n actress Beatrice Norbury from 1971 until their [[divorce]] in 1974. He first openly declared that he was gay in 1998, and subsequently entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner Neil Twimaps in 2006.<ref>[http://www.mirror.co.uk/sunday-mirror/2007/12/02/biggins-my-life-98487-20191538/ "Biggins: my life" ''The Sunday Mirror'', 2nd December 2007]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biggins, Christopher}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:English people]]
[[Category:Homosexuals]]

Ricky Gervais

2011-12-23T01:08:17Z

Mij:

'''Ricky Gervais''' is an English [[comedian]], [[author]] and [[actor]] famous for having developed [[The Office]], a popular British [[sitcom]] that was later remade for the [[USA]]. His most recent TV show was [[Extras]], shown on the BBC and HBO, it lasted for two seasons.

He is also known for his [[stand-up comedy]], which is notable for treading an extremely fine line between irony and downright offensiveness. So far he has released four stand-up perfomances on DVD: Animals, Politics, Fame, Science.

Gervais is an outspoken [[Atheism|atheist]]. While hosting the 2011 Golden Globes, he concluded a string of jokes by saying "I would like to thank God, for making me an atheist".

{{DEFAULTSORT: Gervais, Ricky}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:English people]]

David Cameron

2011-12-23T00:59:41Z

Mij: /* External links */

{{Prime Minister
|image=674uyyhju.jpg
|seq=75
|term_start=May 11 2010
|term_end=present
|previous=Gordon Brown
|party=Conservative Party
|birth_date=October 6, 1966
|birth_place=London
|spouse=Samantha Sheffield
|religion=[[Church of England]]
}}
'''David Cameron''', born 9 October 1966, is the current Prime Minister of the [[United Kingdom]] and leader of the British [[Conservative Party]]. Following the May 2010 election, the Conservatives won the most seats but were short of a majority, resulting in a hung parliament. Labour Leader [[Gordon Brown]] resigned, and Cameron was appointed Prime Minister, leading a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

==Personal==

Cameron was born in [[London]], but spent his early years near Wantage in [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]], though his family's roots lie in [[Inverness]], [[Scotland]], and "Cameron" is well known in Britain as a Scottish name.

Cameron was educated at [[Eton College | Eton]], Britain's most prestigious public school (a "public school" in the UK referring to a privately run institution, as opposed to a "state school"), and at [[Brasenose College]], [[Oxford University|Oxford]], Britain's most ancient and prestigious university.

Cameron is self-described as "upper middle class", though his bloodline is noble, and he is a direct descendent of William IV, and thus a distant cousin of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. His family has historically been involved in finance and banking, with his great great grandfather being head of HSBC in the late 19th century, and worked alongside the Rothschilds to finance the Russo-Japanese war.

Cameron's leadership and indeed his own party are supported by businesses, as opposed to the liberal, socialist aligned Labour Party, led by [[Ed Miliband]]; which is funded and largely controlled by the [[trade union]]s. Many intervening leaders have been middle-class ([[Edward Heath]], [[Margaret Thatcher]]) or even working-class ([[John Major]]).

Cameron's reluctance to discuss his past, citing the right to a private life before politics<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4340328.stm</ref> has led to class-based attacks on his education and ancestry from a small proportion of left-wing media sources and opposition members of Parliament.

He has been married to Samantha since 1996. She is of direct noble bloodline, the daughter of 8th Baronet Sheffield, and a descendent of Charles II. They have two sons and a daughter. Their eldest son, Ivan Cameron, died on February 25, 2009.<ref>[[BBC News]] - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7909562.stm Cameron's 'beautiful boy' dies]</ref>

==Political career==

Cameron's pre-parliamentary career included spells as a staffer for controversial Conservative politician [[Norman Lamont]] and as a PR executive.

Cameron was elected to Parliament as MP for Witney in Oxfordshire at the 2001 general election.

Cameron was elected leader of the [[Conservative Party]] in December 2005, succeeding [[Michael Howard]].

In late June 2007, at the end of then-Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]'s final Prime Minister's Questions session in the [[House of Commons]], David Cameron led his opposition party in giving the outgoing leader a standing ovation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1555758/Tony-Blair-steps-down-to-a-standing-ovation.html Tony Blair steps down to standing ovation] - Daily Telegraph, June 27, 2007</ref>

==Policies==

Cameron has attempted to move the Conservative party towards what is perceived by some to be the centre ground of British politics. While the party under his leadership has expressed support for some traditional elements of Conservative policy, such as the importance of the [[family]], Cameron has also expressed a passionate concern about [[global warming]]. He has suggested a move towards [[privatization]] within the strongly-socialist [[National Health Service]], in an attempt to combat the economic failures resulting from the flawed socialist ideas upon which the organisation is based. Designed and originated by the leftist [[Labour Party]], the organisation is notorious for its bureaucracy and the failure of its left-wing values in an economic sense.

Some traditional Conservatives, particularly those on the [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] wing of the party, have criticized Cameron for moving the party too far to the left. They point to surveys showing that many voters feel they no longer know what the Conservative Party stands for.<ref>http://www.yougov.com/archives/pdf/TEL060101018_1.pdf</ref> However, he has stated that he is "certainly a big [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]] fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite."<ref name="new identity">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446864.stm "Cameron: Tories need new identity"], ''BBC News Online'', 17 November 2005, accessed 6 November 2006</ref> He has also described himself as a "liberal Conservative" (though "liberal" in British English does not have the same meaning as in the United States, and instead has the meaning of "centrist," "moderate" or "libertarian").<ref name="Rawnsley">Andrew Rawnsley, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,1669957,00.html "'I'm not a deeply ideological person. I'm a practical one'"], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 18 December 2005, accessed 6 November 2006</ref> Some have gone so far as to claim that true conservatism is today represented in Britain not by the Conservative Party but by the [[UK Independence Party]]. On the other hand, the approval ratings of Cameron and his party continue to compare very favourably with those of the Labour Party and its leadership, which is undoubtedly unpopular.

Cameron has said: "My aim is to promote social justice, making sure that everyone has access to good schools, good healthcare and decent housing, take a lead in ending global poverty and do all we can to meet the great environmental threats of our age."<ref>http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=david.cameron.about.page</ref> Some conservative politicians and commentators, notably [[Norman Tebbit]], have criticised him for prioritising issues of the environment and social justice over more traditionally Conservative policy areas, such as tax, immigration and foreign relations. Tebbit said: "Is he the party's [[Chairman Mao]] or [[Pol Pot]], intent on purging even the memory and name of [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcherism]] before building a new modern compassionate green globally aware party somewhere on the left side of the middle?"<ref name="g1">[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,,1698576,00.html Tories must retake centre ground says Cameron], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 31 January 2006</ref> However, Cameron has responded extensively to such criticisms by pointing out that the economic and social problems faced by modern-day Britain are radically different from those faced in the past; he has argued that the Conservative Party needs to re-take the [[centrist|centre ground]] of politics from the [[Labour Party]].<ref name="bbc1">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4661024.stm Cameron denies 'betraying' Tories], BBC News, 30 January 2006</ref> He argued: "The change is not a betrayal. It is a recognition that the challenges faced by Britain are not the challenges of the 1970s. Social justice and economic efficiency are the common ground of British politics. We have to find the means of succeeding where the government has failed."<ref name="g1"/>

==References==

<References/>

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[Conservative Party]]

==External links==
*[http://www.mydavidcameron.com/ Cameron Election Campaign 2010]
*[http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13223:pm-cameron-brushes-off-libyan-war-talk&catid=45:international-news&Itemid=137 British prime minister brushes off Libyan war talk.]

{{DEFAULTSORT: Cameron, David}}
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]
[[category:British Politics]]

David Cameron

2011-12-23T00:59:37Z

Mij: /* External links */

{{Prime Minister
|image=674uyyhju.jpg
|seq=75
|term_start=May 11 2010
|term_end=present
|previous=Gordon Brown
|party=Conservative Party
|birth_date=October 6, 1966
|birth_place=London
|spouse=Samantha Sheffield
|religion=[[Church of England]]
}}
'''David Cameron''', born 9 October 1966, is the current Prime Minister of the [[United Kingdom]] and leader of the British [[Conservative Party]]. Following the May 2010 election, the Conservatives won the most seats but were short of a majority, resulting in a hung parliament. Labour Leader [[Gordon Brown]] resigned, and Cameron was appointed Prime Minister, leading a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

==Personal==

Cameron was born in [[London]], but spent his early years near Wantage in [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]], though his family's roots lie in [[Inverness]], [[Scotland]], and "Cameron" is well known in Britain as a Scottish name.

Cameron was educated at [[Eton College | Eton]], Britain's most prestigious public school (a "public school" in the UK referring to a privately run institution, as opposed to a "state school"), and at [[Brasenose College]], [[Oxford University|Oxford]], Britain's most ancient and prestigious university.

Cameron is self-described as "upper middle class", though his bloodline is noble, and he is a direct descendent of William IV, and thus a distant cousin of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. His family has historically been involved in finance and banking, with his great great grandfather being head of HSBC in the late 19th century, and worked alongside the Rothschilds to finance the Russo-Japanese war.

Cameron's leadership and indeed his own party are supported by businesses, as opposed to the liberal, socialist aligned Labour Party, led by [[Ed Miliband]]; which is funded and largely controlled by the [[trade union]]s. Many intervening leaders have been middle-class ([[Edward Heath]], [[Margaret Thatcher]]) or even working-class ([[John Major]]).

Cameron's reluctance to discuss his past, citing the right to a private life before politics<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4340328.stm</ref> has led to class-based attacks on his education and ancestry from a small proportion of left-wing media sources and opposition members of Parliament.

He has been married to Samantha since 1996. She is of direct noble bloodline, the daughter of 8th Baronet Sheffield, and a descendent of Charles II. They have two sons and a daughter. Their eldest son, Ivan Cameron, died on February 25, 2009.<ref>[[BBC News]] - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7909562.stm Cameron's 'beautiful boy' dies]</ref>

==Political career==

Cameron's pre-parliamentary career included spells as a staffer for controversial Conservative politician [[Norman Lamont]] and as a PR executive.

Cameron was elected to Parliament as MP for Witney in Oxfordshire at the 2001 general election.

Cameron was elected leader of the [[Conservative Party]] in December 2005, succeeding [[Michael Howard]].

In late June 2007, at the end of then-Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]'s final Prime Minister's Questions session in the [[House of Commons]], David Cameron led his opposition party in giving the outgoing leader a standing ovation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1555758/Tony-Blair-steps-down-to-a-standing-ovation.html Tony Blair steps down to standing ovation] - Daily Telegraph, June 27, 2007</ref>

==Policies==

Cameron has attempted to move the Conservative party towards what is perceived by some to be the centre ground of British politics. While the party under his leadership has expressed support for some traditional elements of Conservative policy, such as the importance of the [[family]], Cameron has also expressed a passionate concern about [[global warming]]. He has suggested a move towards [[privatization]] within the strongly-socialist [[National Health Service]], in an attempt to combat the economic failures resulting from the flawed socialist ideas upon which the organisation is based. Designed and originated by the leftist [[Labour Party]], the organisation is notorious for its bureaucracy and the failure of its left-wing values in an economic sense.

Some traditional Conservatives, particularly those on the [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] wing of the party, have criticized Cameron for moving the party too far to the left. They point to surveys showing that many voters feel they no longer know what the Conservative Party stands for.<ref>http://www.yougov.com/archives/pdf/TEL060101018_1.pdf</ref> However, he has stated that he is "certainly a big [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]] fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite."<ref name="new identity">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446864.stm "Cameron: Tories need new identity"], ''BBC News Online'', 17 November 2005, accessed 6 November 2006</ref> He has also described himself as a "liberal Conservative" (though "liberal" in British English does not have the same meaning as in the United States, and instead has the meaning of "centrist," "moderate" or "libertarian").<ref name="Rawnsley">Andrew Rawnsley, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,1669957,00.html "'I'm not a deeply ideological person. I'm a practical one'"], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 18 December 2005, accessed 6 November 2006</ref> Some have gone so far as to claim that true conservatism is today represented in Britain not by the Conservative Party but by the [[UK Independence Party]]. On the other hand, the approval ratings of Cameron and his party continue to compare very favourably with those of the Labour Party and its leadership, which is undoubtedly unpopular.

Cameron has said: "My aim is to promote social justice, making sure that everyone has access to good schools, good healthcare and decent housing, take a lead in ending global poverty and do all we can to meet the great environmental threats of our age."<ref>http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=david.cameron.about.page</ref> Some conservative politicians and commentators, notably [[Norman Tebbit]], have criticised him for prioritising issues of the environment and social justice over more traditionally Conservative policy areas, such as tax, immigration and foreign relations. Tebbit said: "Is he the party's [[Chairman Mao]] or [[Pol Pot]], intent on purging even the memory and name of [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcherism]] before building a new modern compassionate green globally aware party somewhere on the left side of the middle?"<ref name="g1">[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,,1698576,00.html Tories must retake centre ground says Cameron], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 31 January 2006</ref> However, Cameron has responded extensively to such criticisms by pointing out that the economic and social problems faced by modern-day Britain are radically different from those faced in the past; he has argued that the Conservative Party needs to re-take the [[centrist|centre ground]] of politics from the [[Labour Party]].<ref name="bbc1">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4661024.stm Cameron denies 'betraying' Tories], BBC News, 30 January 2006</ref> He argued: "The change is not a betrayal. It is a recognition that the challenges faced by Britain are not the challenges of the 1970s. Social justice and economic efficiency are the common ground of British politics. We have to find the means of succeeding where the government has failed."<ref name="g1"/>

==References==

<References/>

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[Conservative Party]]

==External links==
*[http://www.mydavidcameron.com/ Cameron Election Campaign 2010]
*[http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13223:pm-cameron-brushes-off-libyan-war-talk&catid=45:international-news&Itemid=137 British prime minister brushes off Libyan war talk.]

{{DEFAULTSORT: Cameron, David}}
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]
[[category:British Politics]]

Norman Lamont

2011-12-23T00:43:57Z

Mij:

Norman Lamont

2011-12-23T00:38:07Z

Mij:

'''Norman Lamont''' is a [[British]] Conservative politician, most famous for his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 to 1993. Lamont, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, ran [[John Major]]'s campaign for the party leadership in 1990, and was subsequently promoted to Chancellor. Lamont's credibility was heavily damaged by the events of Black Wednesday, and by a series of quotes ("Singing in the bath" at leaving the ERM, and "Green shoots of recovery".). He was removed as Chancellor in a reshuffle in 1993, after being offered the position of Enviroment Secretary, which he turned down.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamont, Norman}}
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:British Politics]]

Norman Lamont

2011-12-23T00:37:35Z

Mij:

Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers

2011-12-23T00:33:44Z

Mij:

[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:British Politics]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers]]