Speech to the Conservative Party Convention 1982 https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105032
Negus: Why do people stop us in the street almost and tell us that Margaret Thatcher isn't just inflexible, she's not just single-minded, on occasions she's plain pig-headed and won't be told by anybody?

Thatcher: Would you tell me who has stopped you in the street and said that?

Negus: Ordinary Britons...

Thatcher: Where?

Negus: In conversation, in pubs...

Thatcher (interrupting): I thought you'd just come from Belize

Negus: Oh this is not the first time we've been here.

Thatcher: Will you tell me who, and where and when?

Negus: Ordinary Britons in restaurants and cabs

Thatcher: How many?

Negus: ...in cabs

Thatcher: How many?

Negus: I would say at least one in two

Thatcher: Why won't you tell me their names and who they are?

• In an interview with George Negus for the Australian TV program 60 minutes http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Kh6iGKS6Xo8C&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=why+do+people+stop+us+in+the+street+almost+and+tell+us+that+margaret+thatcher&source=bl&ots=ZPAKdEn6X0&sig=d2RhZAI7L65TeT17baaBp67OQSo&hl=en&ei=Jb2jSd2VI5Cw6wOcmPTTAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

Peace, freedom and justice are only to be found where people are prepared to defend them.

— Margaret Thatcher

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Peace, freedom and justice are only to be found where people are prepared to defend them." in the context of "Speech to the Conservative Party Convention 1982 https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105032
Negus: Why do people stop us in the street almost and tell us that Margaret Thatcher isn't just inflexible, she's not just single-minded, on occasions she's plain pig-headed and won't be told by anybody?

Thatcher: Would you tell me who has stopped you in the street and said that?

Negus: Ordinary Britons...

Thatcher: Where?

Negus: In conversation, in pubs...

Thatcher (interrupting): I thought you'd just come from Belize

Negus: Oh this is not the first time we've been here.

Thatcher: Will you tell me who, and where and when?

Negus: Ordinary Britons in restaurants and cabs

Thatcher: How many?

Negus: ...in cabs

Thatcher: How many?

Negus: I would say at least one in two

Thatcher: Why won't you tell me their names and who they are?

• In an interview with George Negus for the Australian TV program 60 minutes http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Kh6iGKS6Xo8C&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=why+do+people+stop+us+in+the+street+almost+and+tell+us+that+margaret+thatcher&source=bl&ots=ZPAKdEn6X0&sig=d2RhZAI7L65TeT17baaBp67OQSo&hl=en&ei=Jb2jSd2VI5Cw6wOcmPTTAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Margaret Thatcher" (Quotes, First term as Prime Minister) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Margaret Thatcher

About Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British politician and stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime minister and the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. As prime minister, she implemented neoliberal economic policies of deregulation and privatization that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.