On the UK's contribution to the EEC budget; interview for Thatcher: The Downing Street Years (1993), quoted in Iain Dale (ed.), As I Said to Denis...: The Margaret Thatcher Book of Quotations (1997), pp. 81-82
“
We weren't getting a fair deal on the budget and I wasn't going to have it. There's a great strand of equity and fairness in the British people – this is our characteristic. There's not a strand of equity or fairness in Europe – they're out to get as much as they can. That's one of those enormous differences. So I tackled it on that basis.
— Margaret Thatcher
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "We weren't getting a fair deal on the budget and I wasn't going to have it. There's a great strand of equity and fairness in the British people – this is our characteristic. There's not a strand of equity or fairness in Europe – they're out to get as much as they can. That's one of those enormous differences. So I tackled it on that basis." in the context of "On the UK's contribution to the EEC budget; interview for Thatcher: The Downing Street Years (1993), quoted in Iain Dale (ed.), As I Said to Denis...: The Margaret Thatcher Book of Quotations (1997), pp. 81-82" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Margaret Thatcher" (Quotes, Post-Premiership)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
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.
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.
View all quotes →