After winning a third election in 1987, Thatcher’s popularity began to decline amid party infighting and a new economic recession. Most crucially the government was bickering over the U.K.’s role in Europe at large, with Thatcher fighting to keep the British pound disconnected from other European currencies and her own financial ministers rebelling against her. Thatcher was ultimately defeated not in a general election but well before it, as Michael Heseltine, her former defense minister, challenged her for party leadership. The swing in support prompted Thatcher to step down, leaving her protégé John Major to succeed her. TIME’s cover story focused on the Iron Lady’s lasting legacy.
More impressive still is the opposition Labour Party’s turn from leftist economics and unilateral nuclear disarmament in the past three years toward more centrist policies to compete with Thatcherism at the polls. Even if Labour wins the next election, the public will not allow it to reassemble the huge governmental edifice Thatcher pulled down.