The 1983 general election in the U.K. saw another easy victory for Margaret Thatcher. Despite the economic hardships faced by the British public, nationalism and pride had skyrocketed after the British victory in the Falklands War, a battle that defended the contentious British colony off the coast of South America against an Argentine invasion. Even TIME’s cover story took an optimistic bent about Thatcher and the Tories’ next term.
Thatcher has broadened the appeal of her party primarily by being herself. True, some of her policies are also good politics: to capitalize on the universal dream of owning one’s own home, she gave residents of government-built houses the opportunity to purchase them. About 500,000 have done so. But much of the Thatcher program is rooted in her right-wing instincts. She stirs the hearts of many with her call for a return to capital punishment and greater powers for the police.