Few British politicians have (0) AROUSED (ARISE) more passion than Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979 until 1990. It is not 1INCIDENT that, during her premiership, Britain went through a period of 2MOMENT change. Those who support Thatcher's policies say she was responsible for changing Britain's 3ANTIQUE union laws and smashing union power, paving the way for the creation of a modern, 4COMPETE economy which required much higher 5PRODUCE, efficiency and wage-restraint on the part of the 6WORK than in the past. One of her core beliefs was that it was 7MANAGE which was responsible for running companies, rather than unions or the government. Critics of Margaret Thatcher point to the very high unemployment figures of the 1980s — the official unemployment total had risen from just over one million people out of work in 1979 to over three million by 1982 When Margaret Thatcher realised that she had lost the support of many of her MPs in November 1990 and stood down as Prime Minister, the nation was split. Some saw her resignation as 8TIME , and wished she would continue. Others felt it could not have come too soon. Even today, historians and economists are divided as to whether her legacy was positive or negative overall.