Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts, 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British Conservative Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century, and is the only woman to have held the post. A Soviet journalist called her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.

Originally a research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975 Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition, and the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election.

After moving into 10 Downing Street, Thatcher introduced a series of political and economic initiatives to reverse what she perceived to be Britain's precipitous national decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Thatcher's popularity during her first years in office waned amid recession and high unemployment, until economic recovery and the 1982 Falklands War brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her re-election in 1983.

Thatcher was re-elected for a third term in 1987, but her Community Charge (popularly referred to as "poll tax") was widely unpopular and her views on the European Community were not shared by others in her Cabinet. She resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership. Thatcher held a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords.

Marks & Spencer

Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S; colloquially known as Marks and Sparks, Marks's or, simply, Marks) is a major British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with 703 stores in the United Kingdom and 361 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products.

M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.The next few years saw Michael Marks and Tom Spencer open market stalls in many locations around the North West of England. Marks and Spencer, known colloquially as "Marks and Sparks", or "M&S", made its reputation in the early 20th century on a policy of only selling British-made goods (a policy discontinued in 2002). It entered into long term relationships with British manufacturers, and sold clothes and food under the "St Michael" brand, that was introduced in 1928. The St Michael honours Michael Marks. By 1950, virtually all goods were sold under the "St Michael" label. It also accepted the return of unwanted items, giving a full cash refund if the receipt was shown, no matter how long ago the product was purchased, which was unusual for the time. It adopted a 90-day returns policy in 2005 and on 12 April 2009 the refund policy changed once again to 35 days.

The company always put its main emphasis on quality, For most of its history it also had a reputation for offering fair value for money. Arguably, M&S has historically been an iconic retailer of 'British Quality Goods'. The uncompromising attitude towards customer relations was summarised by the 1953 slogan: "The customer is always and completely right!"

Energy efficiency was improved by the addition of thermostatically controlled refrigerators in 1963. As a later measure to improve food quality food labelling was improved and "sell by dates" was introduced between 1970 and 1972.

A cautious international expansion began with the introduction of Asian food in 1974. M&S opened stores in continental Europe in 1975 and in Ireland four years later. All international shops are operated under franchise, with the exception of those in the Republic of Ireland and Hong Kong, which remain in company ownership. In 1998, it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, though a few years later it plunged into a crisis which lasted for several years.

Marks & Spencer launched an online shopping service in 1999. In February 2007, M&S announced the opening of the world's largest M&S shop outside the UK at Dubai Festival City. M&S is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.