The infamous phrase of a most defiant woman. The words “The lady’s not for turning” became a defining moment in her reign as Prime Minister and something of a motto. This phrase referred to her refusal to go back on the liberalisation of the British economy. Unemployment had risen to 2 million by autumn of 1980, up 500,000 from the previous year and the country was in recession.
The speech was written in its entirety by Sir Ronald Millar, a playright and Thatchers speech writer since 1973. The lines “You turn if you want to” was intended as play on words of the 1948 play The Lady’s Not for Burning by Christopher Fry. Unintended though, the line to follow “The lady’s not for turning” received its own standing ovation and the majority of the headlines.
