Lord Charles Moore to Newsmax: Thatcher Shaped Modern Right

As Britain marks what would have been Margaret Thatcher's 100th birthday, her official biographer, Lord Charles Moore, said the former prime minister's influence on conservative politics "still defines the modern era."

He told Newsmax on Sunday that she was "the first woman to truly change the atmosphere of everything."

"She also came when life was doing really badly," Moore said in an interview on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "The economy was stalling, [with] huge state intervention, massive overspending, borrowing, and inflation."

Thatcher, he added, "was the first one to call it out and say we're going all wrong.

"She said it's got to be different and that wealth is created by people, not by government, so get out of the way, government."

Thatcher, like Winston Churchill, stood out for her courage under pressure and even turned an intended insult into a badge of honor, embracing the nickname "Iron Lady," said Moore.

"You know who first called her [the Iron Lady]? Her Soviet opponents," he said. "She realized they meant it as a sexist insult because they said a lady can't be iron."

But Thatcher responded that she was "proud to be the Iron Lady of the Western world, fighting Soviet communism and fighting for a free society," said Moore. "So she had Churchillian style of courage, I think."

Moore also reflected on Thatcher's historic relationship with the late President Ronald Reagan, describing their partnership as "unique in world history."

"It's the only time in history where a two-term U.S. president has had the same British prime minister throughout," he said. "They were friends in adversity before either of them held office, so they knew already that they were soulmates."

While "completely different characters," he added, "President Reagan [was] very relaxed, smiley, easy. Margaret Thatcher [was] always on the case, very serious, full of details."

Still, said Moore, "they shared these very strong beliefs and each backed up the other. She got into office before him and she stayed in office after him. So all the time he had her to draw on."

Beyond the public image of toughness, Moore said that Thatcher had a playful side few saw.

"One thing I think people don't understand is what fun Mrs. Thatcher was, because she's such a serious lady in public presentation," he said.

"But she loved acting up, and she particularly liked acting," Moore added. "I think she loved being prime minister in part because she loved being with men all the time and controlling them, telling them what to do."

Thatcher's clear stance on immigration would resonate today, he noted.

"She used one word about immigration shortly before she became prime minister — she said, 'We don't want to be swamped,'" he recalled.

"And this made voters realize where she stood on this," said Moore. "There was very low net immigration during her time, about 50,000 a year. Now it's about 700,000 a year. So it's catastrophically high. Under her policies, it didn't reach anything remotely like that."

As Britain honors Thatcher's centennial, Moore said she would still be "running a much tighter ship" if she were in charge today, just as she did when she reshaped Britain's economy and helped end the Cold War.

"Margaret Thatcher loved being prime minister," Moore said. "She loved leading, acting, and getting things done — and she believed in freedom above all."

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