Margaret Thatcher dead at 87 following stroke

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 office. 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 became 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.

Thatcher died on 8 April 2013 at The Ritz Hotel in London after suffering a stroke. She had been staying at a suite in The Ritz Hotel since Christmas after having difficulty with stairs at her Chester Square home. She had suffered from poor health for several years. Lord Bell, Thatcher's spokesman, confirmed her death in a press release issued at 12:52 BST (11:52 UTC).
A Buckingham Palace spokesman announced: "The Queen was sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher. Her Majesty will be sending a private message of sympathy to the family."
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It was with great sadness that I learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."
In accordance with her wishes, Thatcher will not receive a state funeral, but will be honoured with a church service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where she will be accorded military honours.
Some reactions were less sympathetic, particularly from coal miners, the UK's LGBT community, and Irish republicans. Residents in Orgreave, South Yorkshire, site of a major confrontation between striking coal miners and British police in June 1984, declared that their village had been "decimated by Thatcher". Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, condemned "the great hurt done to the Irish and British people during her time as British prime minister", adding: "Here in Ireland, her espousal of old draconian militaristic policies prolonged the war and caused great suffering." The Associated Press quoted a number of British miners as responding to her death simply with: "good riddance". MP George Galloway tweeted the phrase "Tramp the dirt down" after hearing of Thatcher's death, in reference to Elvis Costello's 1989 song by the same name about dancing on Thatcher's grave.
In the immediate aftermath of her death, there were efforts through social media to organise street parties in celebration. These took place in Glasgow's George Square and Brixton, despite opposition from local authorities.