Chapter 7 Section 2 Marriage, Family and the Law

As I have already said, the election results of 1950 were not the end of things.After the initial euphoria, the result was a disappointment for those involved.Few doubt that the Labor Party has been dealt a fatal blow at this election and that it will soon be called for another general election to save face.At the same time, the country is also very unstable.It is not convenient for me to continue my work at Dartford.If I'm going to advance in my political career, I should start looking for a constituency that I can win.But then I felt that logically I should run again at Dartford.It would not be right for them to find another candidate in such a short period of time if I leave Dartford now.Also, I'm afraid it's hard to imagine me having the same impact in a second campaign as I did in the first one, which just ended.I was terribly exhausted, and while no one in politics is not excited when it comes to elections, I still felt that another campaign in a short period of time would not be desirable for me.

I had long ago decided to move to London.With my job at J. Lyons, I have a little more money at my disposal.So I rented a modest apartment in St. George's Square Flats in Pimlico.Old Mr. Thorward came from Dartford to help me decorate the house.With a house, I could see Dennis more often than I would at Dartford's noisy Tory events. I also learned to drive and got my first car.My sister Muriel had a Ford which my father had bought for her before the war for £129, and now gave it to me.My Ford is well known in Dartford.The car really did me a favor after I was accepted as a Dartford candidate again.After I got married, I sold it for almost the same price as the original.

In October 1951, general elections were held.This time, I cut Labor MP Norman Dodds' advantage by another 1,000 votes.I was ecstatic when I heard the results of the national election - the Conservatives now have 17 seats in Parliament over Labour. During my time at Dartford I made the acquaintance of many important people in the party. I propose to thank Anthony Eden (whom I first met at Oxford) in 1949 when he addressed a large and impassioned crowd at Dartford's football ground.The following year, I spoke second to a motion praising the leadership of Churchill and Eden at the Conservative Women's Rally at Albert Hall, to which Churchill responded enthusiastically.It was a rare opportunity for me to meet and talk to these great men in person, because when I was in Grantham I used to sit with my family on the radio and listen to them speak and their talks inspired me. In 1950, I was identified as the Conservative Graduate Representative to the Conservative National League Executive Committee.This meeting gave me the first detailed understanding of the national organization of the party.

But it is always the policy, not the organizational situation, that interests me.During the holidays, I often attend classes at Swindon College.The dean, Reggie Northam, was generous, caring, and a friend of John Maynard Keynes.In the 1930s, he went to South Wales to experience the life of the unemployed.He taught us that the real political battle is for "the hearts and minds of the people."I am often invited to speak at meetings of the Conservative Political Center in Swindon and various constituencies.That's when I began to consider the real impact on policy of widely mentioned concepts such as the "unified state," "asset-owning democracy," and "safety nets (social security benefits)."

The most important social event on my schedule was the eve of the opening of Parliament when Sir Alfred Botham - MP for Maidstone - sat down in his stately house at 5 Carlton Gardens. A party at home.Several large tents were set up in the yard, brightly lit and warmly blowing, where great people and not-so-great people like Margaret Roberts gathered together.Sir Alfred happily presented himself as the successor to Lady Londonderry, who used to hold such parties during the war.He was such an affable, easy-going man that you would have a hard time guessing that he was a genius who designed some of New York's first skyscrapers.He was especially warm and generous to me.It was in his home that I got married, and it was here that the wedding reception was held, and it was he who proposed a toast to our happiness.

I got married at Wesley Church on City Road on a cold and foggy day in December.It is more convenient for everyone to hold the wedding ceremony in London.Reverend Grantham Methodist, our old friend Skinner, assisted Reverend Spivey of City Road to officiate.Then Grantham, Dartford, Ellis, and their London friends returned to Sir Alfred Botham's house.After it was all over, Dennis took me to Madeira for our honeymoon.There, I had my first and last attempt at water sports by seaplane.After recovering from this thrilling experience, I began my married life on this beautiful island. When I got back from Madeira, I moved into Dennis's Swan apartment on Fulard Street in Chelsea.The apartment is on the sixth floor, very bright and has a great view of London.For the first time, I also felt how convenient it is to live on the same floor.It was easier to arrange life on the same floor, as I later found out at No 10 Downing Street.The house is very spacious.A large room serves as a living and dining room.There are two good sized bedrooms and a room that is Dennis's study.Dennis drove to work in Ellis every morning and came back late at night.But I find that I have many things to do.This is my first time managing a home.We quickly made friends with our neighbors.One of the benefits of living in a unit with an elevator is that you get to know everyone.By the end of the first month, I had known most of my neighbors, many of whom were quite famous.Late at night, there was always the possibility of hearing a contralto singing from the courtyard, which must have been Sybill Thorndike's performance just after the end.When we lived there, we entertained a lot, with a variety of drinks on weekday evenings and dinner parties on weekends.

As long as your marriage is happy and your living conditions are comfortable, being a married young woman is always a joy.My marriage is bliss.And in the 1950s, being a married young woman in such comfortable surroundings was heaven.I'm always amazed to hear people describe the 1950s as repressive, boring, conformist, or worrying.No matter how you look at it, the 1950s was not the situation described above, but the resumption of normal and happy life after people experienced the hardships of the war and the simple life of frugality after the war.Rationing is over.Wages start to increase.Bananas, grapes, fruits I had never heard of before suddenly appeared in stores again.Clothes are no longer monotonous uniforms, and confident, colorful fashions are once again in front of people, with wide Tio skirts, strapless evening dresses and Ascot hats.Italian restaurants popped up outside formerly boarded-up shops.Coffee shops selling cappuccino (a brand of coffee) known at the time as "foam coffee" were ubiquitous on the streets.Others coined the term "Teenage-rs" (for people aged 11 to 19).Ordinary people began to have refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines in their homes.Fewer government announcements and more commercials on bulletin boards (Murray Mints, Murray Mints, the more you chew, the better).TV aerials are growing denser on rooftops in England.In order to adapt to the ever-evolving era, Hollywood invented the wide-screen system of Synemascop and shot many wide-screen movies, including biblical epic movies like "Where Are You Going" and "South Pacific" movies? "Scenery musical like that.People who never thought they could afford a holiday abroad went to Spain.

It was a time of abundance.Rich, many of the restrictions of British life since the war and even before that of my Grantham youth began to loosen.It cannot be said that I liked or even understood the various manifestations of this newfound freedom.When American rock and roll and names like Bill Halle and Evans Presley reached England, I thought it might be a press novelty (rock and roll never lessened my love for Desert Song. favorite). "Angry Young Man" and plays about ordinary people's lives began to challenge the traditional theater of London's West End.I also feel that these will disappear very quickly.Also, I've had enough chores in my real life, and I don't want to go out at night to watch this kind of drama anymore.Little did I imagine that I would later read and admire John Osborne, and befriend Kingsley Amis.I am grateful for his support in my culture battles as Prime Minister.Ascot, the Derby, Henley's International Boat Race and Wimbledon's International Tennis have all returned to their former splendor, and those gossip columnists who hid somewhere after the war reappear in or Garden Notes "middle.Reading these articles is like munching on bonbons, but I have to admit that not many people can resist reading them.Readers are introduced to new household names such as Mrs. Docker, Aristotle Onassis, Stavros Nialles, and more.Monte Carlo is once again synonymous with high life.

People feel they have made a lot of sacrifices in the previous 20 years and now it's time to enjoy life.While I may be more serious than my contemporaries, Dennis and I enjoy life as much as most, if not more.We went to the theater, and we vacationed in Rome and Paris (though the hotels were always downscale).We throw parties, we go to other people's soirees, and we have a great time. But the high point in our lives at that time was the ascension of the Queen Elizabeth in June 1953.Households with TVs - we don't - have family gatherings and invite friends to watch the spectacle.Dennis and I are both heartfelt supporters of the monarchy, and we thought it worthwhile to splurge on one ticket at a time to witness the spectacle from the covered stands in Parliament Square, opposite the entrance to Westminster Abbey.It was wise for Dennis to buy tickets without knowing his investment.It was pouring rain that day.Most of the spectators were drenched, not to mention those in convertibles for the grand parade.The queen of Tonga's suit was never worn again, but mine was still wearable the next day.

In London, my married life is happy.In addition to doing housework, I have enough time to study law.I have always been interested in law.My fascination with politics was nurtured by my father, as was my interest in law.Although his father was not the local sheriff, he could sit on the judge's bench as a matter of course when he was the mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946.I used to go with him to the quarterly magistrates court trials (for a lot of petty crimes) during college vacations.There is an experienced lawyer who sits on a chair as a judge.He is Norman Wenning, the Crown Counsel.Once, my father and I had lunch with him.I was fascinated by what I saw in the courtroom, and Norman Wenning's talks on legal theory and practice fascinated me even more.During the conversation, I suddenly blurted out, "I want to be a lawyer, but I only know chemistry, and I can't change my major at Oxford." Norman Wenning said that he studied physics when he was studying for a junior degree at Cambridge. Yes, and later switched to law for a second degree.I said, I simply cannot afford to spend another few years in college.He replied that there was another way which was perfectly possible, but it would take hard work, to get a job in or near London, attend any bar college, and study for the law exams at night.That's exactly what I did in 1950.Now, with Dennis' help, I can focus on studying law without having to work.I had a lot of reading to do, and I was taking lectures on the Legal Education Board.

With the combination of housekeeping and law, I had decided that I would have to put my political pursuits on hold for some time to come.I just turned 26 and can do that.I took my thoughts to Conservative Party headquarters.But as a young female candidate, I still sometimes get the public's attention.For example, in February 1952, the Sunday Photo published my article on the status of women, "Elizabeth's Morning Light in a New Age."I am also frequently invited to speak in constituencies across the country.In short, although I tried to make up my mind to put politics aside for a while, it was hard for me to let go of politics, and it was hard for me to do that. I discussed with Dennis what to do and he said he would support me no matter what I did.So I went to see Beryl Cook at headquarters in June and told her, "It's not working, I have to face reality, I don't want to be left out of politics." I knew what she would say.She gave me her full support and introduced me to John Hale, the party vice-president in charge of the candidate.He told me in the most gracious way that being an MP puts a lot of stress on family life.I told him that Dennis and I had discussed it and we were prepared to take the pressure.I said that I would like to have the opportunity to run for election in a constituency that is relatively easy to win or is sure to win next time. We agreed that since I have to take care of my family and study law, the best constituency is in London or 30 miles around London. within miles.I immediately asked him to consider me as a candidate for the constituency of Canterbury, which was about to be called.Although I did not stand as a candidate for Canterbury, I left Central Headquarters very pleased with the outcome of my trip. The question John Hale posed to me—how I would reconcile family life and politics—became more realistic. In August 1953, my twin daughters, Mark and Carol, were born.One Thursday night, six weeks before "that baby" was born, I started to ache.During the day, I have seen the doctor, and he told me to go to the hospital for an X-ray examination next Monday.He said there was something he needed to look into again.Now it looks like I can't wait any longer for Monday, I'm in the hospital right away.The doctor gave me pain relievers to help me sleep at night.Did a dimming check on Friday morning.To everyone's great surprise, the examination found that I was going to be a mother of two children.Unfortunately, there was something else, I needed a C-section the next day, and two little babies, a boy and a girl, were born without seeing their father right away.Because Dennis expected everything to be normal, he went to the oval to watch the international cricket final, and he could not be contacted.That day, he received two pieces of equally surprising good news.England's cricket team beat Australia and he is the proud father of twins. I'm going to be in the hospital for over two weeks.In fact, at that time, mothers generally had to stay in the hospital for three weeks before being discharged.This meant that after the uncomfortable first few days of postpartum recovery, I found I had time again.Of course, we used to think that there would be just one more member of the Thatcher family, so the first and most urgent order was to ring up the relevant stores and order two baby sets instead of one.Strangely enough, bringing Mark and Carol into this world brought both enormous relief and happiness to me and uneasiness.A mother's love for her child may be the strongest, most instinctive feeling we have.Many people consider being "only" a mother or "only" a housewife a second priority, and I was never one of those people.Whenever I hear hints like this, whether I was Prime Minister or when I was Prime Minister, I get very angry.Of course, being a mother and a housewife is a noble calling, but I feel that it is not my only calling.I knew I wanted to have my own business too.I often quote Erin Ward, MP for Tynemouth, who said, "The family must be the center of one's life, but one's ambitions should not be confined to the confines of one's home." I do need a career , because, very simply, I am that kind of person.And, not just any career will do.What I want is a career that will keep my mind sharp and prepare me for a political career, which I believe I am perfectly fit for. So I made up my mind after a week in the hospital.I had the application form for the final bar exam in December mailed to me, and I filled it out and mailed it along with the exam fee.I knew that this little mental game I was playing with myself would ensure that I would go into law studies as soon as I got back to Swan Flats with my twins, and that I would need to organize my life so that I could be both a mother and a productive mother. Professional working woman. Actually, it's not as difficult as it sounds.Our house at Swan Apartments was large enough to be adequate, but not without its flaws.Because it is the sixth floor, we installed mullions on all the windows.If there is no garden, the children are taken to Ronilla Park to play twice a day.This is good for them, as they get used to seeing and playing with other children.At first, we didn't understand the rules of the park, and the ball had been confiscated by park rangers.Usually it was Barbara the nanny who took Mark and Carol to the park.On weekends, I take them out.Barbara was trained at the Barnardos Nursing Facility and the kids especially loved her. In the 1950s, the role of women began to undergo major changes.Before that, families were generally larger, and women were generally past middle age by the time the last child grew up and left home; labor-saving electrical appliances did not yet exist, and housework took more time; and the home was often a social place , is frequented throughout the day by businessmen from milkmen to window cleaners, some of whom may just drop in for a chat or a cup of tea.As a result, few women have the opportunity or feel the need to work. In the 1950s, this situation began to change.By the 1980s, everything had changed a lot.Women are younger when their children leave home because families are smaller; housework is less burdened because of appliances; Another change also occurred in the 1980s, a trend in which women began to continue working after marriage and then left in their thirties to have children. These changes have led many, primarily the middle class, to clamor for tax breaks for child care establishments such as babysitters, playgroups, or nurseries in the form of education.As Prime Minister, I have resisted the pressure.Working women already bring more income to the family, while women who take care of children at home have only one person's income in their families.I don't think it's a simple question of justice that the taxes paid by the latter couples should be used to subsidize the families of the former. Of course, the above opinions do not affect my own decisions as a young mother.I'm especially lucky that I can rely on Dennis' income to hire a nanny to take care of the kids while I'm away.As long as I can subtly make everything meticulous.With this arrangement, I can be both a competent mother and an efficient career woman.It's not enough to have someone else take care of the kids, I have to organize my time so that I can spend time with the kids.And when I become a trial lawyer, I still have some freedom in how many cases I take.I can adjust my workload to some extent according to the situation of my family.As far as politics, we live in London, my husband works in the London area, and Parliament is in London - obviously I had to find a constituency in or near London.It was a combination of these unusual circumstances that I decided that even though my children were young, I could still consider becoming an MP. Shortly after I had my twins, John Hale wrote me from Central Headquarters: "I am delighted to hear that you have had twins. You are so brilliant. How will this affect you as a candidate? I have happily put your name on the shortlist, if you do not want me to, please tell me." I wrote back to express my thanks and wrote: "After the unexpected birth of twins - we never thought we would have two - I thought I'd better not be a candidate for at least 6 months. The family needs to be reorganized really well After a while, I still need to find a reliable nanny, and then I can do other things with confidence." Hence my name, as John Hale puts it, "temporarily refrigerated."It is up to me to decide when to be included in the shortlist again. The six-month political transition period that I set for myself has passed quickly.I have also passed the bar final exam.I initially considered specializing in patent law because I thought this would allow me to use my industrial and scientific knowledge.But it seems that opportunities for patent law are limited, perhaps tax law would be better.Whatever I do, I need a foundation in criminal law.Accordingly, in December 1953, I began a six-month apprenticeship with Frederick Laughton, Solicitors of the Inner Temple.Frederick Lawton LLP is a common law firm.He is one of the best criminal law lawyers I know, he is witty, he has a clear understanding of human nature and his profession, and his words are easy to understand.He gave me careful guidance. In fact, I had to gain work experience in no fewer than four types of law firms, partly because to specialize in tax law you first had to have some background in several areas.So I got a taste of the rhetoric of the criminal courts, I admired the precision of the financial courts, and then delved into the finer points of corporate law.But I am increasingly confident that tax law will be my forte.It intersects with my political interests.Tax law is an excellent combination of theory and practice.Another point that we are very sure about is that there will never be a shortage of clients in tax law, because many clients are eager to find their way through a large number of extremely complex and ever-changing tax laws. Studying, observing, discussing, and ultimately practicing law have had a huge impact on my political outlook.In this regard, I may be a little unusual.Familiarity with the law tends to engender at least some degree of cynicism, if not glibness.For me, being familiar with the law has given me a deeper understanding of the meaning of "rule of law". "Rule of law" is a word on the lips of Conservatives. From the materials I read when I was in college and before, I already knew clearly that the difference between a free system and a non-free system is that the former is a system ruled by law, while the latter is a system of violence.But what is the essence of "law"?What is its evolution process?Why it is so deeply rooted in England and so shallow elsewhere - recent history has shown that.The legal textbooks I am studying are basically not designed to answer these questions.But the legal principles articulated in these textbooks kept me thinking about these questions.Likewise, as I read stories of prominent judges in the formative years of English law, I became increasingly interested in the mysterious accumulation by which English courts laid the foundations of English liberty. But it was A. V. Daisy's work that most influenced me—especially his classic textbook, The Laws of the Constitution.Over the years it has been customary to attack Daisy for dogmatically opposing the new administrative state, and many knowledgeable commentators still do so.But I strongly agree with his theory—it may not be unimportant that although Daisy is a master of law, he is more of a typical liberal at heart.In Daisy's account, the "laws of the Constitution" arose from "two guiding principles honed by generations of English statesmen and lawyers".The first is parliamentary supremacy and the second is the rule of law.My simple generalization of the rule of law as "the law is above all else" is of course not sufficient. Whether Daisy wrote it in 1885 or when I read his works some 70 years later, the word rule of law still has a strong British or at least Anglo-Saxon.I later read Heike's representative works "The Constitution of Liberty" and "Law, Legislation and Liberty" before I really began to realize that this principle has a wide range of applications. If politics is in your blood, everything seems to bring you back to politics.Whether it's revisiting Daisy's writings, delving into the complexities of tax law, or discussing current issues with members of the Bar Academy's Conservative Association, politics are at the forefront of my mind.So when I heard there was a vacancy in the Orpington constituency in December 1954, I immediately called Central Headquarters and asked to be put on the shortlist, knowing that Orpington and my old The constituency of Dartford is adjacent and not far from London.I went for an interview and got on a narrowed shortlist of candidates.Sitting with Dennis on the sidelines of the selection committee, I heard Donald Sumner, the local candidate (and president of the local Conservative Party Association) in his speech, adamant that what Orpington really needs is " A MP who really knows everything about this constituency - someone who knows the roads in Rocksbotham (Orpington's old name)." Dennis and I couldn't help laughing.Donald Sumner was the constituency's candidate. I was naturally disappointed by the selection committee's decision, as Orpington would have been my ideal constituency.It now appears that before the general election - which seems to be getting closer - finding a constituency as suitable for me as Orpington is very unlikely.I therefore wrote to John Hale to say that I would now "continue to practice law and not think of entering Parliament for many years".He probably knew me better than I knew myself, and he wrote back that if there was a winable seat in Kent, he hoped I would at least reconsider my decision.But I stand by my decision, and at the same time, I have said that I am always willing to speak in the constituency if need be, and that I will be active in the general election campaign. Although, on the whole, I am a loyal Conservative, I have felt for some time that the government could have moved further and faster in abandoning socialism and adopting free enterprise policies.But convincing public opinion—or, indeed, themselves—that stronger flavors are more palatable is not easy.Indeed, by 1955, considerable but modest progress had been made in decontrolling, or returning nationalized industries to the private sector.Food rationing also eventually stopped.Significant steps have been taken to restore the convertibility of the currency.The nationalization of steel has stopped and the sale of the road freight business has begun.In addition, since 1951, the proportion of the state-owned sector in GDP has been steadily declining year by year.One more event with great significance for the future: the BBC's broadcasting monopoly was broken and commercial television began to operate.