Here’s What Margaret Thatcher Thought About The Homeless

Over the years, most people will agree that Margaret Thatcher did whatever she could to bring out the best in people. Along with this, she made many changes during her time in office to not only help others but to change the way of thinking of an entire nation.

You don’t have to look far to realize that Thatcher was determined to fight homelessness while increasing the overall number of homeowners. While this was not an easy task, it is safe to say that she was always up for the challenge.

During the 1970’s, many tenants were interested in purchasing the home in which they were living. However, there was one major problem with this. There was major resistance due to an obligation to house the homeless. This is something she tackled with aggression.

In the video below, you will get a better idea of what Thatcher had to say about the homeless (in the late 80’s into 1990). If you are not interested in watch the video in its entirety, here is a brief excerpt that will help you better understand her point of view:

“May I point out what precisely has been done. I understand that there are something like 1,000 drunk who sometimes sleep out in London. Some of them have other problems such as mental retarded. Some of them are genuine social cases, others are not. But during the lifetime of this government, a great many more hostel places have been built so that we now have more than 21,000 hostel places in London including some 3,000 emergency cases and direct access beds in London.”

As you can see, Thatcher uses some language in this video that would not be deemed acceptable in today’s day and age. However, she definitely got the point across while helping people better understand what she was doing, at the time (1990), for homelessness in London.

What are your thoughts on what Margaret Thatcher did for homelessness during her time in charge? Share your opinion in the comment section below.