Mere months ago, amateur politician Boris Johnson astutely noted the environmental credentials of the late and great Margaret Thatcher. Visiting an offshore wind farm in Scotland, he claimed that Thatcher had done wonders for the UK’s move towards net zero through bravely closing dozens of coal mines in the 1980s. Of course, this begs the question: what else did Thatcher do to tackle climate change?
Below are just a few ways that the Iron – or should we say Recyclable Metal Straw – Lady committed to a just, green transition.
1. Section 28. This clause in the 1988 Local Government Act prohibited local authorities from ‘promoting’ homosexuality, which led many LGBTQ+ support groups to close. This prevented members of the LGBTQ+ community travelling by bus, car and train to said groups, and therefore reduced their carbon footprint by up to 6000 megatons per person.
2. Milk snatching. You know the deal: in a bid to cut government expenditure, Maggie cut free school milk for children over the age of 7. Although she received heavy criticism at the time, we can now look back with gratitude, cognisant of the heavy environmental impact of industrial agriculture. Less cows? Less global warming, baby.
3. Neoliberalism. Ugh, fine, this one has a debate attached. Did Thatcher commit to a neoliberal agenda? Did she even have an agenda? Either way, it’s fair to say that Thatcher was pretty sold on the whole laissez-faire thing, and I’m happy to report that the market has responded promptly and effectively to climate change. Disastrous environmental crisis who?
So, next time you’ve jumped on the Thatcher-hating bandwagon with your socialist university friends, just remember: Thatcher was the OG Greta Thunberg.