Yet the basic fact remains: every regulation represents a restriction of liberty, every regulation has a cost. That is why, like marriage (in the Prayer Book's words), regulation should not "be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly"

Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.

I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.

Life in a free society...is heaven on earth to life in a socialist society such as Russia.

[When asked how it felt to be a female prime minister:] I don't know: I've never experienced the alternative.

People think that at the top there isn't much room. They tend to think of it as an Everest. My message is that there is tons of room at the top.

The mission of this government is much more than the promotion of economic progress. It is to renew the spirit and solidarity of the nation.