Margaret Thatcher has undoubtedly made a great impact on British and global politics. Her policies were emulated around the world, and, though divisive, even left-wing politicians such as Tony Benn have stated their admiration for the straight-forward, unflinching way in which she conducted her policies. The first woman to hold the post of Prime Minister, she was also one of the longest serving Prime Ministers ranking with the likes of the Lord Salisbury. Her departure was one of the most dramatic events in British political history.
She has been credited for her macroeconomic reforms with "rescuing" the British economy from the stagnation of the 1970s, and is admired for her committed radicalism on economic issues. She was a divisive figure, and some still hold her responsible for destroying much of the UK's manufacturing base, consigning many to long-term unemployment (reaching 4 million in the decade she was in power). However, supporters of privatisation and of the free market cite the recovery of the economy during the mid-1980s and the present-day success of the British economy, with its relatively low unemployment and structural shift away from manufacturing towards the service sector. An unfortunate effect of her policies was that many of the publicly supported industries and industrial plants that shrank or closed down were the predominant employers in their areas, thus causing pockets of very high unemployment, while the growth of new services and technologies normally took place in other usually more prosperous areas.
When Thatcher took over in 1979, Britain was sometimes nicknamed as the "sick man of Europe" in the 1970s[citation needed]. Arguably, the UK emerged from the 1980s as one of the more successful economies in Europe. While the unemployment rate did eventually come down, it came after initial job losses and radical labour market reforms. These included laws that weakened trade unions and the deregulation of financial markets, which certainly played a part in returning London to a leadership position as a European financial centre, and her push for increased competition in telecommunications and other public utilities.