First of all, the religious back-and-forth needs to stop. Wikipedia does not care whether you are a Protestant, a Catholic, a Jew, a Hindu, etc. The personal views of Wikipedia editors when it comes to religion are completely irrelevant; even if they were relevant, this is certainly not the place to discuss them. So please stop.
I think the first lead was better. It certainly was more concise and better fit for the lead. I've had numerous discussions about leads of high-profile policical figures; generally when writing, the lead should not dwell on a single piece of information or a single event in the person's career; in this case, the rewritten version dwells much too heavily on how or why she was elected.
It mentions nothing of the free markets, which is the core point of Thatcherism. It mentions nothing of privitization, another crucial element. It introduces the trades unions, but the trades unions are already discussed three sentences down. Beginning with "Thatcher entered 10 Downing Street" simply
As it has been rewritten, it implies that Thatcher said those quotes. It is allowing the Conservative Manifesto to speak for her and act as the basis for all her thoughts. That, in my view, is misrepresenting the subject. In addition, what is the Conservative Manifesto? Was it a play on words regarding the Communist Manifesto? What relevance is it to Thatcher other than the fact that she was (and is) a conservative? Maybe it is something well known in the U.K., but, as an American, I've never heard of it.
As the burden is on the editor who wishes to make a change, I am going to revert until we can get this resolved. Happyme22 (talk) 06:54, 17 July 2009 (UTC)
