Over a milk controversy, Margaret Thatcher almost ruined her political career

Thatcher was chosen to serve as secretary of education when the Conservatives won the election in 1970. The Treasury discontinued a 1940s-era initiative that offered free milk to youngsters aged 7 to 11 at their schools to save spending. Similar programs for older children had been stopped by the previous Labour government without much controversy, but Thatcher did not enjoy the same success.

According to Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality, the press and Labour MPs were cruel to Thatcher, portraying her as a heartless miser who stole milk from little children. Labour PMs referred to Thatcher as a "reactionary cavewoman" and "the cruelest and spiteful member of a profoundly discredited government" in public hearings. One of the nicer insults to emanate from the streets and bars was "Thatcher, the milk snatcher."

Thatcher did not move from her position despite allowing free milk deliveries for malnourished pupils who were prescribed it. However, she felt uncomfortable inside because of how personal the jabs were, and she thought about leaving politics. She acknowledged that she had erred in The Path to Power, her autobiography: "I learned a great lesson. For very little political gain, I had earned the greatest amount of political contempt."