Margaret Thatcher | Huck
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Margaret Thatcher

On the frontlines of Britain’s ’80s protest movements

Protest and Equality — Against a backdrop of Thatcherism, hospital closures and global conflict, photographer Sarah Saunders was a documentarian of the long decade’s effects on society, as well as the communities actively resisting it.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen
Black and white image showing police officers carrying a person on a street with crowd and shops in background.

Resilience and resistance during The Thatcher Years

The iron reign — Photojournalist Paul Pickard’s new book revisits English Midlands life during ’80s, when he was on the frontlines recording news and key events, as tensions between people and authority came to a head.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen

Chronicling radical shifts across the UK in the 70s & 80s

A new exhibitions brings together the work of photographers who documented the deep unrest of these pivotal decades.

  • Photography
  • Miss Rosen

The history of the Poll Tax and the power of direct action

Can‘t pay, won‘t pay — As a campaign calling on Britons to refuse payment of their energy bills this winter gains momentum, writer Ella Glover looks back at the victory of the mass non-payment movement that inspired it.

  • Activism
  • Ella Glover

Snapshots of London’s streets during Thatcher’s Britain

Pounding pavements — Photographer Sunil Gupta recalls taking to the streets of the capital in search of gay life and encountering an eclectic mix of characters.

  • Culture
  • Charlotte Rawlings

How Section 28 birthed today’s gay rights movement

A new book from Paul Baker traces the legislation’s tumultuous history and the lasting impact its had on LGBTQ+ activism today.

  • Activism
  • Leeza Isaeva

Gritty photos of punks, mods, and skinheads in the ‘80s

Anarchy in the UK — Photographer Yan Morvan revisits a radical moment in history, which saw the emergence of DIY subcultures and a fiercely-rebellious spirit among the UK's youth.

  • Culture
  • Miss Rosen

How to survive Boris, from the people that survived Thatcher

‘Don’t stop fighting’ — Now the dust has settled on last month’s election result, writer Emily Reynolds talks to activists from the ’80s to find out the lessons we can learn.

  • Reportage
  • Emily Reynolds

Documenting life on the fringes in Thatcher’s Britain

The enemies within — In the ’80s, photographer Richard Davis moved to Hulme – a neglected corner of Manchester – where he quickly fell in with a community of artists, punks and travellers.

  • Photography
  • Miss Rosen

Ray & Liz: an exploration of family life in Thatcher’s Britain

On the breadline — In Ray & Liz, photographer turned writer-director Richard Billingham presents a tale of deprivation and loneliness set in the West Midlands – based on his own upbringing.

  • Film
  • Josh Slater-Williams

'Great photographers need determination not talent'

Advice from Chris Killip — Photographer Chris Killip captured the North of England's deindustrialisation in a way no one else did. Now, almost three decades later, he looks back at what it takes to create images that truly record a place and time.

  • Photography
  • Biju Belinky

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