Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, died on April 8 of a stroke. Thatcher has a very mixed legacy with many Americans loving her and many British hating her.

Thatcher may have a lot of haters, but she was able to bring the United Kingdom into the modern age and lead it to success.

When Thatcher was elected in 1979, Britain was in very bad economic shape. There was inflation, budget deficits, and problems with the country’s workers. To solve the country’s problems, the Prime Minister lowered income taxes and increased other taxes that did not directly affect income, lowered interest rates, and put limits on government spending.

These policies made Thatcher unpopular with voters, and even resulted in riots in 1981. Despite opposition, Thatcher stayed with these policies and slowly Britain’s economy began to recover. By 1987 the economy stabilized and was strong. Britain’s economy became more free market like the United States.

When Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union, Thatcher’s diplomacy with the leader eased tension between the Soviets and Americans.

Thatcher also worked closely with Ronald Reagan. Nancy Reagan commented that “Ronnie and Margaret were political soul mates.”

Contrary to popular belief, Thatcher was not a conservative in the American sense. She did something that most American conservatives would never do—raise taxes. When Thatcher became Prime Minister, taxes were about 33.1 percent of the gross domestic product. Taxes in the U.S. are about 18 percent of the GDP. President Barack Obama cannot even dream of having taxes that high because every American would be furious. Thatcher is more of a taxer than the president.

British conservatism is more liberal than American conservatism. British liberals are also more liberal than their American liberalism.

While countless Brits hate Thatcher because of her tactics with the labor unions, she does not deserve to be remembered as a “witch,” as in the British chart topper “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.”

Maragret Thatcher should not be praised by just conservatives. She should be admired by all who believe in freedom around the world.