A lot of people liked her defeating the unions, and privatising almost everything. Also, if you were part of the boom (North Sea oil and real estate fuelled), you were doing well - those who supported her liked the idea that if you were poor/unemployed it was because you deserved it. They liked the dismantling of the welfare state and the forsaking of the concept of society. The only thing her supporters felt should bind us was the flag. The UK was an extremely divided country, and like I say, she fed off that. You can see it geographically in the voting patterns - the South and East liked her (they didn't have much industry to lose and there was a boom in services and finance etc.). The North hated her - she took industry apart and left them with practically nothing.