On an Oct. 10 many years ago, a British prime minister made it clear: “To those waiting with bated breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the ‘U-turn,’ I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to: The Lady’s not for turning.”

Those were the resolute words of then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was speaking at a Conservative Party conference on Oct. 10, 1980. It was a defining speech that underlined Thatcher’s firm rebuttal to calls to perform a “U-turn” in response to opposition to her agenda of liberalizing and revitalizing the British economy.