M25 motorway

The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a 117-mile (188 km) motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England (with the exception of North Ockendon), in the United Kingdom. A narrower concept was first mooted in the 1960s as part of the plan to build four ring roads around London. A few sections, based on the abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it was completed in 1986.

It is one of the busiest of the British motorway network: 196,000 vehicles were recorded on a busy day near London Heathrow Airport in 2003 and the western half experienced an average daily flow of 147,000 vehicles in 2007.

Although technically not an entire orbital motorway – a short non-motorway stretch forms the Dartford Crossing (A282) of the River Thames – the M25, at 117 miles (188 km) is Europe's second longest orbital road after the Berliner Ring, which is 122 miles (196 km).

Description

Originally built almost wholly as a dual three-lane motorway, much of the motorway has been widened: to dual four-lanes for almost half, to a dual five-lanes section between junctions 12 and 14 and a dual six-lane section between junctions 14 and 15. Further widening is in progress of minor sections with plans for managed motorways in many others.

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British stateswoman and politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is currently the only woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.

Originally a research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition and became the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election.