I disagreed with about 90% of her policies. Yes, she was a strong, resolute leader. She knew her ideals and stuck with them. She was grounded, hardworking, dogmatic and probably the strongest leader, Churchill apart, that this country had seen in a century. All of the Thatcher-positive vox pops have said this.
Now, I'm not comparing her policies with any of history's despots; that would be a tad churlish. What I am comparing are the views of supporters. All of the above attributes could be attached to many historical figures, good or bad: Her personality traits were irrelevant. She went up against many people that she loathed, like Derek Hatton and Arthur Scargill, with blatant disregard to the collateral damage; misery, poverty and turmoil for millions of people. She sold-off numerous nationalised industries. British Gas was one. She declared that anyone was welcome to apply for shares.....but it had to be a minimum of £400-worth. Mmm. So, millions of hardworking taxpayers who didn't have the equivalent of today's £700, one day owned a part of British Gas and the next day owned none of it. There are many more things, but my appetite for hating the woman has now waned.