I agree. But this isn't something that came out of nowhere. She told the french president that if he couldn't give her the code to shut down the argentine defences, she'd just nuke them instead.
Now that was, imo, obviously a bluff but you know if she's telling a foreign leader that she's willing to do it, it's not unfair to bring it up as a possibility.
Anyway the problem with this topic is it's so clearly poiliticised, tories wll say if labour won these elections the uk would be ruined, labour will say the opposite.
But don't join the european common market? Don't give up the emprie peacefully meaning they go the way of portugal in africa? No peace with the ira? No marshall aid?
Wasn't that a quote about Maggie threatening to turn BA into rubble from the French Presidents Barbers assistant or some such? Not a direct quote from the Man himself? I seem to recall it was not a 'reliable' primary source. Not that it stopped the papers from printing it!
Anyway - Britain is not run like a dictatorship and the decision to pop BA with a Nuke would not come from one person and certainly would have to pass through the Cabinat and then on to HMS Warrior (Communication base at Northwood, North West London) where a couple of high ranking Military types would overview the order and then on to the unit intended to make the attack (Submarine, Bomber Squadron, Aircraft Carrier etc).
Unless the entire Chain of Command was insane then it would not happen.
Lots of ways for Britian to emerge from the 50s / 60s in worse shape - the Oil Crisis on going
And as for the 70s Im old enough to recall the brown outs!
How about the SS Richard Montgomery blowing up in the Thames Estuary during a spring tide and the resultant surge flooding the centre of London - in particular the financial district as well as East London and parts of Essex and North Kent
The resulting damage is so extensive that it takes a decade for London to recover.
If this happened during the low points of the 60s and 70s and seriously compromised Londons place as one of the centres of the Financial world then this could have had serious implications to Britains Post war and post Empire recovery.