Two worn leather work gloves lie crossed on a small wooden bench in golden window light.

Original artwork, not a still

Margaret Thatcher

I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society — from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation. A get-up-and-go, instead of a sit-back-and-wait-for-it Britain.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker states the aim of their time in office as a national change of character: from people expecting to be provided for toward people who act for themselves. The contrasting hyphenated phrases set eager initiative against passive waiting, presenting self-reliance as the goal and dependence as the fault.

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