['< sod > on 31 january, a week after gavrilov\'s article, in a speech to [ [ conservative party ( uk ) | conservatives ] ] in her [ [ finchley ( uk parliament constituency ) | finchley ] ] [ [ united kingdom constituencies | constituency ] ], thatcher herself embraced the nickname ( "... i stand before you tonight... the iron lady of the western world.... yes i am an iron lady... " ) and compared it to [ [ arthur wellesley, 1st duke of wellington | wellington ] ]\'s nickname, [ [ arthur wellesley, 1st duke of wellington # the iron duke | the iron duke ] ] ( "... after all it wasn\'t a bad thing to be an iron duke, yes if that\'s how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life. " ). < ref name = margaretthatcherfoundation01a > { { cite web | url = http : / / www. margaretthatcher. org / document / 102947 | publisher = margaret thatcher foundation | date = 31 jan 1976 | title = margaret thatcher – speech to finchley conservatives ( admits to being an " iron lady " ) | accessdate = 24 september 2016 | quote = i stand before you tonight in my red star chiffon evening gown. ( laughter, applause ), my face softly made up and my fair hair gently waved ( laughter ), the iron lady of the western world. a cold war warrior, an amazon philistine, even a peking plotter. well, am i any of these things? ( no! ) well yes, if that\'s how they …. ( laughter ) …. yes i am an iron lady, after all it wasn\'t a bad thing to be an iron duke, yes if that\'s how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life. } } < / ref > < eod > < sod > on 31 january, a week after gavrilov\'s article, in a speech to [ [ conservative party ( uk ) | conservatives ] ] in her [ [ finchley ( uk parliament constituency ) |... finchley ] ] [ [ united kingdom constituencies | constituency ] ], thatcher herself embraced the nickname ( "... i stand before you tonight... the iron lady of the western world... . yes i am an iron lady... " ) and compared it to [ [ arthur wellesley, 1st duke of wellington | wellington ] ]\'s nickname, [ [ arthur wellesley, 1st duke of wellington # the iron duke | the iron duke ] ] ( "... after all it wasn\'t a bad thing to be an iron duke, yes if that\'s how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life. " ). < ref name = margaretthatcherfoundation01a > { { cite web | url = http : / / www. margaretthatcher. org / document / 102947 | publisher = margaret thatcher foundation | date = 31 jan 1976 | title = margaret thatcher – speech to finchley conservatives ( admits to being an " iron lady " ) | accessdate = 24 september 2016 | quote = i stand before you tonight in my red star chiffon evening gown. ( laughter, applause ), my face softly made up and my fair hair gently waved ( laughter ), the iron lady of the western world. a cold war warrior, an amazon philistine, even a peking plotter. well, am i any of these things? ( no! ) well yes, if that\'s how they …. ( laughter ) …. yes i am an iron lady, after all it wasn\'t a bad thing to be an iron duke, yes if that\'s how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life. } } < / ref > bbc news reported on it that night. < ref name = margaretthatcherfoundation01a / > < eod >']