<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>