Margaret Thatcher became known as 'Milk Snatcher'

The Conservative government had to find substantial cuts to meet election pledges on tax.
Removing free school milk for the over seven’s became the most notorious saving introduced.
Edward Short, then Labour education spokesman said scrapping milk was ‘the meanest and most unworthy thing’ he had seen in 20 years.
It earned Mrs Thatcher the nickname, Milk Snatcher, and haunted her throughout her career. In 1985 she was refused an honorary degree from Oxford University because of her education cuts.
After the war under Clement Attlee the 1946 Free Milk Act was passed providing one third of a pint to all children under the age of 18.


Previous research had linked poor nutrition, low income and underachievement in schools and milk was identified as a key food that could help alleviate the problem.
However since then the entitlement has been steadily eroded.
In 1968, under Harold Wilson, the Labour government scrapped free milk for secondary school pupils.
After Thatchers cuts, subsidies were introduced to allow schools to provide milk but most of these were cut in the 1995 Budget.