http://www.cato.org/dailys/02-16-03.html

"During the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, the U.K. had a much lower rate of economic growth than Germany, France and Italy. By the time Margaret Thatcher took over in 1979 as prime minister, the U.K. was known as the "sick man of Europe." At that time, Britain had the most socialized economy in Europe and, as would be expected, the worst economic performance. Mrs. Thatcher undertook a massive program to privatize the economy and reduced taxes and spending.

Since the time of the Thatcher revolution, Britain has had the best economic performance of the four big countries in the European Union (i.e., Germany, France, Italy and the U.K.), but has not done as well as some of the smaller countries, like Ireland, which even more drastically cut tax rates. "