To help understand how and why The Smiths resonated in Britain such as they did it's important to note that the ground came up in Thatcherite England, amidst a series of conservative reforms in the country lead by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Her administration aimed to right the economic calamity that Britain faced throughout the 1970s with mixed results, based on reporting from the BBC. In their lyrics, aesthetic, and sound, The Smiths — formed in working class, post-industrial Manchester — positioned themselves as opposing Thatcher's conservative agenda. 

Though never expressly political, The Smiths — with Morrissey as their mouthpiece — sided with the common individual on several occasions, such as in 1986 when they performed in the left-leaning Labour Party-affiliated Red Wedge tour, according to Pitchfork. Singer Morrissey also expressed his disdain for Thatcher's administration in several interviews, such as in 1984 when he said (via Pitchfork) "The entire history of Margaret Thatcher is one of violence and oppression and horror ... I think that we must not lie back and cry about it. She's only one person, and she can be destroyed."

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