In 1996 who did The Spice Girls say was their "Girl Power" role model?

The Spice Girls are an English all-girl band formed in 1994. The group comprised Melanie Brown ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number one in 37 countries and established their global success. Their debut album Spice sold more than 31 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. Their follow-up album, Spiceworld sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

As an all-girl band and being collectively very pro-feminist they wanted to present their views in a slightly different manner. Ginger Spice, came at it from a somewhat different angle: while she liked the idea of women’s autonomy, she was turned off by the F word. “For me feminism is bra-burning lesbianism. It's very unglamorous,” she told The Guardian in 2007. “I'd like to see it rebranded.” That’s exactly what she did and landed “Girl Power” in the Oxford English Dictionary.

In a very surprising profile, the girls revealed their true admiration for the Iron Lady. “We Spice Girls are true Thatcherites,” Ginger declared in 1996. “Thatcher was the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology—Girl Power.”