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Growing up in 1980s South Yorkshire, I was used to hearing abusive things said about Margaret Thatcher, particularly in the aftermath of the miners’ strike.
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P/S Yes, thanks for the thoughts TSE.
'The death of Lady Thatcher will have immediate political consequences for David Cameron and the Conservatives. The tributes to her memory and the recollections of her achievements will remind the party not just of what it has lost, but of what it lacks.'
I was really referring to the reforms in terms of you not mentioning them for Asquith.
As for Lloyd George, he was the one negotiating the aftermath of WWI (and with Wilson and Clemenceau pulling in opposite directions had an important role). His actions crippled the Liberal party and changed the dynamic of British politics by catapulting Labour into major party status, widened voting massively, partition of Ireland, women's role in society.
Beyond that his social reforms after the war were pretty massive (although a number were later pushed back by the Conservative governments).
Plenty of impact.
Plus however good their policies, they are not very good at identifying - let alone dealing with - the problems their own policies may have created. So, for instance, while it was right for Thatcher to deal with overmanned inefficient nationalised industries, she was much less successful at dealing with or mitigating the human cost of the same policies. The very toughness which was needed led to the harsh, uncaring tone which so grated, however necessary the medecine.
Maybe what is needed is a deputy or other heavyweight to provide the qualities which the PM lacks.
Quote
My feeling is that Blair will be judged to have presided over much bigger and more lasting social changes where we became a more caring and compassionate society.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2013/04/margaret-thatcher
"On the world stage, too, Mrs Thatcher continues to cast a long shadow. Her combination of ideological certainty and global prominence ensured that Britain played a role in the collapse of the Soviet Union that was disproportionate to its weight in the world. Mrs Thatcher was the first British politician since Winston Churchill to be taken seriously by the leaders of all the major powers. She was a heroine to opposition politicians in eastern Europe. Her willingness to stand shoulder to shoulder with “dear Ronnie” to block Soviet expansionism helped to promote new thinking in the Kremlin. But her insistence that Mikhail Gorbachev was a man with whom the West could do business also helped to end the cold war."
On the previous thread there was a discussion between SeanT and SO on "Thatcher vs Atlee" - on the domestic front, it would be difficult to settle precedence - both left a changed country behind them, both starting from atrocious circumstances.
On the international front, Atlee was the PM of what was, at the time still considered a "Great Power", while Thatcher was PM of "the sick man of Europe" who still managed to wield the influence no country other than a great power could do. Under Thatcher, Britain punched very considerably above its weight.
Scotland
David Martin and Catherine Stihler reselected by Labour
New candidates to be ranked:
Asim Khan
Derek Munn (Director of Policy & Public Affairs at the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapist, former Director of Public Affairs at Stonewall, former SpAd to Labour, former NUS Scotland president)
Katrina Murray (2010 Dundee East candidate, former wife of Steven Purcell)
Kirsty O'Brien (Euro candidate in 2004, former SpAd at Equality and Human Rights Commission, also worked at Labour Head of Policy Development)
Third spot will go the highest polling candidate regardless of gender and then gender alternance untill the bottom of the list.
West Midlands
Michael Cashman is retiring
New candidates
Claire Edwards (Rugby Cllr)
Neena Gill (former MEP)
Olwen Hamer (Stoke Cllr)
Lynda Waltho (former Stourbridge MP)
Ansar Ali-Khan (Birmingham Cllr)
Anthony Ethapemi (former Brent council candidate)
Sion Simon (former Erdington MP)
Top spot will go to the winner of the women ballot. Then winner of male ballot. Then runner up woman, runner up man and so on.
Thatcher's by contrast will be 'no such thing as society' which so far people have been too generous to mention. My own would be much more unkind which is why it's inappropriate for today when one should only look for the positives...
For me that was becoming the first woman Prime Minister in the most sexist party in the country.
All that said, Thatcher was far more visible than Attlee ever could have been. There was no TV, there were no interviews, the Commons was only reported through the papers and Hansard. It was much more difficult to be the kind of figure Thatcher was in Attlee's time.
Even now, barely 6 years laters, he is largely written out of Labour's history and has left no meaningful legacy for Labour to follow. EdM is - for good or ill - following his own course.
Whereas Thatcher's legacy - both within the Tory party and more generally - is still around. In some ways, while she achieved much for the country she hollowed out the Tory party in a way that the party still hasn't recovered from.
Writer and comedian Alexei Sayle told the BBC: "She made a conscious decision to run down manufacturing and concentrate on two areas which were arms manufacture and financial services."
The extraordinary thing is that people honestly seem to believe this sort of utter garbage.
Where do they get it from?
The full quote:
They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations, because there is no such thing as an entitlement unless someone has first met an obligation"
Good timing as Labour look to reinforce the contributory concept to benefits. "We are all Thatcher's children."
This general idea that Thatcher was all about selfishness entirely ignores the fact that it was precisely selfishness - the selfishness of the unions - that her early years were railing against. The whole critique of Labour in the 1979 manifesto is that is so bound to this selfishness that it 'dare not govern in the national interest'. Of course, it's not the only selfishness that has abounded in British politics over the last fifty years and it is disingenuous to think that much of the time there is a national interest that transcends distributional conflict, but this idea that selfishness is what Thatcher was about and opposed to her were the forces of compassion, altruism and empathy is just hog wash.
Many are utterly convinced that the reason immigration rose after 1997 is because Labour wanted to import voters; ditto with benefits spending.
Edit - just realised you posted the exact same thing on the bottom of your post. Sorry, I blame my acute tiredness!
If they've ended up in the same place and they have the chance there will be quite an argument going on right now.
TSE, I'm a couple of years older than you. Maggie resigned when I was 15.
"Plus however good their policies, they are not very good at identifying - let alone dealing with - the problems their own policies may have created."
An excellent point. There could be a number of reasons for this: arrogance (the downsides of my policies are being overstated by my enemies), or perhaps a growing detachment with what is happening on the ground in the country.
Nick Palmer recently commented that he spent some time getting to know the lives of his constituents and their problems when standing to become an MP (I hope I've got that right, Nick). I see little way even the best person can continue doing that whilst having to deal with the big picture for a decade. In that decade, the lives, lifestyles, concerns and hopes of the 'average' person will have moved on considerably. And the PMs lieutenants are probably more concerned with their own position and ambition than in telling the PM the reality on the ground, if they know themselves after having been sucked up by the governmental machine.
Still, every PM of my lifetime has been better at the job than I'd ever be. As I've always said: "It'd all be different if I was in charge. Worse, but different."
The partition of Ireland is him literally re-shaping Britain, would another PM have let the whole island go, or fought on to try and keep it? Women not only gained the vote under his premiership, but also became eligible for jury duty and many other elements of civil life. Given your focus on WWI I'm surprised you don't rate LG's role in the post-war conferences as more important?
Tories always overcompensate for their guilt in removing Margaret.
There can be no overcompensation, tim.
I am minded of the words written by the second greatest Briton of all time:
If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
You all do know this mantle: I remember
The first time ever Marg'ret put it on;
'Twas on a summer's evening, in her tent,
That day she overcame the IRA:
Look, in this place ran Hezza's dagger through:
See what a rent the envious Meyer made:
Through this the well-beloved Geoffrey stabb'd;
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Marg'ret follow'd it,
As rushing out of doors, to be resolved
If Geoffrey so unkindly knock'd, or no;
For Geoffrey, as you know, was Marg'ret's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Marg'ret loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Marg'ret saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquish'd her: then burst her mighty heart;
And, in her mantle muffling up her face,
Even at the base of Winston's statua,
Which all the while ran blood, great Marg'ret fell.
O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody treason flourish'd over us.
O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel
The dint of pity: these are gracious drops.
Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold
Our Marg'ret's vesture wounded? Look you here,
Here is herself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors.
Now you may ask with good reason "What cuts?".
[Third time posted. I seem to have lost the current thread in my grief.]
*Face palm* RT @BuzzFeedNews Cher fans are melting down because of this hashtag: #nowthatchersdead. Cher is not dead.
I join Margaret Thatcher’s family and the British people in mourning the loss of one of the 20th century’s most consequential leaders.
From a young age, Margaret Thatcher understood what limited government and free enterprise could do for people and helped modernize Great Britain’s economy. Her passion for freedom and in advocating for the dignity of people trapped behind communism’s Iron Curtain helped bring about the Soviet Union’s end.
As someone who grew up in the Ronald Reagan era, I admired the special bond he had with Margaret Thatcher. Through her work with Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher helped deepen and solidify the special relationship between our two countries, which continues to benefit both nations to this day.
We have lost a great leader, but Margaret Thatcher’s memory and legacy will always live on through the leadership lessons that defined her career. May God bless Margaret Thatcher and provide comfort to her family and those who admired her in Britain and around the world.
History will enshrine Margaret Thatcher as a transformational leader who helped defeat communism, promote freedom, and bring hope to the oppressed. Her penetrating words and compelling vision will last for generations.
- it practically bankrupted the UK and accelerated the rise of the US as the predominant power
- WW1 was the cause of WW2, increasingly they are being seen as two rounds of the same war
- WW1 led to massive social changes including the rise of the left ( encouraged by communism in Russia ), the emergence of women in society as they became the workforce ( the suffragettes were more like mumsnet poshos in big hats ), the destruction of the higher echelons of UK class through a lack of deference from the trenches and in many cases outright death and no succession, the soldiers demands for accelerated social change
- it set the Empire on the road to decay
While all the subsequent changes in UK society would no doubt have been achievable WW1 broke so many boundaries that it accelerated the social changes in the UK, sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/a-heroine-and-a-hate-figure-indifference-wasnt-an-option-when-it-came-to-lady-thatcher-8564563.html
He takes the opportunity to laud her views on the EU. The Independent goes Eurosceptic? Truly the world has turned upside down.
Following today's tributes, news reviews and old footage has been like a super history lesson covering the last fourty years. Made me feel very privileged to have lived through such interesting times.
I think that as well as qualifying and the race, practice will be live on BBC2 (although that will be very early in the morning). By chance, I caught a snippet of MotoGP the other day. Quite good to watch, I thought.
(It came down later in her premiership, and you can make a good case of the necessity of it etc. But the difference between campaign promises and government was a big as it gets.)
Why feel pain for the death of someone you didn't know, who lived to a great age, achieved so much and left a mark on history that is never going to be forgotten? Sadness, perhaps, a level of melancholy, but pain? Surely, as she is your political heroine, today is a day for rejoicing over what she did.
"Former Dartford candidate Margaret Thatcher dies" I suppose every local paper needs an angle http://www.bexleytimes.co.uk/news/breaking_former_dartford_candidate_margaret_thatcher_dies_1_2008213 …
Retweeted by Stephen Tall
Will he be joining Sean and Dave by cutting short his overseas travel to return to Britain to be with the people and share their grief?
"But in light of the perpetual crisis in which members of the Eurozone have found themselves since the onset of the financial banking crisis in 2007 as a result of misjudged integration, those negative judgments now appears wrong. In this respect at least, she was an example of the prophet without honour in her own country."
http://politicalbetting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/china-early-discussion.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/04/08/margaret-thatcher-hashtag-confuses-cher-fans/
Why feel pain for the death of someone you didn't know, who lived to a great age, achieved so much and left a mark on history that is never going to be forgotten? Sadness, perhaps, a level of melancholy, but pain? Surely, as she is your political heroine, today is a day for rejoicing over what she did.
Indeed. We should remember that when all the weeping and wailing starts as soon as St Nelson snuffs it and a new star is born in the firmament.
My feeling is that Blair will be judged to have presided over much bigger and more lasting social changes where we became a more caring and compassionate society.
Roger
5:12PM
This is the daftest comment I have ever read on this site, it beats even Tims nonsense.
Remember what the country was like in 1979 when she took over. What she achieved was remarkable and she will/is remembered as such.
When Blair came to power he inherited a golden economic legacy with benign economic conditions. He managed to destroy the country's finances and polarized the country between the rich and the poor more than any other PM. He lied to the country and created a culture of spin where truth didn't matter. He changed Britain from a country of achievers to a country of takers where "have you had an accident at work" became more important than a hard days work. He will be remembered as such.
http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/220638-council-says-stay-away-from-george-square-party-for-thatcher/
Can Rosie Winterton move the writ for South Shields in the middle of Thatcher's remembrance?
My feelings about Thatcher are similar to my feelings about Blair. And for similar reasons. I'll say no more.
Except she inspired me to get active in politics. I joined the Liberals in 1983.
How will James Kelly and malcolmg explain that?
What does one say of a great and formidable politician that changed, if only partially, the direction in which GB was travelling. Margaret Thatcher will always be a symbol of what can be achieved with guts, passion and a little luck. It won't however, be the conservatives which will carry her torch into the future. The future is UKIP!
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/PDF/Thatcher_Margaret.pdf
“Margaret Thatcher was to me a figure of awe for her personal strength and grit. I was honoured to try to imagine her late life journey, after power; but I have only a glancing understanding of what her many struggles were, and how she managed to sail through to the other side.”
“To have withstood the special hatred and ridicule, unprecedented in my opinion, leveled in our time at a public figure who was not a mass murderer; and to have managed to keep her convictions attached to fervent ideals and ideas - wrongheaded or misguided as we might see them now-without corruption - I see that as evidence of some kind of greatness, worthy for the argument of history to settle.”
“To have given women and girls around the world reason to supplant fantasies of being princesses with a different dream: the real-life option of leading their nation; this was groundbreaking and admirable.”
She was a great politician but I'll save my tears for when Nelson Mandela dies.
There's just a handful of ghouls at that pathetic " party " . Their banner is predictably green and white.
Manufacturing as a percentage of GDP:
1970: 20.57%
1979: 17.62%
1990: 15.18%
2010: 9.68%
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/datablog/2013/apr/08/britain-changed-margaret-thatcher-charts
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says:
"Her service as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was a history-making achievement.
"Her strength of conviction was recognised by her closest supporters and her strongest opponents. I extend my sincere condolences and those of my fellow Australians to her family and friends."
President Obama says:
With the passing of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend. As a grocer’s daughter who rose to become Britain’s first female prime minister, she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can’t be shattered. As prime minister, she helped restore the confidence and pride that has always been the hallmark of Britain at its best. And as an unapologetic supporter of our transatlantic alliance, she knew that with strength and resolve we could win the Cold War and extend freedom’s promise.
Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history—we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will. Michelle and I send our thoughts to the Thatcher family and all the British people as we carry on the work to which she dedicated her life—free peoples standing together, determined to write our own destiny
Former US President George HW Bush says:
Barbara and I were deeply saddened to learn of Baroness Thatcher's passing, and extend our heartfelt condolences to her children and loved ones. Margaret was, to be sure, one of the 20th Century's fiercest advocates of freedom and free markets -- a leader of rare character who carried high the banner of her convictions, and whose principles in the end helped shape a better, freer world. The personal grief we Bushes feel is compounded by the knowledge that America has lost one of the staunchest allies we have ever known; and yet we have confidence that her sterling record of accomplishment will inspire future generations. May God bless the memory of Margaret Thatcher.
Vaclav Klaus, former Czech president, prime minister says:
Thatcher was one of the greatest politicians of our time, in the Czech Republic she was our hero.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said:
I mourn the passing of Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher. She was truly a great leader, a woman of principle, of determination, of conviction, of strength; a woman of greatness. She was a staunch friend of Israel and the Jewish people. She inspired a generation of political leaders. I send my most sincere condolences to her family and to the government and people of Great Britain.
Tony Blair says:
Margaret Thatcher was a towering political figure. Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast. And some of the changes she made in Britain were, in certain respects at least, retained by the 1997 Labour Government, and came to be implemented by governments around the world.
As a person she was kind and generous spirited and was always immensely supportive to me as Prime Minister although we came from opposite sides of politics.
Even if you disagreed with her as I did on certain issues and occasionally strongly, you could not disrespect her character or her contribution to Britain's national life. She will be sadly missed.
Gordon Brown says:
Sarah and I have sent messages to Lady Thatcher's son Mark and daughter Carol, offering our condolences to them and to the Thatcher family and commemorating Lady Thatcher's many decades of service to our country.
She will be remembered not only for being Britain's first female Prime Minister and holding the office for 11 years, but also for the determination and resilience with which she carried out all her duties throughout her public life. Even those who disagreed with her never doubted the strength of her convictions and her unwavering belief in Britain's destiny in the world.
During our time in Number 10, Sarah and I invited Lady Thatcher to revisit Downing Street and Chequers - something which we know she enjoyed very much. But it was sad for her and her family that she lost her devoted husband Denis almost 10 years ago and that she was unable to enjoy good health in the later years of her retirement.
It's like anything else Mick you can find offence if you're looking for it, most people can be arsed to go looking to be offended.
Ask Saatchi & Saatchi. Ask her 'bulldog' Press Secretary Spin Doctor Bernard Ingham. Ask all those PR consultants and minions who modulated her voice, sculpted her hair, dressed her in her power handbag and colour coordinated matching garb.
As I said she was a great politician. She did what she thought was needed in 1979 and it dragged this country kicking and screaming back to effectiveness but she also got a lot of things wrong, sometimes badly so. I've noticed a lot of people shrugging their shoulders today. The world moved on.
She was a great politician but I'll save my tears for when Nelson Mandela dies.
Tears of laughter?
A personal friend of yours is he? Still there will be plenty more on that particular bandwagon. I dare say "the whole world".
“She was a leader of strong convictions, great leadership abilities and extraordinary personality. She was a woman who [knew that] a leader needed to have strong convictions because the public had no way of orienting itself unless its leadership, its leaders gave it the real push. She didn’t think it was her job to find the middle ground.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said:
"As a long-serving prime minister, she shaped modern Britain as few have before or since. She was one of the greatest leaders in world politics of her time. The freedom of the individual was at the centre of her beliefs so she recognised very early the power of the movements for freedom in Eastern Europe. And she supported them. I will never forget her contribution in overcoming Europe's partition and the end of the Cold War.
"Margaret Thatcher was not a feminist but by proving herself as a woman in the highest democratic post when this was far from usual, she gave an example to many. My thoughts and sympathy are with her children."
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Lady Thatcher was "a true landmark in 20th-century history" and said today was "a sad day for Europe as a whole." He adds:
"Margaret Thatcher led the UK government at a key moment in history. Her unerring commitment to freedom, democracy and the rule of law, as well as her firm determination to reform, constitute a most valuable legacy for European leaders who, akin to the 80s when it was her turn to be in power, have to face very complex challenges which require greatly ambitious stances and political courage."
Former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy says:
My sincere sympathy goes out to the Thatcher family. We remember today a landmark political figure, both at home and abroad.
Condoleezza Rice said she was "honoured to know and to be inspired" by Margaret
Thatcher:
I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Baroness Thatcher.
There was no more potent force in the defense of freedom than this remarkable woman.
Her unshakable belief in the universal appeal of liberty helped to steer the free world through treacherous times until communism was defeated and Europe emerged whole, free and a peace.
I was honoured to know her and to be inspired by her. Baroness Thatcher will be missed but generations will draw strength from the memory of her passion for freedom.
President Francois Hollande says:
"Throughout her public life, with conservative beliefs she fully assumed, she was concerned with the United Kingdom's influence and the defence of its interests.
She maintained a relationship with France that was frank and honest.
Together they (Baroness Thatcher and former French president Francois Mitterrand) worked to strengthen the ties between our two countries. And it was at this time that Mrs Thatcher gave the decisive impetus to the construction of the cross-Channel tunnel.
Helmut Kohl says:
"I greatly valued Margaret Thatcher for her love of freedom, her incomparable openness, honesty and straightforwardness
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said: "Prime Minister Thatcher was one of the greatest leaders the world knew.”
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, who in 2005 became the first female president of an African country, says:
"I admired her strength and tenacity. I admired her ability to make decisions, even when they were unpopular. And that's why she was called the Iron Lady, and I dare say that I'm also called the Iron Lady."
From the top of my head, a motion to the effect that the Speaker do issue his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new writ for the electing of a Member of Parliament has precedence, and may be continued with if opposed, on any day other than that at which private Members' Bills have precedence (Standing Order 19). Happy to be corrected about that if mistaken.
I recently gave £50 to this excellent initiative for a statue of her in her home town of Grantham. We don't much go in for statutue's by public subscription these days, but for this colossus we should make an exception.
Why not join me and make a donation in tribute?
http://www.margaretthatcherstatue.org/ and for all the PB lefties it even has the support of the town's Labour councillors support it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-21647525
"I admired her strength and tenacity. I admired her ability to make decisions, even when they were unpopular. And that's why she was called the Iron Lady, and I dare say that I'm also called the Iron Lady."
Bill Clinton says:
"Lady Thatcher understood that the special relationship which has long
united our two nations is an indispensable foundation for peace and
prosperity. Our strong partnership today is part of her
legacy".
Lord Mandelson says:
"I'm not sure whether I saw her as an inspiration. I certainly saw her as a force to be reckoned
with, I mean a political and electoral force that was almost overwhelming.
"I think also, on reflection, to be honest, I would say that she introduced, she ushered in, a timely and necessary overhaul of the UK economy in many ways.
"The problem I have with that reflection, though, is that I think in other ways she was too indifferent to the social consequences of the economic changes she was undertaking."
Arnold Schwarzenegger says:
Margaret Thatcher was a visionary, a warrior and a once-in-a-lifetime leader who left the world better than she found it. We'll miss her.
Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, says:
"She was a transformative figure under whom the United Kingdom registered important progress on the national and international arena. People of India join me in sending our sincerest condolences to the Thatcher family, the government and people of the United Kingdom.”
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says:
"While many in positions of power are defined by the times in which they govern, Margaret Thatcher had that rarest of abilities to herself personify and define the age in which she served.
"Indeed, with the success of her economic policies, she defined contemporary conservatism itself.
"In 2006 I met with her in London, where she provided me wise and gracious counsel, the memory of which I will forever cherish. Laureen (Mr Harper's wife) and I join all Canadians in saluting the proud life and legacy of Lady Thatcher."
Geri Halliwell tweets:
Thinking of our 1st Lady of girl power ,Margaret Thatcher , a green grocer's daughter who taught me any thing is possible...x
Lord Sugar tweets:
Baroness Thatcher in the 80's kicked started the entrepreneurial revolution that allowed chirpy chappies to succeed and not just the elite...
Some of the despicable scum tweeting foul mouth comments on my Baroness Thatcher tweet, were still drinking milk from a teat in the 80s
Former President George W. Bush called her an “inspirational leader.”
Continue Reading
“Laura and I are saddened by the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. She was an inspirational leader who stood on principle and guided her nation with confidence and clarity,” Bush said in a statement.
“Prime Minister Thatcher is a great example of strength and character, and a great ally who strengthened the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. Laura and I join the people of Great Britain in remembering the life and leadership of this strong woman and friend.”
Australian Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott issued the following statement tonight upon news of the death of former British prime minister Baroness Thatcher:
Margaret Thatcher was one of the greatest British prime ministers and one of the most significant world leaders of our times.
She was the first female prime minister of Great Britain and ranks with the greatest of prime ministers because of the quality of her leadership and the impact she had on Britain and the wider world.
Margaret Thatcher arrested the decline of Britain and gave the British people renewed confidence. She ensured the British people no longer simply dwelt on the glories of the past but could enjoy a strong and prosperous future.
The thoughts of the Coalition are with Baroness Thatcher’s family and the British people at this time.
" She has a pretty face, hasn't she? I expect she's pretty tough. Her great virtue is saying that two and two makes four, which is unpopular nowadays as it always has been. I adore Mrs Thatcher. At last politics make sense to me, which it hasn't since Stafford Cripps."
On the politics. Obviously I don't think she did this country much good and many of the problems we face now are as a direct result of the decisions she made.
Mensch has non of those qualities. The inability to bide ones time, take the long game and pick only certain battles by the likes of Mensch illustrates clearly why Thatcher could win General Elections and the current lot can't.
Perhaps you also think Saatchi & Saatchi were an insignificant Public Relations partnership who disappeared into obscurity when she was in power?
Hope that's not too disrespectful to those of you eulogising her, but Runcie's point always stuck with me. It's something she didn't have, and in other ways it manifested in her failings. Anyway she did a great job back in '79, finishing what Heath didn't have the balls to do in 70-74.
Right other things to do ...
I bet the little twerp Hatton has been saving that piece of Wilde-like wit up for years and contacted friends in the media to get it out.
'Conservatives have voted against a plan to build a statue of Margaret Thatcher in her hometown of Grantham, an idea that was backed by Labour councillors.
Labour councillors at South Kesteven District Council said they believed the statue would be a tourist attraction in the town where the Iron Lady grew up, which currently only has a small plaque on the wall of the store, which Thatcher's family owned.
Tories in the town called Labour's campaign "blatant electioneering" and "publicity-seeking", according to the Telegraph.
The statue does not appear to have a great deal of local support. In a letter to the Grantham Journal, local resident Anthony Hindmarch wrote: "I think it is safe to say that anyone who thinks tourism is going to result from the erection of a statue of Thatcher, is probably living in cloud cuckoo land. Personally I loathe Maggie and all she stood for. All I ask is that no public money be used to erect any statue. The economic wasteland that is Grantham, is testament enough to Thatcherism."'
http://tinyurl.com/btwu2zt