Baroness Thatcher

[bill]

With 99% of posters having you believe that not only do they hate Mrs Thatcher, but they have never even met anyone who openly admires her(apart from me), you have to wonder where all the voters are that put her into no.10 three times on the trot.

[Wee Toon Ajax]

With 99% of posters having you believe that not only do they hate Mrs Thatcher, but they have never even met anyone who openly admires her(apart from me), you have to wonder where all the voters are that put her into no.10 three times on the trot.

From the people who benefited most from her - the English middle classes, the very same ones who New Labour relied upon to get into power.

Although having said that Argyll did return a Tory MP in her first 2 terms of office, so somebody in the area must have liked her at one point in time

[Govangirl]

She capitalised on greed and selfishness, that's why. Many voted for her when the trade unions were destroying our industry and she did an excellent job in controlling their power, I'll give you that. I'd even agree that she had a few good economic policies BUT she was a cold and ruthless woman who cared nothing for the man on the street and this attitude plus her administration's steady erosion of the country's institutions has left us all worse off today. And most of us have recognised this.

[EMDEE]

Although having said that Argyll did return a Tory MP in her first 2 terms of office, so somebody in the area must have liked her at one point in time

I think John MacKay benefited from being known in part of the constituency from his previous career as a Maths teacher in Oban High School. However, as Maggie's government progressed into its second term, it became obvious that he had become one of her acolytes in Edinburgh and was pursuing his own career path, and he was thrown out by the Argyll electorate and replaced by Ray Michie, who was an excellent MP until her retirement.

It is interesting to remember that J MacKay stood as a Liberal candidate in at least one (?) General Election before he was elected after changing his party. Of course we also must remember that Churchill did the same thing.

[Beachcomber]

With 99% of posters having you believe that not only do they hate Mrs Thatcher, but they have never even met anyone who openly admires her(apart from me), you have to wonder where all the voters are that put her into no.10 three times on the trot.

Some things about her I admired. She was a very strong leader; she took on the NUM and broke them. (I'm just about old enough to remember the three-day week and regular power cuts.)

During the Falklands, when the decision on whether to sink the Gnl. Belgrano had to be made she didn't quibble or form a quango to discuss it - she got on with the job, however distasteful it was. Can you imagine Blair or Brown put in a similar position? (Not that we've got enough servicemen available to form a taskforce at the moment.)

In the mid-eighties I was a fresh-faced newly-wed (wife No.1) - just left home (council house) and struggling to pay the mortgage - some things never change - and I'll confess to having voted Tory on more than one occasion.

The Poll Tax was introduced under her administration. A good idea in principle but let down by poor implementation that resulted in next-door-neighbours paying vastly different amounts of money for the same service, just because they had different postcodes and fell under a different council. (Stupid idea to introduce it in Scotland first, though - should have been all or nothing.)

And what would Spitting Image have done without Maggie? One of the funniest programmes on TV at the time, and still good if you can find it on BitTorrent. I'll never forget their Maggie puppet going into a Commons toilet and peeing into the urinal. And as for Normal Tebbit's leather clad mannequin...

One of her biggest blunders, though, was in not knowing when it was time to go, and one which so many politicians make.

So I'm mildly fond of Maggie, and willing to forgive a lot of the mad stuff that went on, such as selling off the family jewels for a song.

She had wire in the blood back then -something that seems to be sadly lacking in our current breed of limp-wristed politicians.

[Beachcomber]

She capitalised on greed and selfishness, that's why.

Show me a front bench politician that doesn't. If they didn't do that they'd have to get real jobs!

[Beachcomber]

She capitalised on greed and selfishness, that's why.

Show me a front bench politician that doesn't. If they didn't do that they'd have to get real jobs!

I wrote to Alan Reid MP recently. He professes to be in favour of more transparent government and accountability.

I was asking him how much he'd claimed in expenses over the last couple of years. The reply I got back was that he didn't keep records and I'd have to wait till the Commons released the information later this year.

Classic fob-off.

I've since discovered that he claimed more than £133,000s last year, and more than £107,000s the year before - but he doesn't keep records because it's piddling small change, eh?

[EMDEE]

I was asking him how much he'd claimed in expenses over the last couple of years. The reply I got back was that he didn't keep records

I wonder if HM Revenue and Customs would accept that reply from a taxpayer who was being investigated?

[bill]

Well, sorry to rattle your Thatcher-loving cage Sheik but yes, our present society (oops sorry, like her, you'll believe "There's no such thing as society")

The quote in context for once:

Margaret Thatcher was being critical of people who looked to the state to solve every difficulty.

She said: 'They are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's 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 after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours.'

[Govangirl]

An epitaph for her time in government. Sorry but even in context, nothing that Thatcher has ever said resonates quite so deeply as that statement.
I actually agree that an abstract concept of society is too often used as a convenient solution for problems.
I also agree that with rights come responsibilities.
My problem comes with her hypocrisy in NOT looking after her neighbours!

Mind you, in this area, Blair wasn't any better........

[EMDEE]

I suppose our individual interpretations of that statement would be affected by whether we see her as a demigod or a demagogue.

[petewick]

With 99% of posters having you believe that not only do they hate Mrs Thatcher, but they have never even met anyone who openly admires her(apart from me), you have to wonder where all the voters are that put her into no.10 three times on the trot.

Aye that's true, ditto in Berlin 1945, you could'nt find a Nazi supporter there either.

[Govangirl]

Aye that's true, ditto in Berlin 1945, you could'nt find a Nazi supporter there either.

I wanted to go along that route too, petewick, but thought I daren't as I'd have every Tom, Dick and Sheik jumping on me but well said.

[four eyes]

OMG - I humbly apologise to everyone associated with Britain. It seems we now live in a place where no-one can afford houses, Poles can't earn a decent wage and no-one can afford to have children. All seemingly because of one woman, 30 years ago.

In the words of Private Fraser - Doomed, Doomed we're all doomed!

I'm astounded that everything appears to be so bleak in this country, no wonder people call us a nation of whingeing gits!

Would the last of you to leave the country please switch the lights off I've got my torch at the ready.

Right on sheiky,no one can afford a house anymore,poles send all their money back to Poland along with teir kids once they are getting benefits for them.
Kids costa fortune to keep then stab you if you remove their ps 2.
The sun only shines on tv.

[ionnsaigh]

Thatcher was a conservative. She was a capitalist. a devotee and advocate of a free market economy. Yet some apologists who post appear to admire or for some worship - the type of a harsh individualistic utterly selfish - Calvinistic sort of life. I suppose some would argue strong leadership. She refused or couldn't recognise - both the cultural - and human capability to care for each other.
In other words - some of us were not prepared to turn our backs on our fellow people. Our herd instinct kicked in - and we the people - kicked the living daylights out of that monster.