Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of politics or politicians. That stated; the media noise around the death of Margaret Thatcher (MT) is worth a blog post. As I grew from a child into an adult, it was MT that ran the country and so I have first-hand experience of her policies – like the hated Poll Tax (in fact I was probably one of the only teenagers in the country that paid it – more fool me).
Despite my aversion to politics, I think that Maggie was an impressive character and deserving of her place in history amongst the political elite of this country. I didn’t, and still don’t, agree with some of her policies and perspectives but her grit, focus, determination, conviction and sheer hard work were undoubted.
If you think about great PMs from our political history (Churchill, Disraeli, Gladstone etc.), Margaret Thatcher will be remembered for centuries to come. The same couldn’t be said for some of our recent crop of hapless leaders. David Cameron and Gordon Brown for example will be long forgotten long before they die and will certainly not be deserving of a state funeral.
I have found the celebrations in certain quarters about her death to be thoroughly distasteful; the individuals shown on the news should feel ashamed of themselves. I have no problem with Maggie receiving tributes in the House of Commons or getting a decent funeral; in fact I am delighted that the Queen will be attending.
Maggie Thatcher polarised opinions in this country but my belief is that she made a positive difference to this country when it damn well needed it. As much as I love the seventies, Maggie helped fix the stuff that had turned to shit during the decade (think constant strikes, the three day week, economic gloom and power cuts). And she didn’t have extra martial affairs or break the law or fiddle her expenses or pander to the media whilst she was doing it.
Maggie was a working mother, was very much a woman in a man’s world and had a decent set of beliefs and values. I can’t help thinking that we could do with an equally powerful and trustworthy leader to shake this country out of the economic mess it finds itself in now. Cameron certainly isn’t the man for the job, and neither is Boris Johnson for that matter.
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