But Thatcher was a naturally, perhaps incurably, divisive figure. Get over her! And we won back three we lost at by-elections. And on the 11th June, we even won some nine seats we failed to gain in 1983. Where once we stood within a recognisable postwar social democratic European tradition, after Thatcher the country had rowed halfway across the Atlantic, psychologically imbued with US neoliberal individualism. But the sense of community evaporated. Few would argue that they have not endured. At an international conference in Lisbon in the late 80s, the British faction, among whom were Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, Malcolm Bradbury and myself, referred back to Thatcher constantly in our presentations. So it suggests the anachronistic and unaffordable return to a contributory welfare system, while opposing the further opening up of education and health provision; some even float the renationalisation of railways. She certainly was divisive, bisecting the country politically and geographically: hard-hit regions in the north of England, Wales and Scotland may be notably less civil in their farewells. Britain ceased to be the sick man of Europe and entered the 1990s with its reputation enhanced. Now she would more likely have been beaten to the Tory leadership by one of the Etonians in cabinet. Given the global economic crisis, rampant corporate greed and growing inequality, this should be a time of great ferment, with endless policy proposals bubbling up to challenge the post-Thatcher consensus at a time of immense and unsettling change. Neither shift of ownership and power would have happened without a leader prepared to take risks with her life. There were sporadic resurrections. She was an ardent pro-European, and her 1979 manifesto made no mention of radical union reform or privatisation. Hire writer now Order. It was illegal to put an extension lead on your phone. speech which caused the Soviets to dub her "the Iron Lady", one This has been a terrible labour, she said. Gaze at the telephone. Her unforgettable presence, but also her policy achievements. Only today are we facing the cost. Ingham's rough redraft of my speech with very little success. It was a visit warmly welcomed by President Reagan, with a resplendent state nner on the first evening. On June 11th, 2004 Margaret Thatcher gave a speech to the American people at Ronald Reagan's funeral. her intention to allow her name to go forward to the second ballot, she Trying to trim back spending in her department, she ended the milk subsidies for all children over the age of seven. wrong with politics? Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture . Nor, contrary to myth, did Thatcherism emerge fully formed in May 1979. Tim Bale, author of The Conservative Party: from Thatcher to Cameron, says it was conviction. Government policy during the 1980s was little more than a war policy, aimed at defeating or isolating republicanism. She will be for ever unforgiven by those who now see worse being done in her name to another generation. Is that what made her so formidable, her ability to ignore the suffering of others? That's history, but what matters to us is her legacy now that her heirs and imitators rule in her wake. Rather, she was a classic example of a certain kind of conservative woman who believed that all women should pull themselves up just as she had done, conveniently overlooking that not all women are blessed with the privileges that had been available to her, such as a wealthy and supportive husband and domestic help. She was a radical conservative, known for dismantling nationalized industries and social services, weakening union power.She was also the first incumbent prime minister in the UK removed on a vote of their own party. But if today's Guardian readers time-travelled to the late 70s they might be irritated to discover that tomorrow's TV listings were a state secret not shared with daily newspapers. Their target was "the enemy within" working-class power and the so-called culture of entitlement. they did not want her to go on (21 November) and that night she made the Margaret Flowers is a leading activist, doctor, teacher, and co-founder of PopularResistance.org, a website that aims to inform and inspire grassroots movements around the world. She, and Blair after her, brought an unprecedented dirigisme to the NHS, education, police and local government. Somesay she revolutionised British politics certainly never again could people say nobody would vote for a woman but it served a reactionary end. deeply felt eulogy, filmed in advance and relayed by video link to screens in the National Cathedral in Washington. The government's job was to keep inflation low, not to boost growth through demand management. Its impact on the streets of the north is evident in the statistics of death. Copyright Margaret Thatcher Foundation 2023. Mrs Thatcher told the assembly: "It is mankind and his activities which are changing the environment of our planet in damaging and dangerous ways.". Materialistic individualism was blessed as a virtue, the driver of national success. Meanwhile, you struggle to identify deep thinkers in party ranks beyond a couple of veteran stalwarts; even the left's thinktanks appear moribund or merely harking back to an idealised past. She was lucky in surviving the IRA's bomb. It was thoroughly "wet". Donning a starched coiff and padded shoulders out to there, Emmy Award winner Gillian Anderson of The X-Files is . Here is a selection of the best writing from commentators, politicians and journalists on the legacy of Margaret Thatcher's 11 years in power - and on her continuing impact in the time following her downfall, as figures from across the political spectrum examine the legacy of one of the most important political figures from the last half-century, this (appropriately diplomatic) statement from President Obama, key role not only in bringing about the first Gulf War, publicly advocate for the 2003 attack on Iraq, the Guardian reported upon the death last month of Hugo Chavez, the Daily Mail has morefemale bylines than any other UK paper, Alan Krueger, chair of Obama's council of economic advisers, nor does the balance of research evidence suggest that greater inequality acts as a spur to growth, decline in trade union membership and the rise in inequality, intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, the primary force behind what was known then as alternative comedy, Rik Mayall's student rants in The Young Ones, wicked, incompetent mindset that was the spirit of the 80s, "very fashionable in the Guardian for a few months before the financial crisis". Margaret Thatcher Curriculum Vitae. see them re-imposed at a European level with a European super-state exercising I was on my own. The appointment was a 20-minute audience with the . three press interviews (15-17 November) when Howe's resignation speech One turns with gratitude to Alan Clark's diaries for a fine description of being summoned to No 10 and being subjected to just such an examination. November 15, 2020 9:00 AM EST. Privatisation was the single most massive attack on democracy we have seen. She failed to replace those jobs with well-paid equivalents. In a twitter of panic, Labour shadow ministers sent out pleas yesterday: "Hoping all Labour supporters will respond with dignity and respect to news of Baroness Thatcher's death." This was hardly the first or even the worst example of a dig at Thatcher tinged so needlessly with sexism. Ithink on balance, it was for the better, and so, plainly did Thatcher's chief successor, Tony Blair. talked of "Victorian Values". We were not unique in such a response but she failed to appreciate that Scots are balanced, canny folk insofar as we have a well-developed chip on each shoulder. Accounts vary. Thirdly, industrial policy was all but abandoned. One might even credit Thatcher with a willingness to jettison the old rules and conventions that used to prevent individuals deciding their own destiny. Such items have an I know from my own indulgence in selfish behaviour that it's much easier to get what you want if you remove from consideration the effect your actions will have on others. Prime Minister Thatcher delivered the fourth speech to Congress by a British prime minister. They looked after their old and young as well as those who were ill or infirm. The young men were those whose childhood was blighted by the effects of relative poverty and inequality on family life. There was, for example, the time in the late 1970s when, as Opposition Leader, she almost succeeded in censoring the one half-decent joke in a key campaign speech. Being a woman is undoubtedly one of the features, possibly the most potent, that makes her ascent to power memorable, 25 years on, in a way that applied to no man. Ronald Reagan, the former 40th president of the United States died on June 5th of 2004. Fourthly, policy was aimed at those who, according to the prime minister, wanted to get on in life. And by my own firsthand experience, it was genuine to the core. departing Downing Street on 28 November. By the 1983 election she had sold off only Britoil and some council houses. Thatcher will be especially remembered for her shameful role during the epic hunger strikes of 1980 and 81. While Labour was now "intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich", ambitious feminism wanted to be let in to the boardroom and every corridor of power that and little else is what they mean by changing the world. It destroyed the public's power to determine via parliament the services and prices of gas, electricity, telephone. I hope I'm not being reductive but it seems Thatcher's time in power was solely spent diminishing the resources of those who had least for the advancement of those who had most. It is no coincidence the three most influential centre-right thinktanks were all conceived over the following months. Of course, it's in politics that the shadow looms most clearly. Thatcher jokes were big business, from Rik Mayall's student rants in The Young Ones, to Harry Enfield's satire of Thatcher's children with his Loadsamoney character. But we reckoned we got Thatcher only too well and didn't like what we saw, far less what we heard. It knew what Thatcher wanted. Instead state assets and a huge income stream from North sea oil were used to fund a populist programme of tax cuts, privatisation and council housesales. It's kind of a luxury rent-controlled ghetto for lawyers and barristers, and there is a beautiful tailors, a fine chapel, established by the Knights Templar (from which the compound takes its name), a twee cottage designed by Sir Christopher Wren and a rose garden; which I never promised you. No children excluded from school activities because mothers couldn't pay. That bonuses and top incomes continue to rise while the incomes of the rest of the population struggle to keep up with inflation tells us that what we needed was legislation to ensure employee representation on company boards and remuneration committees as many of our European partners have. Her refusal to stand against apartheid, her civil war against the unions, her aggression towards our neighbours in Ireland and a taxation system that was devised in the dark ages, the bombing of a retreating ship it's just not British. The 1978 meeting was their last in person until Mrs Thatcher became Reagan's first state visitor, 26-28 February 1981. The Big Bang of City deregulation, the Tell Sid scramble for buying and selling shares, the sense that money is the highest value, wealth the greatest sign of worth all these were hallmarks of the Thatcher era in its mid-80s pomp. Police charges against picketing union printers in Wapping enabled the Murdoch empire to flourish, ensuring their power and hers. Superlatives can be agreed: a remarkable first woman PM; the first winner of three elections in a row; brave; tough; relentless; clever; sleeplessly driven by a self-confident conviction that overawed her enemies. John Major, the "detoxification" successor, was fated to implement many of her unattempted reforms. Those strikes were confusing to me as a child. Rows with Lawson and Geoffrey Howe over a European currency (where she was right) presaged the final shambles of the poll tax. Since 1990 a selection of statements is listed. In fact, several countries have adopted these ideas with startlingly successful results; just changing the wording on some forms raised an extra 200m income tax in Britain, while personalised text messages drastically reduced the use of bailiffs to recover court fines. Hugo Young was a political columnist forthe Guardian from 1984 until 2003 and biographer of Margaret Thatcher. And for the people of Ireland, and especially the north, the Thatcher years were among some of the worst of the conflict. Heath took us into Europe, and a referendum in spring 1975 confirmed national approval for the move. But on the subject of Europe, Thatcher became a contradictory figure. "Fatcha" was an instant punchline back then: simply saying it was enough to get a laugh. Deep-seated and long overdue reforms of the 1980s paved the way for the long 16-year boom between 1992 and 2008. Maggie was a fully formed comedy character before comedians had even gotten to her. Interviewing him, I was struck by a Victorian sort of kindness; as an Oxford student in the 1930s he'd worked in his vacation helping families of the unemployed in the Yorkshire coalfield one of them had even named their baby Keith in his honour. There was always an element of the erotic in the national obsession with her. . That one should not speak ill of the dead is arguably appropriate when a private person dies, but it is wildly inappropriate for the death of a controversial public figure, particularly one who wielded significant influence and political power. Rishi Sunak: 'Our country needs the . She was immensely brisk. When I awoke today on LA time my phone was full of impertinent digital eulogies. The battle with the miners and leftwing councils lay ahead, as did the trauma of an IRA assassination bid. To the victors we saycongratulations. This is one small sign of how the left seems paralysed by a lack of intellectual curiosity and confidence. One Sunday recently while staying in London, I took a stroll in the gardens of Temple, the insular clod of quads and offices between the Strand and the Embankment. Many of today's more controversial benefits, such as disability, date back to the 80s. Seizing her chariot's reins to drive it on recklessly, they lack her brains, experience and political skill. Draining down those 11 years to their memorable essence, what does one light upon? True, Labour, James Callaghan and the unions played their part by blocking Barbara Castle's In Place of Strife attempt to create German or Nordic co-operation between unions and industry that might have rescued unions from Thatcher's crushing. This, too, we still live with. By 1990 it was transformed. That speech was a rare instance of a politician saying something tangible. That, plus (inevitable) de-industrialisation, coupled to her perceived overbearing and patronising manner. They do not have to charm, schmooze or play tag with the press. But keeping the show on the road is what all of them must first attend to, because there's nobody else to do it. In fact, Margaret Thatcher was known for her lack of a sense of humour. This was a historic step, and resulted in further reinforcing the US-UK alliance. At Bruges in September 1988 she outraged European orthodoxy by declaring: The most widely used measure of income differences shows inequality increasing by more than a third during her period in office. For those of us who were dismayed by her brisk distaste for that cosy state-dominated world, it was never enough to dislike her. Without the Falklands/Malvinas war, which exploited nationalism (as Argentinian dictator Galtieri did) and which Labour would not oppose, she would never have been re-elected in 1983. The blunt, pathetic reality today is that a little old lady has died, who in the winter of her life had to water roses alone under police supervision. All rights reserved. Thatcher's title is Baroness. Narrowly judged, the Thatcher economic revolution was a success. To demand that all of that be ignored in the face of one-sided requiems to her nobility and greatness is a bit bullying and tyrannical, not to mention warped. Without it, she would have been nothing. And that made it easy to mock her. There turned out to be no such thing as society, at least in the sense we used to understand it. By 1987, anti-Tory tactical voting had taken hold. That's because, 23 years after she was ejected from Downing Street by her own party in a move whose psychic wounds linger on, the country we live in remains Thatcher's Britain. Hewrote this piece in 2003, two weeks before he died. Margaret expresses that Reagan's leadership was the key to ending The Cold War and unifying a formerly divided nation. At a banquet in Belgrade the press sat next to the so-called "Garden Girls", who were the secretaries at No 10. Out!" Tasteless." In towns and valleys poleaxed by the Iron Lady, there may be glasses raised at her passing. But it was overlaid by the supposedly masculine virtues, sometimes more manly than the men could ever assemble. North sea oil was squandered when it should have seeded new industries. Each now seems banal. This report of the Conservative party conference ran in the Guardian on Saturday October 11 1980, Edited and full versions of Margaret Thatcher's 'The lady's not for turning' speech, delivered at the Conservative party conference in Brighton on 10 October 1980, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every But it was the killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane in February 1989 that reveals the depth of the Thatcher government's state collusion policy. An author and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan staked her claim to speechwriting fame as a primary writer for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.Her notable speeches include Reagan's "Boys of Pointe du Hoc" address, given on the 40 th anniversary of D-Daythe day Allied troops invaded Normandy in World War IIas well as the former president's . It'd be disingenuous to omit that there were a fair number of ding-dong-style celebratory messages amidst the pensive reflections on the end of an era. But look at this typical difference between her and her imitators: where Cameron has charged into Europe, taking his party out of the influential European People's party of natural allies, making enemies and building no useful coalitions, it was she who signed the Single European Act, understanding its importance for British trade, careful to make allies as well as swinging her handbag. which revealed a good deal as to her political (Interestingly, Currie also recalled that when she approached Thatcher in 1988 to get approval for the world's first national breast-screening programme, she tried to appeal to the PM initially "as a woman" but that swiftly proved unsuccessful. And nor could Thatcher, much to her relief as she allegedly abhorred the word, as doubtless Chanel did, too. Thatcher did not believe in "picking winners"; instead she preferred to rely on market forces to ensure the survival of the fittest. Public Statements of Margaret Thatcher on CD-ROM, 1945-90, edited Christopher Sent Bobby Sands to an Irish hero's grave without a blink. Alexei Sayle blames Twitter and the "multiplicity of voices" in the modern world. She describes Reagan as her friend and continues to narrate his good acts in America during his presidency. When I started knocking on Highland doors in May 1983, two things struck me more than any other. You can get the Turnitin report from the writer on request along with the final deliverable. Promises. The woman, however, changed. The romantic image of the lady in the tank spurs them on. No elderly person would be deprived of the dignity of spectacles, dentures or a hearing aid because they couldn't afford them. 4.44 avg rating 39 ratings 2 editions. In 1984 Britain had 186 working coalmines and approximately 170,000 coalminers. Arguably, it was not the sale of council houses that was the problem, but the failure to replace the stock and maintain a sufficient supply of affordable homes. How dare her apologists and beneficiaries of her legacy refer to trade unions like the NUM as "corrupt" in the face of their bonuses and tax cuts! Reagan was received coolly, and the discussion was highly superficial, if only because the British side clearly did not care to engage on substance: meet for a serious discussion with a movie actor and a "Grade B" actor at that? But growth rates in the decades since her period in office have been lower than during those that preceded her; nor does the balance of research evidence suggest that greater inequality acts as a spur to growth. Here is an excerpt from People [PMT]: "In politics," Margaret Thatcher once acidly observed, "if you want anything said, ask a man. Here, for instance, was what the Guardian reported upon the death last month of Hugo Chavez: "To the millions who detested him as a thug and charlatan, it will be occasion to bid, vocally or discreetly, good riddance.". She mesmerised us. CD icon next to them in the second column of the results list. In her eulogy for the former president, Thatcher uses specific structure, tone and diction, and word choices throughout her writing to . She wanted to win, but did not put much faith in the quick smile. Indeed a person with achemistry that repelled almost all thesignificant males in Edward Heath's cabinet who could never become theparty leader. Though she recognised the dangers of global warming, Thatcher's industrial and economic policies prioritised economic growth. The pomp and circumstance that will crown her funeral was proffered by Brown, to some shudders from his own side. Underestimating Ronald Reagan was an error committed by many of his critics and opponents; Reagan never minded a bit, thinking that being underestimated yielded him a significant advantage. with the European Community when she Maggie! Moreover, it's hard not to see the roots of the 2008 crash in the unshackling of the City two decades earlier. She led Britain further into Europe, while talking us further out. Respected, viewed with awe, a conviction politician, but if liking came into it, that was an accident. Either way, I'm an adult now and none of those things are on telly any more so there's no excuse for apathy. Critical Commentary: Margaret Thatcher outlined the British policy in relation to various world issues. From her start in politics, Thatcher often attracted sexist critiques for the way she spoke, with many it dubbing her voice "shrill" and "patronizing." Television critic Clive James even compared . or copyright prevents reproduction on the site. And when I and several other Sinn Fin leaders were elected to the Assembly in 1982 we were barred from entry to Britain. The gender remained, its artefacts deployed with calculation. The tragic upshot has been the steep erosion of wages for the powerless bottom half, as income, wealth and property is sucked up to the top. For years, in fact, she despised writers, except those who did her speeches. She pointed out that she was only 10 years old when she ceased to be prime minister. One of the few direct hits scored in the modern era was when Alex Ross and James Herring remixed Nick Clegg's bizarre "I'm sorry" speech and turned it into a hilarious R&B tune. for the disk. So what caused this great divide, with one side a fountain of fresh ideas and the other struggling for new inspiration? There are still some great comics doing political material, with Mark Steel and Mark Thomas flying the flag of alternative comedy, while people such as Josie Long and Chris Coltrane find the funny in activism. "Comes here every week to water them flowers." 100% Success rate. Her Irish policy failed miserably. In November 1978, Hannaford and I organized a European fact-finding tour for Reagan, and the first stop was London. Yet for all these fissures, even Maoist modernisers and the most reactionary social conservatives share a similar stance over the role of the state.
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