I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Lady Thatcher.
I was studying my ‘A’level in politics when Margret Thatcher came to power at the 1979 General Election. Little did I know when I was putting together my report of that General Election that the politician who had just become Britain’s first woman Prime Minister would go on to win two more General Elections, In doing so she became the longest serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century. The whole decade of the 1980’s belonged to Thatcherism. It was a decade when I was taking my first steps in politics and regularly losing local election contests in the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire. The Country was transformed and I believe it was transformed for the better.
Her political legacy will continue to be debated for generations to come. My view is that she was a great Party Leader and a great Prime Minister. I was privileged to have been able to meet her on several occasions and indeed Lady Thatcher visited the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency when I was contesting it at the 2001 General Election.
David Nuttall 
What is sad is to see the passing of what without a doubt was one of the sharpest political minds of this. The degeneration in her communication prowess in latter years shouldn’t happen to anyone. At her full prowess she would have eaten (metaphorically) any of to-days politicians. It’s a shame when people who where not around at the time to see the political intimidation, rubbish piling up in the streets, bodies not being buried, cars that fell apart in days and daily electricity blackouts seem to think things where great. They were not. She answered a need deeply felt to ‘sort things out’ – my did she. She made some massive mistakes (a war in Iraq/ Afghanistan has arguably ‘cost’ so much more) The community charge was her downfall – she fell into the classic hubris of believing herself right when all around told her to change.
Rest in peace.
Well well well, now we know you do not like the truth, as Jim says my post was factual and true and comes from some who does not tell lies or make exaggerated claims, unlike someone we know. Your inept government is doing exactly what thatcher did I.e freezing child benefit, raising taxes and most obnoxiously of all trying to set the ordinary man against each other as she did with the miners strike. You stated in the Bury Times the other week that the labour council was wrong to increase the rates but what did the tories do when they got into power in Bury a few years ago, yes you guessed right, they upped the council tax by 4.9% so I expect you to make a public apology to the people of Bury and the ruling Labour council for your very selective memory loss, and no this is not my figure but YOURS. Now lets take your ridiculous argument that she would have won a further election victory had she not been savaged in a speech by Geoffrey Howe in the House of Commons, a speech I saw and said at the time she would have to go and thank heaven she did. At the time of the major government I was meeting people from all over the UK in my job as a long distance truck driver and nearly everyone I spoke to said they were fed up to the back teeth with the lousy tories and that they would be thrown out at the election of 1997. I made a prediction prior to that election which was based on my experience of talking to people and I said there would be a landslide victory for Tony Blair of about 150 seats, how wrong I was, the actual result was 180 seats so where do you get your silly argument from and I am saying now your wretched government will be heavily defeated and Cameron will be forced to quit as your leader and be the only PM who never won an election, I just hope I am still around to see that glorious day. I notice you have few, if any, tory voters backing you up on your blog for a very long time, maybe people are already getting wise to lying tory and lib dem politicians but I think you will find you and your lot have been sussed and you and your motley crew will be seeking fresh employment come the next election, don’t say you weren’t warned.
Hi Alan,
I sincerely hope you are still around at the time of the next General Election and for many years to come after that too.
Best wishes,
David
Well David, it looks like mealy mouthed equivocation comes to you fairly easily. No comment on matricide in the Tory party? No comment on Alan’s excellent and factual post? Nothing? Avoiding the issue?
And I bet you’re considering Cameron even as you read this. There’s no party quite like the Tories for stabbing their leaders in the back.
Hi Jim,
I told you the truth. I am sure I would have wanted Mrs T to stay in office. As for Alan’s post I simply do not agree with it and I have no intention of spending my time replying to everyone who I allow to post opposing views to mine on my blog. It is not surprising that Socialists did not like Margaret Thatcher as she was successful in exposing the failure of Socialism.
David
David,
Whilst the passing of a life is always a sad event, could I ask you to venture your opinion regarding the defenestration of Margaret Thatcher by her own party whilst still in power? I’m sure you will have some forthright opinions to share with us.
Regards,
Jim
Hi,
I am sure I would have been advocating allowing Mrs Thatcher to continue in office although I appreciate that for anyone not there and involved at the time no one can be 100% certain of the stance they would have taken. What we do know is that she had won three consecutive General Elections and who can say she would not have won a fourth (despite the Community Charge).
David
There won’t be any tears shed for the worst PM this country has ever had in the north of the country because she didn’t care for anywhere who didn’t have a tory MP. The nonsense tributes paid to the milk snatcher are not worthy of someone that was directly responsible for thousands of businesses going bust, record home repossessions, putting the jobless figure up from one million to three million but the real figure was over FOUR million because the tories took people off the unemployment register and put them on the old incapacity benefit. Thatcher ripped the workers rights to pieces by scrapping the wages councils, extending to two years the right to go to a tribunal, selling off council houses at a loss to local councils causing the lack off social housing which still exists to this day. The selling off of state assets to her rich cronies is the reason we are all paying high prices for electricity, gas, telephone and water services. The garbage talked about by her tory friends about the way she made it possible for people to become shareholders and house owners is just that, pure garbage, as if people didn’t do those things before she came on the scene. Her friendship with that b movie actor who somehow became the president of the USA was right up her street because it is a well known fact that Ronald Regan left the USA with it’s worst mountain of debt that country has ever known. The same person who people are praising forget the misery she caused to the people who lost their jobs and caused uproar with the hated poll tax and the riots she caused which this country had never experienced on mainland Britain during the miners strike and the pure dislike by her own ministers one of whom by his speech in the house of commons thankfully brought about her downfall. That is a more fitting tribute to her premiership than the rubbish espoused on tv today and no doubt the tory press tomorrow.