he Iron Lady - Maggie

[welsh.goddess]

is deceased

[charliebird123]

Easington has it's own plans for next Wednesday Pete.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/indepth/margaret_thatcher/10342729.Easington_s_former_miners_t...

[Anonymous]

hi charliebird,  for this Wednesday read next Wednesday,,,,,,,,,,,,,thanks for the heads up. i see they must be affraid of public reaction having the funeral on a working day, instead of say Saturday, when more people have the time to pay their "respects", as of yet i see wor davey boy has'nt called next Wednesday a public holiday probably for the same reasons.

[charliebird123]

Strong stuff from Galloway.

http://redmolucca.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/tramp-the-dirt-down/

[al**bear]

I was out yesterday and found a total of 2 People who mourned her, then about 50% didn't care that She'd gone and 50% celebrated it.

I watched the TV and the Beeb were banging on about , all these People who were upset over her passing, but the Only People they seemed to have on Air  were Older middle aged slightly plump men or Blue rinsed ladies, who were all from the local Chamber of commerce and Looked liked Tory Councillors.

Oh and a very spivvy looking business chap in a Trilby from Basildon, Who just said 'She was great' and then when talking about 'up norf' and their response, said "what do you expect from those 'Rusted out' places", a perfect example of a 'Thatcherite compassion' .

A perfect example was Wigan Athletic  Chairman, Dave Whelan, who really does look like most of those Interviewed.

He's annoyed the FA won't tell Clubs to have a minutes silence or Players to wear Black arms bands

How about asking your OWN fans Dave, I know what their answer would be.

[tommy.irene]

The old saw that one shouldn’t speak ill of the recently dead cannot possibly apply to controversial figures in public life. It certainly didn’t apply to President Hugo Chavez who predeceased Margaret Thatcher amidst a blizzard of abuse.

The main reason it must not preclude entering the lists amidst a wave of hagiographic sycophantic tosh of the kind that has engulfed Britain these last hours is that otherwise the hagiographers will have the field to themselves.

Every controversial divisive deadly thing that Thatcher did will be placed in soft focus, bathed in a rose-coloured light, and provide a first draft of history that will be, simply, wrong.

As is now well-known, I refused to do that today on the demise of a wicked woman who tore apart what remained good about my country, and set an agenda which has been followed, more or less, by all of her successors. I certainly wasn’t prepared to leave the obituaries to those who profited from her rule or those who have aped her ever since.

So here is my own memory of Thatcher and what she did in her time on this earth.

On one of my first political demonstrations – against the Conservative government of Edward Heath (1970-74) the slogan of the day was “Margaret Thatcher- Milk snatcher”. It was the first but not the last time I spat out her name in distaste.

Before Thatcher, every primary school pupil received 1/3 of a pint of milk every morning. For some it was the difference between breakfast and no breakfast. I was sometimes one of those. I grew up in a brief period of social democracy in Britain, being dosed by the state with free cod-liver oil, orange juice and malt to build up my strength. Having been born in a slum tenement into a one-room attic in an Irish immigrant area, I needed all of that and more. And like millions I got it, until Thatcher took it away.

She became the Conservative leader after Heath’s two electoral defeats in 1974 and his subsequent resignation.

She was a new type of Tory leader, entirely lacking in anything resembling “noblesse oblige”. She was nasty, brutish and short of the class previously thought obligatory in Britain amongst leaders of the ruling elite. She was vulgar, money-worshipping, and blasphemous. She believed the important part of the Biblical story of the “Good Samaritan” was not that he refused to pass by the suffering on the other side of the road but that he had “loadsamoney”.

In the infamous sermon on the Mound in Edinburgh addressing the Church of Scotland she opined that there was “no such thing as society”…”only individuals”

As the Labour leader Neil Kinnock, in one of his better efforts, retorted: “No such thing as society? Only individuals? No such thing as honouring other people’s parents? No such thing as cherishing other people’s children? No such thing as us and always? Just ME and NOW? ME and NOW?”

She was the living embodiment of Marx’s prediction that under capitalism “all that is solid will melt into air… all that is sacred will be profaned”

Upon her election as prime minister (with just 40% of the vote, her position ensured by the treacherous defection from the Labour cause of the rats now squirming on the Liberal-Democrat ship) she set about “transforming” Britain allright. She privatised Britain’s key industries, enriching her friends, and robbing the public of their birthright. When she took over “Financial Services” represented 3% of the British economy; when she left office it was 40%.

[flower-buds]

So, she said she doesn't want a big send off so what does everyone do?:| they give her big send off!!

The reason its going to cost so much is more than likely because of the security needed on the streets during the march to St. Pauls or wherever it is she's going.

Its wrong, very wrong

I might protestX-( but then seconds thoughts, Im not giving her any of my time]:)

[electric*mayhem*band]

My tele will be unplugged at source a week to-day. In fact I might take a couple of sleeping pills and hibernate for the duration. I have no desire to witness the extravaganza.

[spawnjohnuk]

I would turn my back on the unions too and your right creeky what caused Thatcher to be unleashed.

It is a good time to all get to the lavish bash and show how all politicians need a wake up in what job they are actually doing (long forgotten imo) straight after the funeral we should call bliar back to this country and have him and his cohorts in court (some of his cabinet are now in camerons cabinet and they think they are all untouchable). A refusal to look at thatcher followed by petitions to force IDS to do as he says and a blair trial ,would put this countries politics back where it belongs ..the voice of the people.

[itsonlyus]

God willing she will rot in hell.

Her greed is god mentality is the primary source of todays 'entitlement' society.

Evil personified

[babyface21-uk]

However I do wish we had more politicians like her - by that I mean politicians who had a genuine belief in a set of principles,  who would stand by those beliefs and wouldn't be swayed by opinion polls just to hang on to their jobs or grab a few votes.

I couldn't agree more!

[spawnjohnuk]

I could disagree with that,as it strongly depends on what that set of beliefs are,Strong leader/s needed I agree but one that does have some flexibility as we are talking about someone who has to be as fair to all as possible,so while a today policy that affects cat A in a negative way needs to be balanced at some point to give cat A a positive.

[upthecreekyetagain]

I think I did say later in the thread that I believe her greatest strength, a total belief in her own principles, was also her greatest weakness because she could never accept she was wrong.

[spawnjohnuk]

yes I read .

Just disagreeing with it as a stand alone concept, 🙂

I am pleased that even though on here a few ding dongs are had,the majority of all on here think something is wrong and want it right, I assume the rest of the country is on a similar wavelength and if so it should start to change into a fairer society for everyone...MT's passing with a bit of luck my also be the passing of an era and a new system hopefully will be created that puts a smile on all our faces again.

[spawnjohnuk]

'might also be  'not my 

[bankhaunter]

I think Maggie may be well pleased that some small sections of society hate her so much.

She did after all set out to reduce their influence, notably the far left and the militant trade unions which had helped to cause so much damage in the 70s culminating in the 'winter of discontent'.

[spawnjohnuk]

From what im reading bank its more like a large section hate what she did and stood for, the small section like her.

Trade unions of the day were indeed ruining the british industry and yes she was very popular for ridding us of them,but she turned the political front into a we can do what we like to you and help ourselves, the arms deals she was pocketing millions for selling caused so many lost lives it puts her actions up with pol pots imo

I honestly believe she was the worst thing ever to happen to this country and hope she rip so we can finally asses the damage she caused and hopefully mend it.

Not the kind of person I wanted to ever see in charge ever again, we will see how liked she was on weds,

[stryver-1]

“The biggest 'milk snatchers’ were Labour.” Harold Wilson’s government removed free milk from all 11- to 18-year-olds in 1968, yet nobody vilified the then education secretary, Ted Short. Three years later the Heath administration took away milk from 7- to 11-year-olds in England and Margaret Thatcher was singled out for everlasting blame.

Cabinet papers of the time reveal that Thatcher opposed the policy but was forced into it by the Treasury.

[bankhaunter]

I certainly wouldn't agree with everything that she did, especially the refusal to allow money raised from the sale a council houses to be ploughed back into more house building and it did seem at times the country was heading back to the sort of working class conditions as portrayed in the 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists', a direction once again we appear to be headed in.

[aernethril]

What I find very sad is the number of people who have held onto this level of hatred for this woman who was required to step down from politics over two decades ago.

What is also very sad is the number of people who have kept so many false claims going to justify hanging on to their grievances and who refuse to find out the true facts about what she may or may not have said or done.

I think it was only a year or so ago that papers were released which showed that she did not set out with an agenda to finish off the Unions.

Even more telling are the number of people who were affected by the actions at the time of Unions who were all too well aware, and very unhappy about, the way those such as Arthur Scargill whipped up fervour against the Govt for their own agenda.  Those who quite callously were prepared to see people lose their livelihoods, their homes, their families - those who's own homes and life-long income and pensions were assured.

What did they do to help those communities that did suffer in the end?  Seriously - WHAT did those leaders go on to do for those communities?  Nothing - they used and then dumped them.

It has been very interesting to listen to the 'ordinary' people as well as politicians from all sides at the time, talking about what they knew. 

Whilst I don't agree with a lot of what she, and her Cabine,t did at the time and that has shaped our society not necessarily for the best, she was a very straight politician, the likes of which we have had since.

The facts about her insistence on reducing unnecessary expenditure on such things as flights to Europe for EU meetings, and the minimum staffing are there for anyone to check.  Her insistence on paying for her own expenses out of her own pocket - all there to be seen.

Since then, we've had one Govt after another mired in sleaze, lies, and not just failure to change things, but a complete greediness to capitalize on and benefit from those changes made under her leadership.

Her passing is not going to wipe out the years of lying and cheating since she left office.; nor the number of politicians who had an eye for the main chance to profit on their power and connections.

So, to keep bashing on about the miners, the closures etc as though she was still doing it for over 20 years after she resigned, is just pointless clinging to an old broken mind-set that does nothing for anyone.

So, although she had been gone from politics a long long time ago, she hasnow finally gone from life.

Has anything actually changed to make our lives better or worse for that?

No.

She is being accorded the funeral that has been decided for her achievements which are all too often forgotten.

In this case, the only 'evil' that she is deemed to have committed to 'live after' her is totally mis-associated - vent your ire on Scargill and those who had mismanged so many public companies for that.

She did a lot of good and that will be 'interred with her bones'.

To hold parties and encourage others to celebrate, to go out of one's way to vilify someone who worked hard for their country and as honestly as they believed they were doing, reflects far far worse on those who revel in the squalid limelight of their own miasma, than it could ever say about her.

I repeat - I did not agree with a lot of what she did, I do not like a lot of the legacy her changes have left us with - but then I completely despise those who went on to deliberately profit by bending those changes to their own rules, to practice deceit, to dissemble, to bring far worse shame and troubles to this country.

They've all had the opportunity to 'put things right' - all those you have voted for since - and not one of them has done so.

No-one is perfect - she made mistakes - she could not share the same goals and paths that everyone could. But she was as true to a country as anyone could ever hope for and she served it well.

For that reason, she deserves at least some respect in passing.

[mitzigirl_123]

An excellent post aernethril!