Maggie Thatcher Is Dead.

[chiang mai]

I get the impression from this forum that he Brits are rejoicing in this news.

RIP Maggie.

A minority always seem to get their kicks this way!

Define minority. The tories never had > 44% of the popular vote in any of her 3 terms.

Minority: the limited number of people who publically revel in the death of a famous person, easily confused with "troll" but not exactly the same. Also, the "minority" in this context is not to be confused with peoples ability to elect their government through the election process whereby the winning party is deemed to have a majority.

[Morakot]

Disappointing to only find out this morning, would have been a good to have celebrated.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/crowds-gather-in-derry-to-celebrate-death-of-margaret-thatcher-29182412.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-death-party-brixton-glasgow

Edited April 9, 2013 by Morakot

[Bluespunk]

State funeral to cost £9M?

“For £3 million you could give everyone in Scotland a shovel, and we

could dig a hole so deep we could hand her over to Satan in person"

--Frankie Boyle

Apparently people are already petitioning for her 'state funeral to be privatised' in keeping with her legacy.

'Margaret Thatcher's state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector to offer the best value and choice for end users and other stakeholders.'

There'd be a lot more than 9m raised if it was privatised!

good, then they should do it. better still make it a family affair or pay per view event so only those interested in her funeral are able to watch the event. Edited April 9, 2013 by Bluespunk

[mrtoad]

Doesn't deserve a state funeral.

[onionluke]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/08/conservatives-outraged-over-cnn-photo-of-thatcher-with-pedophile-jimmy-savile/

[ongchart]

In remember the Iron Lady for one thing - poll tax, which I had to pay when I was working in London on an overseas posting. Anyway, all politicians have their good and bad sides. RIP Lady.

[nong38]

I remember the bad times in the 80's bringing up a young family, Britain was on its knees. Its not often someone like comes along to sort things out. Strikes to many of them, who runs the country the unions or the Government? Thats how I saw it as a shop worker being held to ransom every year by the miners striking for more money, I come from a mining community and had relations working down the pit, they told me how cushy they had it. They destroyed their own communities themelves led by that twerp from Barnsley.

She not only changed Britain but the Ronnie reagan she helped shape the world we live in today, she did not get everything right but she put the pride back into Britain, the country and the world owe her a debt of gratitude.

Greatest peacetime leader in the UK, absoulutely.

I shed a tear last night and had a few beers as well, I hope the funeral is shown live here, I will be watching.

[jayboy]

She turned a backward looking country obsessed with a lost empire into a forward looking country where anyone with a good idea and the will to work could succeed.

She made making money and entrepreneurship from being a dirty word to a worthy aim instead of something to be looked down upon by the privileged few.

She defeated the real rulers of the country in the late 1970's; the unions.

I too remember the three day week, the power cuts, unable to buy candles as they'd all sold out. Garbage rotting in the streets with the attendant rat-packs. Firemen on strike with the army's Green Goddess's taking up the slack.

Unions that voted by a show of hands, so that people that didn't toe the union line were easily identified and them and their families threatened.

She said "enough" to chucking more taxpayer's money at the bottomless pit that was the loss making coal mines.

Greatest prime minister of the 20th century (Churchill included).

She did lose it in the end and stayed too long, but, she was the right person at the right time.

I might quibble with a few details of what you say.However there's no doubt that in all important respects you are right.Some of us remember very well the disgusting brutality of the militant trade unions.She destroyed them.I would also mention since it is not that often commented on she neutered the traditional upper class grip on the country.It was thanks to Thatcher that millions of people like myself , without wealth or smart family backrpound, were able to make a way in the world.

David Ignatius in the Washington Post sets out her achievements very well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-the-revolution-of-margaret-thatcher/2013/04/08/19e9b588-a08f-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html

As for the criticisms of her on this forum I have not seen one intelligent reasoned case.I guess like many I have had to hold my nose while reading many of their ignorant and hate filled comments.

[nong38]

Doesn't deserve a state funeral.

She did not ask for one she is getting a Ceremonial Funeral like Princess Dianna and the Queen Mother.

[KarenBravo]

onionluke, on 09 Apr 2013 - 12:03, said:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/08/conservatives-outraged-over-cnn-photo-of-thatcher-with-pedophile-jimmy-savile/

Your desperation is showing.......

[Boon Mee]

The title of this topic is insulting, clearly placed there by a Scot with the usual chip. Thatcher was a divisive figure but the the British population voted her into office three times. She was always aggrieved that her own conservative party voted her out of No 10 and not the public.

The armed forces have a lot to thank Maggie for major increases with salaries/benefits, she was the darling of the WO/Sgt's Mess throughout UK & Germany. I remember her well, coming over to Northern Ireland in signing the Anglo/Irish agreement.

There will be many quotations about Mrs Thatcher over the next few days, one of her better ones, "the trouble with socialism is you eventually run out of other peoples money"

That's right.

The title of the thread should be Lady Thatcher Passes Away.

[mrtoad]

Doesn't deserve a state funeral.

She did not ask for one she is getting a Ceremonial Funeral like Princess Dianna and the Queen Mother.

Didn't exactly say that. There is a push to have it changed to that though.

[Fozfromoz]

Being a Colonial from below the equator, I won't buy into if she was good or not in Ol Blighty, but I saw on TV this morning, people popping Champage and holding placards celebrating that she's gone.

Either way, I think bad form, given that the ones I saw would have only been tadpoles, or not much more, when she was PM.

[Boon Mee]

Another one of Lady Thatcher's accomplishments was being the first western leader who said we could do business with Gorbachev which indeed we did.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Scott
Off-topic portion deleted

[pitrevie]

I remember the bad times in the 80's bringing up a young family, Britain was on its knees. Its not often someone like comes along to sort things out. Strikes to many of them, who runs the country the unions or the Government? Thats how I saw it as a shop worker being held to ransom every year by the miners striking for more money, I come from a mining community and had relations working down the pit, they told me how cushy they had it. They destroyed their own communities themelves led by that twerp from Barnsley.

She not only changed Britain but the Ronnie reagan she helped shape the world we live in today, she did not get everything right but she put the pride back into Britain, the country and the world owe her a debt of gratitude.

Greatest peacetime leader in the UK, absoulutely.

I shed a tear last night and had a few beers as well, I hope the funeral is shown live here, I will be watching.

Well at least now that issue of who runs the country has been resolved, now we know for certain, the banks. Scargill could not have dreamt in his wildest dreams of inflicting so much damage on the country. Thank goodness Maggie came along and got rid of all those regulations.

[Thaddeus]

Having read all the comments on this thread now, I only have one comment to make, and it is pretty much directed at all the working class heroes infesting this forum.

If Maggie was in power here, would the Phuket Tuk Tuk Mafia still be operating now?

Let's face it, they are down trodden ordinary blokes just trying to scrape a living together by any ruthless means possible.

If Maggie was in power here, would there be Ministers with large amounts of unaccounted for cash hidden in their houses?

If Maggie was in power here, would Charlerm even have a job?

If Maggie was in power here, would some one else be running the country?

Yes, she made some mistakes, she was only human, but by god she had balls of steel and righted a lot of wrongs.

Don't RIP Maggie, stick the boot in to some lazy angels.

[Potosi]

Shall we get into her support of Apartheid and how she labeled Mandela a terrorist?

So what was he but a terrorist? him and his odious wife who put tyres around the necks of those who opposed her and set them on fire.

Got that right for Mandela was a terrorist in the purest definition of the term.

Another one of Lady Thatcher's accomplishments was being the first western leader who said we could do business with Gorbachev which indeed we did.

Another one of Lady Thatcher's accomplishment was to refuse to meet that Palin idiot from Alaska, who evidently hoped an audience with the grand old nutcase of conservativism would enhance her status.

[jayboy]

Well at least now that issue of who runs the country has been resolved, now we know for certain, the banks. Scargill could not have dreamt in his wildest dreams of inflicting so much damage on the country. Thank goodness Maggie came along and got rid of all those regulations.

Rubbish.The banks were quite well regulated under Thatcher.The light touch regulation of the financial sector happened under Blair and Brown.Indeed they boasted about it.To be fair the Tories went along with it but by then Thatcher had long gone.

[GeorgeO]

She was at least a leader who cared about Britain ,she did not roll over to the E.U but fought for us against them and against the unions who were hell bent on destroying our great country(i remember the 3 day week ,working with no electricity and having to get around the mounds of rubbish in the street ,because the public sector were striking as usuall) she was not like Blair and co who were just in it for the money and so his wife could make a fortune out of the uman rights laws.(he also gave up our rebate that Maggie won from the E.U .we wont see her like again ,she may not have been perfect ,but at least she loved our country ,she didn't just use it,R.I.P

Very nice to see something positive being said about the 'Iron Lady' here. I agree entirely that when those before and after were prepared to roll over, she stood firm and did her utmost for our country. Shame on those who have suggested celebrating her demise this evening ... you can only hope that no-one ever responds to your demise in the same way!

[pitrevie]

Well at least now that issue of who runs the country has been resolved, now we know for certain, the banks. Scargill could not have dreamt in his wildest dreams of inflicting so much damage on the country. Thank goodness Maggie came along and got rid of all those regulations.

Rubbish.The banks were quite well regulated under Thatcher.The light touch regulation of the financial sector happened under Blair and Brown.Indeed they boasted about it.To be fair the Tories went along with it but by then Thatcher had long gone.

De-regulation of the financial markets started under Thatcher. If you recall there were rock solid institutions called Building Societies with sensible lending policies. Also rock solid Mutual Societies almost all of whom went the way of the Halifax one of the most rock solid of all. What an achievement.

[asiaexpat]

Wicked witch of the west joins Ronnie Reagan. RIP.

[trompelemonde]

People who celebrate the death of another human being profane themselves.

I was not a fan of the Baroness, but some basic decency please.

[super22k]

At least she was pro-British and she loved the union jack flag ,.unlike the wet fish we call politicians these days. I did not agree with everything she did but unlike the lib/Dem.con and traitors like Blair,Kinnock and Cameron she stuck to her guns and did what she thought was the best for Britain.

I do not agree with her getting a state funeral.Harold MacMillan,Harold Wilson,Jim Callaghan and Enoch Powell did not get state funerals so why should she? Normaly it is a private funeral.I suspect the media have boosted it up into a celebrity occasion.

But God bless Margaret Thatcher and may she Rest in Peace.

[hbullinger]

I could never understand why she - the Iron Lady - gave in to pressures from the street and abandoned the poll tax. This tax should still be used today. Why should, say 5 people living in the same house pay 1/5 of the council tax their single occupier neighbour has to pay for the council tax on her house?

So - after all the Lady was for turning!

[jayboy]

If you recall there were rock solid institutions called Building Societies with sensible lending policies. Also rock solid Mutual Societies almost all of whom went the way of the Halifax one of the most rock solid of all. What an achievement.

You are talking nonsense.Banks are and always were separate from building societies.In any case the demise of building societies was nothing to do with Thatcher.The disastrous deregulation of the banking sector did not happen on her watch but under that of Labour.

[Scott]

This is not a thread about politics, per se. Please use at least a small amount of decorum and stay on the topic.

[Jingthing]

People who celebrate the death of another human being profane themselves.

I was not a fan of the Baroness, but some basic decency please.

I agree celebrating is taking it too far but I also think a figure like hers is still open to criticism of her actions, even upon her death.

[ghooper]

I remember the night when she was first elected. It was very exiting for a confirmed Tory who had immigrated to the UK from Canada.

I loved her strength and decisive actions. What with Maggie at the helm and our own MP Chris Patten, the city of Bath celebrated an

amazing election result. I, for one, am very saddened by her demise but will remember her with fondness. RIP Maggie.

[SantiSuk]

I like the quote that was just reported on the Beeb. When asked what was her greatest achievement she said "Tony Blair".

I guess she meant that his election was the pinnacle of her rolling back the 20th century socialist movement in the UK. She had no small part to play in the world atmosphere that eventually destroyed communism in Europe and Russia. It's up to individual political taste whether you think that is a good or bad thing!

Fascinating to watch Putin giving a (seemingly genuinely warm) tribute. Capitalists of the world are today uniting!

PS Do me a favour Scott. Do you think Maggie Thatcher would want a discussion of her death today to be limited to trite eulogies and condolonces. I don't (I met her once). She would be happy to know she is still so controversial!

Edited April 9, 2013 by SantiSuk

[smokie36]

Posters under the age of 40 years old making negative comments about Margaret Thatchers time as PM are, for the most part, simply not credible.

Perhaps some are the children of miners....and remember missing meals and sitting at home hungry. Very presumptuous post!