The Margaret Thatcher is Dead Thread

[Gilliver's Travels]

As everyone knows, all media organisations keep obituaries at the ready, to wheel out whenever a famous figure dies.

The death of Reagan prompts the thought that, judging by her appearance today, his number one UK groupie and mourner in chief cannot herself have too long to go among mere mortals. She has already been seen talking to his coffin, possibly aware that Denis too will soon be calling.

As a world-renowned, responsible public information channel, NSC should be carefully assembling its own Thatcher tribute thread. We can all contribute here, and ensure our place in history. So why wait until the moment when those salty tears of distraught grief blind you, preventing properly eloquent expression of your true feelings? This, friends, is a chance to get your tribute in first.

Following usual NSC protocol, there should be at least one major hagiography, laced with much neo-con provocation. Quite possibly from Gareth Glover, supported by others favouring the St George's flag in their avatar. This would then be expected to provoke much learned comment, from the likes of Lord B and London Irish.

I'd suggest at least 2 pages for now. The thread can then be sealed up in the NSC time vault, and re-opened when that great (er, tragic, shurely. Ed) day comes.

Here's your motivation: Margaret Thatcher has died.

Any takers?

 

[Inkerman]

This is as premature as when the BBC had a dress rehearsal for the Queen Mothers death and inadvertantly broadcast the beginning of it.

Having said that I have often thought that it would be good if all the nice things that are said about someone once thay are dead could be said to them while they were still alive - seems like the effort would be more appreciated.

 

[Mr C]

Troll

 

[Terrace Dandy]

If Margaret Thatcher was in power now instead of in the 80's then we wouldn't have this asylum shambles and the hook man and his likes in this country, she would of kicked their arses out on the first plane.

 

[Strike]

Thats a good thing you have said for a change TD.

 

[B.M.F]

The Iron Lady is a legend. Although she was a conservative I still thought she was great. I know people will talk about Miner strikes etc etc but she would not stand up for any shit. She went to war with the argies not giving a toss about whether the Americans would complain about it unlike mr Butt kiss Blair.

Long Live Maggie

 

[Gullet]

At the time of her being in office I despised her, but now that I am older and wiser I realise that she was probably one of the (if not THE) greatest Prime Ministers this or any other country has ever known.
She stood up to her convictions and beliefs with a determination rarely found these days. People in high office were genuinly scared to take her on.
Ok, she did make a mistake introducing the poll tax but as previous people on here have said, she was right to tackle the trade unions, retake the Falklands and stand up for our rights in Europe, even when she was isolated by other countries ganging up on her, unlike the pratt who's in charge today!!!
Sadly for them, when the Tories eventually threw her out they were also sounding the death nell for their own party.

 

[Strike]

Quote
Ok, she did make a mistake introducing the poll tax

Michael Howard was the mastermind of that not Maggie.

 

[Gullet]

Quote
Ok, she did make a mistake introducing the poll tax

Michael Howard was the mastermind of that not Maggie.

Yes but you should also know that the Prime Minister must ok everything before it becomes policy or law. She had the final say, so like a football manager, the buck stopped with her.

 

[Braders]

did anyone else get in ,see the title of this thread and checked sky to see what happened

 

[Beach Hut]

No because if she had died in the last few hours then the plane carrying Ronald Reagan to LA to his final resting place was shot down as she was on it as well as Nancy.

I will actually mourn her death - she did one hell of a lot to move this country on.

 

[Gully]

Gullet you are correct in saying that the Thatcher government presided over the re-taking of the Falklands from the Argentinian invaders, thereby returning the status quo to the islands. What you omit to say is that her government chose to ignore repeated warnings from the Falkland Islanders that an attack was being planned and was indeed imminent in the weeks leading up to the invasion. The Thatcher government also presided over the scaling down of protection being offered, thereby encouraging the invasion by suggesting that the UK weren't particularly bothered by the sovereignty issue.

Approaching 1000 people from both sides lost their lives in the Falklands War, if the British Government of the day had not been so blinkered in their views of the potential threat and had perhaps increased the military presence rather than reduced it then the senseless loss of life might have been avoided.

The fact that two members of the government, namely Lord Carrington and Richard Luce (former MP for Shoreham) resigned from their posts in the Foreign Office over the Falklands Conflict suggests that they did so to avoid their leader having to fall on her sword and also confirming an admission of guilt.

I don't deny that Thatcher achieved a great deal in her term of office, particularly in the first couple of years when the country had been virtually brought to its knees by a Labour Government controlled by the unions. Sadly she later displayed a somewhat xenophobic approach to foreign relations, went on a crusade against the unions and ruled her party with a megalomaniac zeal, great leader yes, but only when mentioned in the same breath as Attila the hun and Stalin.

 

[clapham_gull]

Yes but you should also know that the Prime Minister must ok everything before it becomes policy or law. She had the final say, so like a football manager, the buck stopped with her.

Good point. She had a good eye for detail and was fully away of what was going on with the poll tax

What makes me laugh about Thatcher is after she was out of power and towards the end of her leadership she banged on about how we had lost our power to Europe.

Any real power that was lost to Europe, was lost DURING Thatchers reign.

She signed the Maastrict treaty, she knew EXACTLY what she was getting in to.

Thats why the other European leaders got so annoyed by her.

What she would claim in public and what she signed up to behind closed doors were completely different things.

She may have broken the unreasonable power of the unions in the 70s, but we easily forget the hardship that millions of unemployed suffered during the early 80s. We were somewhat protected from it down south, but many communities up north resembled Beruit and she didn't care a jot.

For me whether you liked Thatcher is not a case of political allegiance, its a case of simple humanity.

.. and if only some of the wealth that was generated in the 80s was invested back into the railway infrastructure.

For a good balanced overview of Thatcher read "One Of Us" by Hugo Young...

For a book on New Labour that will make you cry read "Servants Of The People.." by Andrew Rawnsley

 

[clapham_gull]

Gullet you are correct in saying that the Thatcher government presided over the re-taking of the Falklands from the Argentinian invaders, thereby returning the status quo to the islands. What you omit to say is that her government chose to ignore repeated warnings from the Falkland Islanders that an attack was being planned and was indeed imminent in the weeks leading up to the invasion. The Thatcher government also presided over the scaling down of protection being offered, thereby encouraging the invasion by suggesting that the UK weren't particularly bothered by the sovereignty issue.

Approaching 1000 people from both sides lost their lives in the Falklands War, if the British Government of the day had not been so blinkered in their views of the potential threat and had perhaps increased the military presence rather than reduced it then the senseless loss of life might have been avoided.

The fact that two members of the government, namely Lord Carrington and Richard Luce (former MP for Shoreham) resigned from their posts in the Foreign Office over the Falklands Conflict suggests that they did so to avoid their leader having to fall on her sword and also confirming an admission of guilt.

I don't deny that Thatcher achieved a great deal in her term of office, particularly in the first couple of years when the country had been virtually brought to its knees by a Labour Government controlled by the unions. Sadly she later displayed a somewhat xenophobic approach to foreign relations, went on a crusade against the unions and ruled her party with a megalomaniac zeal, great leader yes, but only when mentioned in the same breath as Attila the hun and Stalin.

.. and not even a conspiracy theory. Didn't an official government report (after the subsequent election) pretty much blamed the Government for the war ? They did indeed ignore warning after warning after warning.

The report was made public but largely ignored - which is amazing if put into the context of what the current government is going through.

 

[clapham_gull]

Nicholas Ridley was the minister in charge of the poll tax

 

[Yorkie]

Gullet you are correct in saying that the Thatcher government presided over the re-taking of the Falklands from the Argentinian invaders, thereby returning the status quo to the islands. What you omit to say is that her government chose to ignore repeated warnings from the Falkland Islanders that an attack was being planned and was indeed imminent in the weeks leading up to the invasion. The Thatcher government also presided over the scaling down of protection being offered, thereby encouraging the invasion by suggesting that the UK weren't particularly bothered by the sovereignty issue.

They weren't the only ones who ignored it. The previous Labour government did too.

The Argentinians used the invasion of the 'Malvinas' as a decoy from the appalling things that were going on in their own country.

You were right to say that re-taking the Islands was returning the status quo because the Falklands have never belonged to Argentina. In fact they are nearer to Chile than Argentina.

My Dad went there 3 times in the 1960's on HMS Protector which was the only warship to visit the islands on a regular basis and there were a few Royal Marines based there.
In fact when my Dad remarried it was to a Kelpie.
We knew a few people living in Port Stanley at the time of the invasion.

The Argentianians knew little about the Islands they sent young lads in cotton fatigues not realising that they were so far south that their clothing was completely inadequate for the climate. When they surrendered they were also half starving because their logistics were so bad.

Margaret Thatcher did exactly the right thing in regaining the islands and also sent a message around the world that the British are not to be messed around.

 

[Gullet]

.. and not even a conspiracy theory. Didn't an official government report (after the subsequent election) pretty much blamed the Government for the war ? They did indeed ignore warning after warning after warning.

I can see what you're saying, but the only people to blame over the Falklands war are the Argentinians. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but if a country chooses to invade a country which is owned by another you can hardly expect there to be no conflict. Our country only retaliated to an aggressor. They were to blame, not us.
Also ( and this is a genuine question I would like to know the answer to) how did the people on the Falkland Islands know that an invasion was about to take place?

 

[Yorkie]

She may have broken the unreasonable power of the unions in the 70s, but we easily forget the hardship that millions of unemployed suffered during the early 80s. We were somewhat protected from it down south, but many communities up north resembled Beruit and she didn't care a jot.

Really?? Not the impression I got living in Yorkshire.

Yes the miners were let down but a lot of that was due to Arthur Scargill and the way he handle the strike situation.
A lot of pit closures were inevitable because the Government couldn't subsidise the price of coal any longer. Scargill just called all the miners out and it didn't save the pits but caused untold misery for the families.
They were extremely well paid workers and what should have happened was that the fields where it was still viable to mine (eg Selby) should have been left and miners given the choice of redundancy (coming out of it with large sums of money like the steel workers) or relocating to workable mines.

 

[Yorkie]

I can see what you're saying, but the only people to blame over the Falklands war are the Argentinians. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but if a country chooses to invade a country which is owned by another you can hardly expect there to be no conflict. Our country only retaliated to an aggressor. They were to blame, not us.
Also ( and this is a genuine question I would like to know the answer to) how did the people on the Falkland Islands know that an invasion was about to take place?

Increased activity around the islands, aircraft. ships etc.

 

[Gullet]

Sadly she later displayed a somewhat xenophobic approach to foreign relations, went on a crusade against the unions and ruled her party with a megalomaniac zeal, great leader yes, but only when mentioned in the same breath as Attila the hun and Stalin.

How you can make a comment like that is beyond me. Are you trying to say that she was a murderer like Attila the Hun? You can't seriously compare the two.
CRAZY!!!!