The passing of Lady T

Last week I watched the cortege of Lady Thatcher pass by Chancery Lane with the pomp and pageantry of a "ceremonial funeral". It was not a "state funeral" (only the British could differentiate between a ceremonial and state funeral), but it felt like one. The Queen was present, ceremonial uniforms were glistening and the military drums were beating.

I was sceptical as to whether such a funeral was justified for such a divisive individual. After all, Atlee and Lloyd George were denied them, despite being radical leaders. I respect her for being the first democratically elected woman Prime Minister in British history. She became leader of a chauvinistic, old Etonian party (which it is back to being), but still broke through the glass ceiling. She was also from a relatively modest background and had a career before entering politics (rather rare these days). While I respect that achievement, it is a shame she did nothing for women once in power.

She was radical economically and was not a Conservative in that sense and was arguably a Classical Liberal. However, she remained socially very conservative, particularly around gay rights and the imposition of the notorious Section 28 that banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools. Her concept of the family was the typical nuclear family and she had no desire to promote equality for minority groups. She was a contradiction in many respects, for example she voted in favour of the legalisation of homosexuality in the 1960s, but sought to introduce section 28 in the 1980s. To some degree this was to appease her back benchers, but it did not come across like that.

Thatcher understood the importance of perception in politics. She did implement draconian employment laws relating to the trade unions and came across as the warrior, the modern Boudicea of the 1980s, but actually there are examples of where she was prepared to negotiate with the trade unions and others, in order to reach a compromise. She would retreat if it was expedient to do so. However, the perception was always of a hardliner and powerful leader (with a hair do and power suit to match). No one dared to mess with Mrs T or they risk being handbagged. She compromised with Europe and signed the Single European Act, the greatest transfer of sovereignty in British history to Europe and actually helped lay the foundations of the Irish peace talks. However, the perception was always different. In politics it often does not matter what you do, but actually how you are perceived, which is why image has always been important for politicians from the time of Elizabeth I to Lady T.

I grew up in the North and her economic policies caused large swathes of the country to be left in ruin. Communities collapsed and people were resigned to the scrap heap. This was a disgrace. Everyone recognised the need for economic change, but she believed that the market could come in and be the saviour. This was naïve – markets are only interested in money and profit margins, whereas our economy at that time needed investment to be modern and dynamic. North Sea oil revenue could have been used to invest in modernising our economy rather than just paying people to stay on the dole queue. We suffer the consequences still, both economically and socially. Many communities are still virtual ghost towns and we remain overly reliant on financial services in the south east for our country’s income. The coalition is working to try and re-balance the economy, but that will take a decade at least.

She was a patriotic person and I believe that she thought she was acting in British interests. To some degree there is truth in that. Nevertheless, she divided a country and caused much heart ache and distress to many. That was in stark contrast to Mr Attlee and Mr Lloyd George. I do not think such a funeral was merited, but hopefully it will help focus the nation on the real legacy of Thatcherism and what we really want from our economy. That is the great debate of our time.