As a sign of respect for the passing of another life and a probably much loved member of another family, I'll keep this simple. Margaret Thatcher was probably one of the most divisive individuals in UK politics in the last hundred years.
However beyond the hum drum of her refusal to allow sanctions against Apartheid, the labelling of the ANC as a terrorist organisation, the violence brought against miner's and their community, the abolition of free school milk, the poll tax, the decimation of our industrial and manufacturing base, the loosening of credit and financial de-regulation providing the background to today's lamentable financial position, the introduction of monetarist policies and Friedmanism, the support for Pinochet, the privatisation of infrastructural services and natural monopolies, the destruction of our culture, the pursuit of wealth for wealth's sake and the growth of casino capitalism, the erosion of education, the bombing of Libya, the demonisation of teachers, reduced expenditure on social services such as housing, the increasing social tension leading to the riots, significant increases in unemployment, reduction of the power of trade unions, the rise of social problems related to poverty and rapidly declining social mobility, her work as a geopolitical consultant for the tobacco industry ... she didn't do that badly.
Tonight, I'll raise a glass to the Iron Lady for whom the bell has tolled.
The passing of an era.
Tonight, I'll raise a glass to the Iron Lady for whom the bell has tolled.
The passing of an era.
