Thatcher is dead...

[perseus]

Dead.

http://news.sky.com/

[whatabouthisthen]

I guess that this announcement will be met with celebration and the usual vilification from people in the NE. She did do some good and some bad but she didn't use her position for her own personal gain unlike Blair and his cohorts. Just look at David Miliband and our Labour Councillors.
All of you who live in ex-council houses at least owe her a debt of gratitude.
Internationally she was very good and enhanced the World's perception of the UK. She was not a Europhile, the last PM who was and which some of you should applaud.
She might not have been the best Prime Minister we have ever had but she was head and shoulders better than the ones who came after.

[SRMoore]

Lady Thatcher may have shook her mortal coil but she will forever live on in the hearts of all true conservatives.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Regardless of one's personal political beliefs, there is something distinctly distasteful about the way that some people are crowing about this on parts of the internet.  Wasn't John O' Farrell lambasted for similar behaviour in the run up to the Eastleigh by-election? I'm no fan of the Conservative cause, but to shriek delight at the death of a frail old lady is, to my mind, plain sick.

[steveL]

Two things that I'd say about Thatcher:

• She wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth like the current crowd
• Whether you agreed with her or not, there's little doubt that she believed in what she was doing. It's an odd thing to say, but all too often politicians don't. When Thatcher was running the show, at least we knew who The Leader was - and if you want to get from A to B that usually helps.

[SRMoore]

Two things that I'd say about Thatcher:

• She wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth like the current crowd
• Whether you agreed with her or not, there's little doubt that she believed in what she was doing. It's an odd thing to say, but all too often politicians don't. When Thatcher was running the show, at least we knew who The Leader was - and if you want to get from A to B that usually helps.

I believe we have found something we can both agree on, Steve.

[steveL]

Two things that I'd say about Thatcher:

• She wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth like the current crowd
• Whether you agreed with her or not, there's little doubt that she believed in what she was doing. It's an odd thing to say, but all too often politicians don't. When Thatcher was running the show, at least we knew who The Leader was - and if you want to get from A to B that usually helps.

I believe we have found something we can both agree on, Steve.

I disagree.

[steveL]

Maggie was 87.

I think her life amounted to more than what stance she took on Europe - one way or the other.

Strikes me that with you, KP, it doesn't matter what the subject is - for you all roads lead to the Treaty of Rome.

[mk1]

There is certainly a silver Spoon in the Thatcher family today. Mark has a title.

[Stig of the Seaton Dump]

Her death brings back memories of so much conflict ...the miners strike, Falklands, Northern Ireland, Poll Tax Riots as well as the civil unrest and terrible crime around the country. As a child I worried if Hartlepool would be the next town set alight and on the news.

On the flip side we had banking yuppies climbing up the BMW series making a killing off high inflation.

[mk1]

It would be well to remember she had to be forced out of office kicking and screaming.
The Party knew at the end she was an electoral liability and as mad as a hatter.
I smile when I see the re-writing of history to deify her.

[fred c]

Theres no question that she was a Leader, but i personally question where she led us.

Thats about as kind as i could be on her demise.

She instigated a program that destroyed whole swathes of British Industry certainly in the North of England & Scotland.

But an even more unpalatable truth was that in destroying those Industries, she destroyed whole communities, set Father against Son, Brother against Brother & caused wounds in families that have never healed.

I take no pleasure in her passing, but i won`t be shedding any tears either.

[SRMoore]

In amongst a lot of vile comments I've read today I came across a tweet from the Liverpool Branch of Young Labour simply quoting Martin Luther King Jnr which I felt put so many of their party and others to shame.

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.

I look forward to the day when the Labour party has politicians with even half of the integrity of these young supporters.

[Stig of the Seaton Dump]

I hope the bitterness is buried with her.

[whatabouthisthen]

Yes but not unexpected views from a man of his persuasions!

If I may I will dispute his views on ship building as I had personal experience of this. It was the Unions that destroyed ship building and it started in the 60s. The working practices that the unions employed were destructive to the industry.
Whenever we dry docked a ship we never know when she was coming out despite contractual dates. There were inevitably strikes at the beginning and end of the dry dock so that extra overtime could be 'earned'.
A ship I joined immediately after a dry docking sailed on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we started having bilge fires and our ship's engineers had to be put on six hours on six hours off instead of the normal four on eight off. This lasted until the ship was in the Red Sea some three weeks later. All because of the sad state the ship was left in by the ship yard. Inevitably, the owners stopped having ships built/repaired in the UK. The poor workmanship and the extra costs all brought about by restrictive working practices. The unions were to blame for the demise of ship building and many other industries.
In the 80s, after the deplorable 70s most of us welcomed the curbs on the unions, after-all we voted for politicians to run the country not union officials.