Margaret Thatcher, R.I.P.?

[thebish]

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.g ... ions/45966

Doubt this will hold much sway, but I guess if it got above 100,000 signatures, it would put the Labour Party in a pickle.

Signed...

why?

[Enoch]

That's akin to signing a petition for night to follow day, nailed on to succeed.

[thebish]

has anyone received their Chumbawamba EP: In Memoriam: Margaret Thatcher yet?

[Annoyed Grunt]

has anyone received their Chumbawamba EP: In Memoriam: Margaret Thatcher yet?

Image not showing....

[Gooner Girl]

Being born in 1980 I wasn't really aware of the political impact MT had during my childhood and politics isn't of great interest to me so I don't know enough myself to form a proper opinion - though Mr GG is very scathing about her...

However, what I will forever be grateful for is how she as a female prime minister (as Obama put it) "stands as an example to our daughters that no glass ceiling can't be shattered" Sounds like she encountered a hell of a lot of sexism working her way up to the top level.

Mind, if you are a mum of twins as she was, then really, sorting sexist men out is probably small fry compared to 2 teething toddlers

Ironically enough we went to watch Billy Elliot, the musical, a couple of nights ago where they sing a song wishing Thatcher dead. Apparently the performance a couple of days later, the day she died, they left it to the audience to decide if they should include that song. Audience voted overwhelmingly 'yes'

[Bijou Bob]

I can wholly understand some of the very bitter rhetoric on here, but I do wonder how much responsibility for the decisions of a government can be placed on the shoulders of one woman. Neither can I understand the blame being attributed for the collapse of British industry. The motor vehicle, coal, telecommunications and ship building industries were all basket cases well before 79.

I'm minded to wonder just how much of the hatred is misogynist and how much is just that of people who were unable or unwilling to react positively seeking a scapegoat for their own failure to cope with change.

As for all the complete guff about one person ruining communities, that much is complete bollocks IMHO. I don't recognise a 'Golden Age' for those communities and I've never spoken to anyone who could justify a claim that there was one.

[as]

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.g ... ions/45966

Doubt this will hold much sway, but I guess if it got above 100,000 signatures, it would put the Labour Party in a pickle.

what's the point of a "no state funeral for thatcher" when she isn't having a state funeral??

Yeah spotted that...

Surely they mean 'we shouldn't have to pay for a multimillionaires funeral'?

Died alone too - her disgraceful offspring being disgraceful again, eh....

I'm seeing the owd fella tomorrow - I'm just glad his opinion won't be displayed on the internet as the police state would step in and probably result in a conviction for him

[Lord Kangana]

it doesn't outweigh the mess she made - but thatcher was not all bad... in some ways she was quite progressive

1) she abolished corporal punishment in schools
2) she promoted european integration by signing us up to the single european act which created the European single market, signaling greater European integration by making it easier to pass laws, strengthening the EU Parliament and laying the basis for a European foreign policy.

(Hoboh particularly likes those two!)

I missed this at first pass. Its always good to challenge accepted stereotypes of which party did what. For instance, the rapid rise of demand for personal home ownership was not invented by Thatcher, but actually emerged in the 70's among the baby boomer generation, she merely reacted to societies mores to win votes.

And theres a statistic knocking around somewhere that as SoS for Education she oversaw the single largest opening of Comprehensive Schools and simultaneously the biggest number of closures of Grammar Schools. which is always blamed on the left.

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

And theres a statistic knocking around somewhere that as SoS for Education she oversaw the single largest opening of Comprehensive Schools and simultaneously the biggest number of closures of Grammar Schools. which is always blamed on the left.

I don't know the numbers involved, but I do remember reading that she let councils make the decision about grammar school status, which was taken up far more enthusiastically than expected.

I don't blame the left because I don't expect much of them to start with. But Cameron's policy on Grammar schools has always annoyed me intensely.

[Worthy4England]

I can wholly understand some of the very bitter rhetoric on here, but I do wonder how much responsibility for the decisions of a government can be placed on the shoulders of one woman. Neither can I understand the blame being attributed for the collapse of British industry. The motor vehicle, coal, telecommunications and ship building industries were all basket cases well before 79.

I'm minded to wonder just how much of the hatred is misogynist and how much is just that of people who were unable or unwilling to react positively seeking a scapegoat for their own failure to cope with change.
As for all the complete guff about one person ruining communities, that much is complete bollocks IMHO. I don't recognise a 'Golden Age' for those communities and I've never spoken to anyone who could justify a claim that there was one.

See, I can agree on parts of the first paragraph - plenty of basket cases in British industry.

I don't agree with putting the blame on people unable to adapt to change when there's 3.6m unemployed and the only major source of employment near you happened to be closed down due to political dogmatism, with no plan to do anything other than "leave it to the markets to sort out". As I said earlier - good to see "I'm alright Jack" is still thriving. Seems like Cameron still has some way to go to throw off some old Tory shackles.

If one person can't be held accountable, that person being the Leader of the ruling party, then I guess the Cold War wasn't single handedly won by the witch either? Nor the crushing of the Trades Unions? Nor the economic miracle that was alleged to have occurred? Tony Blair had nowt to do with the Iraq war and Gordon Brown nothing to do the the Financial crisis?

Either she was responsible for the good and the bad, or neither.

[a1]

Enemy of Nelson Mandela - a 'terrorist' in thatcher's eyes...

i suppose technically he were, considering the somewhat murky history of that political movement. and that he used to run (or was head of , he may have been in prison at the time) the armed wing of it... it used to like bombing things iirc.

and the guy before pinochet were a castro clone, so i dunno, i suspect that were just to piss folk off. at least you could tell augusto were a bad 'un straight off and none of that ' i'm as equal as you' stuff while coining it in on the sly that the previous fella were accused of.

i just used to laugh at the irony that he were in a stately house in wherever in rural england and i vaguely remember (might not have actually happened) the leaders of places like brazil wanted him extradited to wherever for 'war crimes', when they used to house ronnie biggs and the likes.

'you have a few measly bank robbers, so i'll just give free room and board to the 4th biggest dictator latin america has ever known.'

amazing.

although thats probably due to the falklands war , if i think about it.

[Lord Kangana]

You're a Thatcherite, aren't you?

[seanworth]

Enemy of Nelson Mandela - a 'terrorist' in thatcher's eyes...

i suppose technically he were, considering the somewhat murky history of that political movement. and that he used to run (or was head of , he may have been in prison at the time) the armed wing of it... it used to like bombing things iirc.

and the guy before pinochet were a castro clone, so i dunno, i suspect that were just to piss folk off. at least you could tell augusto were a bad 'un straight off and none of that ' i'm as equal as you' stuff while coining it in on the sly that the previous fella were accused of.

i just used to laugh at the irony that he were in a stately house in wherever in rural england and i vaguely remember (might not have actually happened) the leaders of places like brazil wanted him extradited to wherever for 'war crimes', when they used to house ronnie biggs and the likes.

'you have a few measly bank robbers, so i'll just give free room and board to the 4th biggest dictator latin america has ever known.'

amazing.

although thats probably due to the falklands war , if i think about it.

What has Brazil housing a bank robber got to do with a dictator from Chile. I certainly hoped at some point over the past 30 yrs or so you must have asked yourself that question.

[Montreal Wanderer]

Enemy of Nelson Mandela - a 'terrorist' in thatcher's eyes...

i suppose technically he were, considering the somewhat murky history of that political movement. and that he used to run (or was head of , he may have been in prison at the time) the armed wing of it... it used to like bombing things iirc.

and the guy before pinochet were a castro clone, so i dunno, i suspect that were just to piss folk off. at least you could tell augusto were a bad 'un straight off and none of that ' i'm as equal as you' stuff while coining it in on the sly that the previous fella were accused of.

i just used to laugh at the irony that he were in a stately house in wherever in rural england and i vaguely remember (might not have actually happened) the leaders of places like brazil wanted him extradited to wherever for 'war crimes', when they used to house ronnie biggs and the likes.

'you have a few measly bank robbers, so i'll just give free room and board to the 4th biggest dictator latin america has ever known.'

amazing.

although thats probably due to the falklands war , if i think about it.

As I recall, it was a communist Spanish prosecutor who requested Pinochet's extradition, but got nowhere. I can't remember leaders of South American countries supporting this.

[a1]

What has Brazil housing a bank robber got to do with a dictator from Chile. I certainly hoped at some point over the past 30 yrs or so you must have asked yourself that question.

dunno , maybe it were because they had some kinda socialist government at the time, its no different than obama commenting on the syrian thing now. technically theyre not directly related, but they run countries of the world, so theyre gonna think/say/get asked about things like this.

i might not be remembering it correctly. it were (the brazil president's (?) comments about extraditing owd augusto were*) about 12-24 months before jack straw (socialist , labour mp for blackburn, foriegn secretary ) give him up and extradited him.

if i'm right and its true (what i'm [mis]remembering) i just find it ironic and thatcher's granting of technically asylum to him is the biggest "feck you then... watch this" comeback, [that] i can remember for ages.

it probably were about the falklands.

* yeah it were spain's, "costa del crime" and all that.

as i said amazing, she hated getting fecked over and just went one twelve better in retaliation.

she did similar regarding the winter of discontent (and possibly the three day week). like she remembered it , and went "right then, it's like that is it, you wanna play them games do you ?.. but you'll not do it again"

carnt get me head round most of it, but jesus christ, she had some bollocks. its unbelievable.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I can wholly understand some of the very bitter rhetoric on here, but I do wonder how much responsibility for the decisions of a government can be placed on the shoulders of one woman. Neither can I understand the blame being attributed for the collapse of British industry. The motor vehicle, coal, telecommunications and ship building industries were all basket cases well before 79.

I'm minded to wonder just how much of the hatred is misogynist and how much is just that of people who were unable or unwilling to react positively seeking a scapegoat for their own failure to cope with change.

As for all the complete guff about one person ruining communities, that much is complete bollocks IMHO. I don't recognise a 'Golden Age' for those communities and I've never spoken to anyone who could justify a claim that there was one.

Talking complete guff? you certainly do.

[Bijou Bob]

How so LLS? Was British industry a shining beacon? Did we indeed have 'communities'? Is my impression of misogyny imagined?

[white blood]

Anyone who openly celebrates the death of another human being is a complete wnkr

reckon id raise a glass if the James Bulger killers were ever found tortured and buggered and butchered...

[Lost Leopard Spot]

How so LLS? Was British industry a shining beacon? Did we indeed have 'communities'? Is my impression of misogyny imagined?

All three correct. Hence why I said you were talking guff.

[Bijou Bob]

Successful industries are self sustaining, those that fail do so because they produce goods that people don't want or produce them too expensively.

If your idea of a solid community are racist, homophobic, misogynist, wife beating, nepotistic centres of excellence then you may have a point.

Remind me, how many femaleunion leaders are there??