General Chat

I agree with Muffy. It's not opinions ppl are objecting to just the timing of expressing them x

Ann you haven't upset or offended me, you are being honest about how you feel, I just think most of us have had that respectful 'don't speak ill of the dead' ethos told to us from childhood and feel that waiting a while to give voice to criticism is not being 'dishonest' but is showing consideration to family and friends and 'admirers' on a difficult day for them.

It's a struggle I'll admit, to say something nice.....so much easier to say nothing bad :-)

I don't think I've ever felt someone's death is something to celebrate and I did admire that she was an honest politician who did what she thought was right for the country. However I firmly believe that Thatcher and Thatcherism have led to so many of the problems in todays selfish society and her determination to beat the unions and privatise was an irreversible error.

I feel people are entitled to say what they like about such a public figure whose premiership still stirs up such strong passions because of the damage it did to so many lives.

I have just heard the news and I for one am sad.

Margaret Thatcher saved this country when it was on its knees
and anyone who remembers the 70's will never forget the state it was in at that time! and don't forget the public voted her in for 3 terms because she was strong.

I wish there were men with half her calibre in the cabinet today,and where are our strong women?

Couldn't agree more, Mau. I remember those times very well. R.I.P. Baroness Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher will be remembered for all differant reasons .she was a formidable lady ..wouldnt suffer fools gladly .Pity the media are showing her frailty in later yrs .as to me she was always very strong in demure & as a politicion God Bless RIp x

RIP Margaret Thatcher. You made a difference.

Despite her politics - it is a shame that she had died.

She was a mother and grandmother and I am sure all our thoughts will be with her family & friends.

I agree Mau. I admired her, didn't always agree with her but she was strong. In recent years her health has failed and she became frail. Time for her to rest now. So rest in peace Baroness Thatcher. And I am thinking of her family.

I had just left school when Margaret Thatcher came into power.ive never been interested much in politics and dont vote anymore,but i admired her very much,she had more b****s than most men and was certainly no pushover,this country has gone to the dogs in recent yrs,maybe we need another woman prime minister :-(

RIP

She goes down in history as the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 20th century, over a total of three terms of office, and the only woman to ever have held the post.

May she Rest in Peace.

I see & hear insults concerning the deceased lady, on here & elsewhere, beating down like hailstones. Lady Thatcher's family deserves more than trite & ugly objectionable comments.

RIP.

Ignavi coram morte quidem animam trahunt, audaces autem illam non saltem advertunt. (*)

Leaving aside politics she was a very nice person, china blue eyes and a keen sense of humour. She was quick to poke a pin into anybody's sense of self importance but was quite happy to make the tea or prepare a light meal. She had the memory of an elephant and a capacity for hard work which created the "iron lady" legend though nothing could have been further from the truth.

She was not at all popular with the landed gentry or the corporate Tories who then as now secretly preferred Labour. Neither was she liked by the Civil Service mandarins who disliked having their consensus questioned, being made to work and losing privileges.

She was determined that ordinary people had a share of the pie. So people got a chance to Ask Sid, buy their council house and get paid for hard work rather than what a union boss decreed. There was never any suggestion of fees for university.

Unlike many prime ministers she certainly made her mark both at home and on the world stage. For those who remember the 1970s Heath & Callaghan had made a right horlicks from which she somehow extracted a country that was about to go down the tubes. Whether UK, Made in Thatcherland was for the good or not will be long debated. For sure it was a million miles better than what had gone on before.

She certainly knew how to rub people up the wrong way. I feel that her biggest mistakes were the poll tax and breaking up the building societies which was one root of the banking crisis. What finished her off though was her opposition to the EU and the embryo €uro - mainstream politics today.

(*) Cowards are scared of death, the brave do not even notice it.

I also admired Margaret Thatcher.she didnt suffer fools gladly and was a tower of strength,especially in her early years.

She really was a true Brit and had such good relationships with America and Russia.
Towards the end she did let the power get to her head.

People tend to forget the hard times the country was in when she came to power and she worked hard to turn it around.

It's not the easiest of jobs to please everyone and if she did make some bad decisions ,well she was human,and her heart was in trying to make Britain Great.

Don't think she'd have had been voted back 3 times if she'd been that bad.

RIP Margaret.

May I reiterate what I said towards the start of this thread please?

"Add whatever you want on this thread.
It is not an RIP thread, more of a statement that she has died and a look back on what she did or did not do.
Just please don't let it turn nasty (not directed that at anyone in particular)"


It is quite possible to pass comment, be it anecdotal or historical, without being disrespectful.
After all, that is what the BBC has been doing all day!

People are being criticised for going against the grain, if this was a death of someone who was disliked for a crime and no sorrow was shown I doubt an eyelid would have been batted.

It's how, as individuals, we perceived Mrs. Thatcher and the good or negative impact her policies made on our lives.

I missed the removed posts so haven't a clue how they were worded so I will just say I am completely ambivalent.

I said much the same as Chrissie but was villified for it - waits for the brickbats again

Not worth commenting honestly, Errol, it will surely be reported if it's negative..

I have a lot of respect and admiration for Margaret Thatcher, and I wish there was someone of her calibre in politics today. She was so strong and determined in her resolve to make Britain great once more, and she would never back down. Her policies were tough - when the mortgage interest rate rose to 15%, we barely managed to keep going, but she was right.

RIP Margaret, a great leader.

As far as I am concerned, I don't have a problem with anyone contributing to this thread so long as it is not disrespectful, is based on fact or experience and does not contravene either T&Cs or the law.