And God rest her soul.
She was not a person that promoted my own personal view on politics but she certainly didn't deserve the initial obit from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation which read ~


"Former British prime minister Margret Thatcher has died at the age of 87 following a stroke.
As Britain's longest-serving 20th century prime minister and the only woman to have held the job, Mr Thatcher presided over a decade of radical change in Britain.
From the day in May 1979 that she arrived in 10 Downing Street with her trademark handbag, the grocer's daughter used no-nonsense rhetoric and a steely power over her male acolytes to take stagnant Britain on a journey of economic reform. "

Mr Thatcher and his trademark handbag,...............dodgey work in a hurry guys.

I know this won't go down well with some of the folks here but I thought well of her at least she had a spine AND did what she said she'd do,unlike the scum that inhabit both sides of the house ATM. One of the great Prime Minsters of our times I feel

Have to agree. Lover her or hate her she had the balls to carry out what she said she would. Maybe not everything she did was right but she left a legacy for my generation who now feel let down by the current bunch of namby pamby self servers. RIP and thank you ma'am

She was exactly what Britain needed for foreign policy of the day (Soviets, Argentina, terrorism) but within the country, she was a divisive force. Opinions of unions aside, she took care of the south. She was no friend of northern English, Irish, probably Welsh and definitely not of the Scots.

Sorry for the her passing, but I was no fan.

I live in a former coal mining town now, although I come from the South, and was never a miner, I detested her before i ever came here because of her divisive politics. Since coming North I now understand even better why she is so hated, and the devastation she needlessly put upon communities, and the lies that she convienantly allowed to be peddled to further her cause. Both my wife, now retired, and my daughter, still works for the police, and so I can see both sides of a grubby little pound note. One day like Hillsboro, and after a media run by the likes of Murdoch is extinguished, then the truth will come out. Scargill could have been dealt and finished with, had she have listened to Mick Mcgarrthy and what her advisors were telling her. We would still have a coal industry, and many people still in work. The reall cost financially is still being suppressed, we may never be told and that comes from independent sources who were commissioned to investigate the effect of the so called Engineered Strike. There is a good book, completely impartial to both sides, called Marching to the Fault line, sorry but I ve forgotten the Authors, it was written by several in collaboration. Things are never what they seem, and those in Authority often have a lot to answer for.

Will not be shedding any tears - thats for sure.

Neither will I I,m afraid,your opinion of her seems to depend on which end of the country you live,in the south she is admired while we in the north most of us take a very different view.I hate to have to admit she was the only man in her cabinet and had more backbone than any of the lot we are saddled with today

Well i am Welsh, difficult times that they were, cheap coal coming from poland and other countrys, huge wastage of equipment and loads of other stuff, changes had to be made do i hate her no , hate is a strange and powerful word
I had to leave my area for work like many other people, there are no jobs for life, generational working down the mines was a thing of the past some coal mines closed due to seams not being workable i didn,t want to lay on my side using a pick in a 14 inch seam.
Arthur Scargill where is the NUM union Leader with a job for life who slipped away into the mist to his luxury home with £1000s of pounds of security cameras who never went without a meal or lost a days pay from his union job,she had balls thats for sure i certainly wont jump on the bandwagon i have witnessd on the news , i tend to try and tell the people that p------ me off when they are about and being hungry and having no money is the same weather your from the North or South.

Just my thoughts
cheers chris

Brilliant bloke and a great leader. I've heard that she's closed 4 of the devil's furnaces down already and there's flying pickets at the Pearly Gates

Outstanding.......see consistant to the end

Chris

She's probably off to give Kim Il-Sung's spirit a handbagging.

Geoff

Yes Taff I hear what you say, but at the end of the day there was not a lot of comradeship shown amongst you miners. You allowed yourselves to be seen that you were divided, and Maggie spotted that, and she exploited the fact by driving in a wedge. She did nt beat you, you beat yourselves, and for that you have only yourselves to blame. Very sad when working class people end up fighting each other.

Yep.....should've listened to Mick McGahey.

Hi Del How you doing
Fair Comment mate
Perhaps i should have been more clear, i did my work experience (a quint word these days) down the mines my choice those days was Mining Army or the Police i didn,t go down the mines but lived and grew up in a mining community. Yes they became divided,but all political parties create division and manipulate .
Ni Bevan the persona of the working class a fine orator and champion of the working class would have the train stopped on his way to Wales so he could change cloths from his london outfit to his flat cap and working class costume, principals were abandoned a long time ago.
The Parachute Regiment was originally called the "Independent Parachute " Brigade Mr Harold Wilson changed that fearful that they were a threat if political crisis happened because they were self sufficient in that they had their own Artillery Transport and tough fighting ethos.
Did she do wrong of course, do they all manipulate of course .
My Dad is a Normandy Vet and at 89 is the only one left of the young men that got off that landing craft on Sword beach 60 odd years ago Spoke to him to night he was never a fan of Thatcher but he said it is sad to see the scenes on TV .
I can remember in the late 70s/early 80s Lanwern Steel works was losing £1000 a second i knew of men who would take sleeping bags and portable TVs on a night shift !!! would have their mates clock them in and stay at home and do the same for them i was earning £70 a week they were earning £300 the unions knew and did nothing but wanted the countrys empathy, when the company Brought in the american McGregor to do the dirty work , everyone manipulates, but very often the silent manipulators are the worse they slip away unchallenged un effected .
Just a thought
Chris

I had no idea she was so hated....you guys are brutal.