Margaret Thatcher has died

[Steelgrave]

In an era of political giants, Margaret Thatcher stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the best. History will judge her very well, I suspect.

[undercovergeek]

What was Thatcher's approach to the IRA? I can take a guess...

She wouldn't negotiate with them - when some of them went on a hunger strike she let them die - and they tried to blow her up for it, and (this I didn't know until the news last night) - they did get 2 of her close friends and allies later on

[GDS_Starfury]

I dont care what the politcal party or backround is but I can respect going to the mat for your beliefs, up to a point.

[Zulu1966]

Uh yeah, she was also the woman who stopped milk for schoolchildren, privatised everything in sight, and brought such tremendous ruin on the housing market that nobody can afford to buy a house any more without help from elsewhere.

She was a vile, poisonous bitch.  I'm not gloating that she's dead - the day for gloating was when she was forced out of office (and gloat I did) - but I'm shedding no fucking tears here.

Totally agree with Huw. To those not living in her country she may have appeared a tough leader but unfortunately thats not the only qualification a good leader needs. Given most of her supporters see her as a patriot - it is ironinc she was entirely responsible for the destruction of the UK as a manufacturing economy. The very thing that gave us empire and influence. What she left us with was an economy entirely dependent on amoral banking scum. The true danger of which we are only realizing today. Politics aside - she may have destroyed the unions (which being a working man I dont necessarily think was the greatest idea in the world) - but to do it she destroyed eveything that made this country in the first place. If you believe one persons ideology is worth an entire nations future and well being then I guess she was a good leader. Privatisation has only led to service being worse and more expensive - and of course those at the top a lot richer. If your politics are darwinian in nature and one of the "few survive and the rest can F**k off and die" then she would be a role model. For me - there are likely several thousand people who died the same day who were more deserving of my sympathy.

[undercovergeek]

my goodness its almost like she stormed to power amid a regime of tanks and soldiers - oh no wait we voted her in 3 times over 11 years she was that bad

[Zulu1966]

my goodness its almost like she stormed to power amid a regime of tanks and soldiers - oh no wait we voted her in 3 times over 11 years she was that bad

Well - you may of - I certainly didnt. And as in most voting democracies with a first past the post system - the person who gets to power is generally voted in by a minority of those voting - which she was, all three times. So - use of the word we is somewhat innacurate. As churchill said - this is not a democracy it is an elected dictatorship and governments run on the basis that once every five years they have kept a sufficient minority of people wealthy and on side enough to keep them in power. To suggest Margret Thatcher brought consensus to the UK is the very opposite of what she did. She - and the governments that followed her doctrine after - left a country that doesnt make anything, whose essential supplies of strategic services, energy water transport, etc  are all in the hands of foreign companies, and whose sole marketable industry is a banking system so corrupt and immoral it has bought the country to the verge of financial oblivion and forced taxpayers to foot a bill just to keep the country going that they will be paying off longer than the debt for WWII.

[Windigo]

my goodness its almost like she stormed to power amid a regime of tanks and soldiers - oh no wait we voted her in 3 times over 11 years she was that bad

Well - you may of - I certainly didnt. And as in most voting democracies with a first past the post system - the person who gets to power is generally voted in by a minority of those voting - which she was, all three times. So - use of the word we is somewhat innacurate. As churchill said - this is not a democracy it is an elected dictatorship and governments run on the basis that once every five years they have kept a sufficient minority of people wealthy and on side enough to keep them in power. To suggest Margret Thatcher brought consensus to the UK is the very opposite of what she did. She - and the governments that followed her doctrine after - left a country that doesnt make anything, whose essential supplies of strategic services, energy water transport, etc  are all in the hands of foreign companies, and whose sole marketable industry is a banking system so corrupt and immoral it has bought the country to the verge of financial oblivion and forced taxpayers to foot a bill just to keep the country going that they will be paying off longer than the debt for WWII.

the nature of humanity is such that we'll cooperate to get our basic needs met, but thereafter all bets are off

[Zulu1966]

my goodness its almost like she stormed to power amid a regime of tanks and soldiers - oh no wait we voted her in 3 times over 11 years she was that bad

Well - you may of - I certainly didnt. And as in most voting democracies with a first past the post system - the person who gets to power is generally voted in by a minority of those voting - which she was, all three times. So - use of the word we is somewhat innacurate. As churchill said - this is not a democracy it is an elected dictatorship and governments run on the basis that once every five years they have kept a sufficient minority of people wealthy and on side enough to keep them in power. To suggest Margret Thatcher brought consensus to the UK is the very opposite of what she did. She - and the governments that followed her doctrine after - left a country that doesnt make anything, whose essential supplies of strategic services, energy water transport, etc  are all in the hands of foreign companies, and whose sole marketable industry is a banking system so corrupt and immoral it has bought the country to the verge of financial oblivion and forced taxpayers to foot a bill just to keep the country going that they will be paying off longer than the debt for WWII.

the nature of humanity is such that we'll cooperate to get our basic needs met, but thereafter all bets are off

Well - I'd debate your use of the word humanity to describe that - but I agree thats pretty much how the world works and she was most certainly its staunchest advocate.

[OJsDad]

England lost one of its great leaders.