Margaret Thatcher Passes Away

[H.A.]

Former prime minister Baroness Thatcher dies peacefully at the age of 87 after suffering a massive stroke. Known as the Iron Lady, she became Britain's first and only female Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher had suffered from poor health over the past decade
Tory politician will have state funeral with military honours at St Paul's Cathedral - first since Winston Churchill

David Cameron: 'We've lost a great leader and a great Briton'

Queen 'sad' about death and sends private message of sympathy to her family

Former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died of a stroke today aged 87.

Britain's first and only female political leader passed away peacefully after a long battle with poor health.

Her spokesman Lord Bell said: 'It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning'.

The Queen was sad to hear of Baroness Thatcher's death and Her Majesty will send a private message of sympathy to the family, Buckingham Palace said today.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great Prime Minister and a great Briton'.

He will return early from his visit to Europe this afternoon following the death of Baroness Thatcher, Downing Street said.
The grocer's daughter, who became the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century, will be honoured with a full state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral.

Not since Winston Churchill's death has a politician been granted such a tribute. His funeral was also held there in 1965.
'A wide and diverse range of people and groups with connections to Lady Thatcher will be invited,' Number 10 said.

'The service will be followed by a private cremation. All the arrangements being put in place are in line with wishes of Lady Thatcher's family. Further details will be published over the coming days.'

 

[H.A.]

Election elation: Mrs Thatcher waves from the steps of No 10 Downing Street with husband Denis after become Britain's first female Prime Minister in 1979

Britain's first and only female prime minister, who won three consecutive general elections, had been in fragile health. Baroness Thatcher suffered acute short-term memory loss and had a series of strokes over a decade.

Margaret Thatcher came to power in May 1979, at the end of the infamous Winter of Discontent, where Britain was crippled by a wave of national strikes.

 

[H.A.]

My heartfelt condolences....to the iron lady

 

[amoy]

A good way to remember the IRON lady

 

[dhananjay1]

Expect a flurry of documentaries extolling the great deceased nut case.

 

[nrj]

'I will miss Mrs Indira Gandhi very much', said Thatcher after killing of PM

"I will miss Mrs Indira Gandhi very much indeed," said a teary eyed British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984 after laying a wreath on the body of the slain Indian premier with whom she became friends over the years.
Thatcher, who died today, had headed to Teen Murti Bhavan here where she laid a wreath on the body of 67-year-old Gandhi lying in state after her arrival from London to attend the funeral of the Indian leader who was assassinated on October 31, 1984.

"I will miss Mrs Indira Gandhi very much indeed," 58-year-old Thatcher told reporters after paying homage. "She was a truly great leader."

Thatcher had also made strong remarks over the killing of Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.

"I learn that there is a great indignation and distress--rightly in my view--among the government and the people of India about the outrageous behaviour of a tiny minority of irresponsible people in Britain who have gloated over Mrs Indira Gandhi's murder and the publicity they have received," she had told reporters.

The reference was to jubilation among many Sikh residents in Britain after the news broke about the assassination of Gandhi.

Thatcher with her deeply conservative politics was no ideological ally of Gandhi, who according to some political analysts, prided herself for her Fabian-style socialism.

But the two leaders had become friends over the years. The iron fisted managerial style seemed similar, as did their impatience with political dissidence.

Thatcher in her memoirs also recalls the lunch hosted by Gandhi at her Safdarjung road home in Delhi in 1976 before the Tory leader became the prime minister.

"I lunched with Indira Gandhi in her own modest home, where she insisted on seeing that her guests were all looked after and clearing away the plates while discussing matters of high politics," she said.

Thatcher said she naturally sympathised with a woman politician faced with the huge strains and difficulties of governing a country as vast as India.

"But, in spite of a long self justificatory account she gave me of why the state of emergency had been necessary, I could not approve of her government's methods. She had taken a wrong turning and was to discover the fact at her Party's devastating election defeat in 1977," she said.

'I will miss Mrs Indira Gandhi very much', said Thatcher after killing of PM - Indian Express

When the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher praised Rajiv Gandhi, Manmohan Singh for liberalisation

Margaret Thatcher had once hailed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's vision for India's economic liberalisation, which was "boldly initiated" by the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.
Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and Singh had "tackled an enormous problem", like old bureaucratic system of industrial licensing, as they initiated the liberalisation process, said Thatcher, the Iron Lady as she was known.

"Rajiv foreshadowed the policy of economic liberalisation which was boldly initiated under Prime Minister (PV Narasimha) Rao and Finance Minister Singh," she had said while delivering the 'Rajiv Gandhi Golden Jubilee Memorial Lecture' in Bangalore in 1995.

"These reforms are already leading to the transformation and regeneration of India's economy. And the further and faster they go the greater the gains will be. For many years excessive controls, planning, state ownership, intervention, and taxation held this country back. Now its vast potential is beginning to be realised."

Outspoken Thatcher had also termed protection by the West as "selfish".

"Prolonged protection by the less developed countries is folly. And in both cases, though it may get instant plaudits from vested interests, it is self-defeating."

Since 1991, the policies of Prime Minister Rao and Finance Minister Singh (present prime minister) have "courageously" set about transforming India's economy by sweeping away many of the obstacles to economic advance.

"They have tackled an enormous problem. The old bureaucratic system of industrial licensing has largely been dismantled. Customs duties have been reduced. Foreign exchange controls have been relaxed. Financial services are being opened up. The taxes on foreign companies have been cut."

"Unlike many other Asian countries, India has a secure democracy, a tradition of good administration, a rule of law and a relatively wide distribution of private property. These things help ensure the stability and confidence that businesses need to flourish. Foreign investors want to be able to count upon them," she said.

Thatcher, Britain's only woman prime minister, died today following a stroke at the age of 87.

She was also fond of "spiritual India" and "sense of responsibility" among Indians.

"There is a spiritual India composed of powerful religious faiths which means that in addition to one's natural desire to achieve a better standard of living for one's own family, your people also have a sense of responsibility to others and a duty to future generations. What makes a man, a family, a community, a nation, is the values by which they live, for values not only inspire policies, they inspire people."

When the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher praised Rajiv Gandhi, Manmohan Singh for liberalisation - Indian Express

 

[Blackwater]

RIP

 

[desicanuk]

RIP Iron Lady.A leader with courage,stamina and iron will to push thru much needed reforms that saved the United Kingdom from financial crisis.Only one stain in otherwise a brilliant political career - she refused to take a stand against the apartheid regime of South Africa.

 

[asianobserve]

I named my daughter after her. RIP to one of the greatest political figures of our generation. She reminds me a lot of my childhood and the good old Cold War.

 

[nrupatunga]

Thatcher not mourned by all as some Britons party

In Brixton, south London, a banner with the message "The Witch is Dead" was erected above a pub as a hastily convened party gathered pace. Police said there was "low level disorder" in Brixton, and six officers were hurt in Bristol after a street party there.

More than 200 people gathered in a city square in Glasgow, Scotland, where revelers sprayed champagne and danced as a bagpiper played.

"We are here because Thatcher's legacy is one of poverty and oppression and it is important that she is remembered for those reasons,"

Back in London, a pint of milk was placed on the doorstep of Thatcher's home, a reference to her policy of scrapping free milk for primary school children while head of education in the 1970s, a move which earned her the moniker "Thatcher the milk snatcher."

 

[IBSA]

Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher made "unabashedly racist" comments during a conversation with Bob Carr, the Foreign Affairs Minister has told Lateline.

Thatcher died on Monday morning (UK time) at the age of 87 and will be accorded a ceremonial funeral at London's St Paul's Cathedral next week.

Senator Carr says he was "astonished" when Thatcher, dubbed the 'Iron Lady' during her time in 10 Downing Street, told him that Australia would end up like Fiji if it continued to allow Asian migrants in.

Senator Carr's Malaysian-born wife Helena was in the room at the time.

"I was astonished," Senator Carr told Lateline last night.

"Helena, fortunately, was out of ear shot.

"I remember one thing she said as part of that conversation, she said: 'You will end up like Fiji.'

"She said, 'I like Sydney but you can't allow the migrants' - and in context she meant Asian migration - 'to take over, otherwise you will end up like Fiji where the Indian migrants have taken over.'

"I was so astonished I don't think I could think of an appropriate reply. I think we moved on to other subjects pretty quickly.

"It reminded me that despite, yes, her greatness on those big questions, the role of the state, the evil nature of Communist totalitarianism, there was an old-fashioned quality to her that was entirely out of touch and probably explained why her party removed her in the early 90s.

"But I don't say that in any way to diminish the respect I felt for her because of the boldness of her political leadership. She deserves credit for that, and that should be uppermost in our thoughts today."

The conversation happened after Thatcher's retirement from politics.

Opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop has demanded Senator Carr apologise for his comments.

Ms Bishop says it was a graceless and cowardly attack on Lady Thatcher's reputation just hours after she died.

She says Senator Carr showed a complete lack of sensitivity and must immediately apologise to the Thatcher family.

Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments - Margaret Thatcher - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[Ray]

Mixed response in the UK.

Some are sad, and some are jubilantly happy!

But one must give it to her.

A grocer's daughter and then a Baroness!

 

[Syd]

There are mixed reactions to her passing.

She had the balls to take on the Trade Unions and break them. But having done that she did not use the fantastic income from North Sea oil to revive British industry. Instead she favoured service industries especially banking (funny that, being a Tory).

Personally, I found it very surprising that someone with a degree in Chemistry was so anti industry; in fact she openly stated that Britian did not require a maufacturing industry. A lot of the malaise currently in the British economy can be laid at her door.

She may have been a grocer's daughter, but he was into politics and was the mayor of Grantham a small town in Lincolnshire. She was brave enough to enter politics when women MPs were a rarity and was smart enough to marry a rich husband who funded her Law studies and campaigns until she won her first seat.

Being elevated to the Lords is part of the reward for an ex PM. The Tories usually accept (though Heath did not) but the socialist Labour ones usually decline.