To wonder why thatcher was at the ritz

[Lockedout434]

I understood that she was very ill with alzimers and had been suffering since 2000 ish. Was she living there or had she been taken out by someone.

Anyone any ideas?

Bridget - two (or more) wrongs don't make a right, do they? Blair was as awful as Thatcher in my book, but there does seem to be an assumption on these threads that being anti Thatcher = being pro Blair. I doubt this is the case for a great many people.

The Ritz is owned by the Barclay twins - reclusive millionaires who have donated a lot of money to the Conservatives - but who pay very little tax by basing themselves in tax havens abroad: www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/dec/17/barclay-brothers-vat-windfall-bid

They have undoubtledly benefited hugely from tax changes put into place by Mrs T, and wished to reciprocate...

Why did she need to be somewhere with high security?
Surely she was no longer a danger to anyone.

She was no danger but she'd have been a great scalp for some saddo somewhere.

Was not a fan but I hardly think we can begrudge her this because it wasn't her decision. Her alzheimers had taken her to a point where I don't think she could make any of her own decisions.

Also, I know this is old fashioned but I think we should afford all our leaders some respect regardless of what we think of them on a political level. Being Prime Minister is a huge achievement, an overwhelming responsibility and almost impossible for a human being to succeed at. I respect anyone who gets to that level and takes on the responsibility. She made huge mistakes - as do they all and she perhaps made more than most - but she was prepared to lead and that's more than many of us are prepared to do.

Blu I'm pretty sure she's still on some IRA hit list. I hated pretty much every decision she ever made, but she stood up to them and showed immense personal courage in doing so. There will be someone somewhere who'd still like payback. I believe she still had a police officer allocated to her but may have read that in the Fail so it may not be true

I'm sure she did blu. Tony Blair (house next door to my dr's surgery!) has a very full armed police guard outside, day and night, back and front. Also motorbike outriders whenever he pops out.

FWIW I think that's reasonable for very high profile targets.

sorry that was to wilsonfrickett

blu

It's possible that my post has been misconstrued

::Gets it::

Finally

drjohnsonscat
Thanks for your comments - a little drop of sanity and reasonableness in a sea of speculation and bitterness.

Why do people keep saying that she was so hated, as if the whole country loathed her and she sneaked into power by accident? She never lost an election, she was hardly reviled by all in the country.

Because she'd gone crackers.

For the 13 years i have walked past her house (during my commute) a police officer has always stood outside it. But officer disapeared in recent months I guess because she was no longer there. I have it on good authority she was considered by the police as an IRA target.

Rapunzel, due to the vagaries of our electoral system she never had the vote of more than a third of the country. But obviously she had support of many. The thing is the hatred of those who hated her (like me) was vehement and heartfelt , not an 'armchair objection' When you got your poll tax bill, you drew breath in shock.ayne the mining industry wasn't sustainable in the long long term but there is coal still down there and she smashed the industry on idea logical grounds. Whole cmunities were decimated and remain so. So vehement and vocal hatred where other politicians might invoke a bit of a moan.

Excellent post Blu.

For those who can't remember or who weren't around, the Poll Tax was unpopular because she made no allowance for differences in income.

Therefore if you earned £100 a month, you would pay the same Poll Tax as someone who was a multi millionaire. Regardless of property, regardless of income, regardless of circumstances, or number of children

Thatcher genuinely could not understand about poverty or financial struggles. It was if they did not exist to her.

You shouldn't criticize her children, my mil died of Alzheimer's, she didn't know who we were and it was horrendous seeing her.

When my Pil had a stroke, before the Alzheimer's really hit her, my dh was qu ick to criticize families of the poor unvisited patients.

Then his mum went totally totally, well, mad. Thought he was King George etc. and became very very hard to visit.

There comes to a point when you are not helping them or yourself in anyway by visiting.

I havent read all the way through so not sure if the truth had actually been shared or whether nastiness has prevailed but she had been there since Christmas when she came out of hospital after an operation and was too ill to stay in her own home anymore. The owners of the ritz offered her to stay I don't believe this was at anyone's expense.

I also find it very odd that she's so reviled, she was voted in, the miners etc had the country in a stranglehold, and the same with Cameron et al.

QOD Her support always varied a lot regionally though. The Tories have never done well in Scotland and so there and in the north of England she is despised by a lot of people who suffered due to her policies. In the SE of England I would imagine it's different.

And yes she was voted in, but after the 87 election she introduced the poll tax and feeing turned against her.

Cameron is a different matter because he and his party did not win an overall majority, which Thatcher indisputably did at all 3 elections she fought.

Really no ones business tbh...

It is our business, though, given that the Barclay brothers don't pay very much tax and the Ritz doesn't pay much tax either. Essentially taxpayers picked up the bill for Maggie's last stay.

How much of what's written on here is anyone else's business? We may as well close down Mumsnet altogether if that's a requirement. People come here to discuss stuff they want to discuss. They want to discuss this. Whose 'business' it is is irrelevant.

Blu

I got it!