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Original poster

People who think Margaret Thatcher was good...why?

221 replies

malificent7 · 15/12/2019 19:43

I have s tory froend who worshipd Margaret Thatcher and cried when she died...just why? Can anyone explain please?

OP posts:
Original poster
malificent7 · 15/12/2019 19:43

Typos ...sorry!

OP posts:
CherryPavlova · 15/12/2019 19:53

There was a touch of jingoistic adoration around the Falklands campaign but most reasonable people couldn’t abide her.

Yarboosucks · 15/12/2019 19:57

Because she created an environment that would eventually lead to most people having access to the internet so that they could google "Margaret Thatcher" so that they could learn about her.

Original poster
malificent7 · 15/12/2019 19:59

Lol

OP posts:
Hingeandbracket · 15/12/2019 20:00

Thatcher was a genius politician.
She got people to believe she was a strong conviction politician when she wasn't.
She even made people believe she cut taxes and public spending when she did nothing of the sort.
She reduced political arguments to pathetic over-simplistic soundbites.
She claimed to be a democrat but swept away councils (including most notably the GLC) that wouldn't implement mean and nasty Tory policies.
She claimed to be tough and not negotiate with terrorists but did so secretly.

She was poison and her legacy casts a long shadow.

rhubarbcrumbles · 15/12/2019 20:01

I didn't like her but I'm not sure that Boris Johnson isn't worse.

Hingeandbracket · 15/12/2019 20:01

Actually @Yarboosucks, Thatcher set this country way back on internet development -

www.techradar.com/uk/news/world-of-tech/how-the-uk-lost-the-broadband-race-in-1990-1224784

CendrillonSings · 15/12/2019 20:02

Same as Boris today - she crushed the far left in landslide after landslide until they woke up and went down a path towards moderation and electability.

RedWineIsFabulous · 15/12/2019 20:02

She took absolutely no bollocks at all.

She was not known as the Iron Lady for no reason...

Hingeandbracket · 15/12/2019 20:05

She took absolutely no bollocks at all.

Bollocks - she took a load of bollocks off a lot of people -(notably the EU and USA) - she was just exceptionally good at lying to make it look like her ideas.

Likefootball · 15/12/2019 20:06

She was strong government.
Also she enabled millions of council tenants to become homeowners and ordinary people to own shares.

Nonnymum · 15/12/2019 20:07

She contributed to the destruction of the steel and coal industry. I detested her and all she stood for. But I would take her any day over Johnson. At least she was honest, believed in what she was doing and respected Parliament and the Judiciary. Our current PM is a liar, he can't be trusted and he surrounds himself with a toxic adviser who has said he wants to disrupt things.

Hingeandbracket · 15/12/2019 20:07

She was not known as the Iron Lady for no reason...
No she was called that by the Russians who observed the levels of poverty and unemployment she created and cared nothing about. It's ironic but not surprising that her revisionist apologists have recast that insult as a badge of honour.

ReggieLedoux · 15/12/2019 20:08

Elvis Costello didn’t

DdraigGoch · 15/12/2019 20:09

Because Britain was on its knees in 1979. We were an economic basket case and militarily a spent force. She rescued the nation from power cuts, three day weeks, unburied corpses and British Leyland's iffy cars. Dictatorships learnt that we weren't to be messed with, the economy improved and we came out a stronger nation.

pollyputthepastaon · 15/12/2019 20:10

She was PM for 11 years, so clearly very popular as she was re-elected.

She was strong, determined and principled. She stood by what she believed in. Which is more than you can say for a lot of mealy mouthed politicians these days.

CendrillonSings · 15/12/2019 20:11

It's ironic but not surprising that her revisionist apologists have recast that insult as a badge of honour.

Her term as Prime Minister outlived the Berlin Wall itself, so she got the last laugh on them! Grin

Hingeandbracket · 15/12/2019 20:11

At least she was honest, believed in what she was doing and respected Parliament and the Judiciary.
Er no...
The European court of Human rights found against the Thatcher Government over the Spycatcher affair. Thatcher repeatedly used the courts and Police for political purposes and against peaceful legitimate protesters. She was not a democrat.

HopeItComesWithBatteries · 15/12/2019 20:12

She said what she would do if you voted for her.

You voted her in. She did it.

People like that.

Babdoc · 15/12/2019 20:13

I was born in the 50’s, so lived through the shitshow that was Britain before Thatcher.
I remember the strikes, unemployment and stagnation of the 70’s, doing homework by candlelight due to rotating power cuts, the struggles of Heath against the unions who were holding the country to ransom.
Thatcher was the salvation of Britain. She got control of the unions, closed down unprofitable old mines, privatised the dinosaur nationalised industries, got a generation of council house tenants into home ownership, encouraged ordinary people to become shareholders and have a stake in the country at last, gained huge respect internationally and successfully repelled the Argentine invasion of a British sovereign territory.
And all this while being the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister in what was at the time a deeply sexist society. She also managed to get a science degree and raise twins.
She was a life changing role model for girls growing up at the time.
I had the deepest respect for her and still think she was one of the best PMs of the 20th century. And I feel sad that PPs don’t appreciate her achievements.

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 15/12/2019 20:13

She may have stood for what she believed in, but what she believed in led to misery for thousands which has its echoes to this day. I grew up under Thatcher and defeated her.

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 15/12/2019 20:14

detested not defeated, sadly!

Echobelly · 15/12/2019 20:16

Well the late 70s were a bit of a disaster area with 3-day week and strikes, and therefore many thought it was great that she 'broke' the Unions.

Also Right to Buy did allow many to become upwardly mobile by allowing them to homeowners - although we know now that was at the cost of denying affordable housing to generations after them. But I suppose many of those who benefitted didn't care about the consequences to others, because people are basically selfish.

I think some of her supporters feel she played a role in bringing down the Iron Curtain, but that's pretty debatable to say the least.

Hingeandbracket · 15/12/2019 20:17

She rescued the nation from power cuts, three day weeks, unburied corpses and British Leyland's iffy cars. Dictatorships learnt that we weren't to be messed with, the economy improved and we came out a stronger nation.
The three day week was under a Tory government.
And the "rescue" involved millions on the dole, lives and communities ruined for ever and the end UK owned manufacturing. We all paid and still are paying a heavy price - but I will concede she was very clever in making people believe they were doing better even though we getting shafted.

academic.oup.com/cje/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cje/bez037/5550923

Iggly · 15/12/2019 20:23

Well historically our country has (in recent centuries) has quite a strong class system and it’s ingrained into our dna that having wealth makes you more intelligent and overall better.

Linked is also the idea that you can get rich if you just work hard enough.

And third link is that anyone without wealth wants to steal your riches.

All of the above is nonsense in my view. But it’s ingrained and thatcher championed this way of thinking. That’s why she was so popular imo.

She sold off council stock which gave people the false impression that they’d “worked hard” to buy a home when in fact they got a fucking massive discount then benefitted later on down the line.

She let the financial services sector rip and people believed the trickle down effect would work.

Ultimately what happened is that there was (is) still less to go around because the ultra wealthy have hoarded so much. We can’t see that and people think it’s the benefit scroungers/single mums/ who’ve somehow taken their riches.

Working hard doesn’t pay off for the majority.