Saying Goodbye to Baroness Thatcher

Yesterday I was at the funeral of Mrs Thatcher. Not in St Pauls I'm not that important, a member of opposition, a former member of her government, friend or some hanger on that shouldn't be there*. No, I was lining the route of procession then celebrating her life with members of our party and the Freedom Association/Bow Group.

My day involved a lot changes from bus to train to bus and train for a very long time. But I was on the Grantham line for a while.

The Procession itself was very well attended. I arrived at 9:30ish and everywhere was at least, mostly more, two deep. By the time the gun carriage came past the streets were full. I walked past the demonstration at Ludgate Circus, where 200 communists and anarchists handing out copies of the socialist worker had congregated. Someone was on top of a telephone box for some reason and they were all quite nasty; but 10,000s had turned up to say goodbye to Mrs Thatcher far outnumbering these extremists. The protesters were only there because Thatcher destroyed their vision of a socialist UK.

We saw some quite famous people. Guy Bentley, my NUCA friend and the biggest Libertarian this side of the Atlantic, pointed out people from lots of groups and think tanks. Also Jacob Rees-Mogg, in a great top hat, and Jeremy Clarkson walked past. I said hello to them and both greeted me back, which is very nice.

The Procession itself was very good. One chap had brought a step ladder and said, jokingly, he would charge 10p a photo on top of it. Lady Thatcher would have been pleased. I caught a glimpse of the coffin and felt saddend by the fact I never met her, Mrs Thatcher politically meant a lot to me. Remember though that Thatcherism lives on, today it is even stronger than when she was in power.

A Cunning Idea

The Best Picture I got of the Iron Lady

I then went to the event organised by the Freedom Association where lots of people were present including some NUCA members. MPs who were there at the time of Thatcher or are now in Parliament came to say how she changed Britain forever. We will never know how awful the 1970s were for this country and that's precisely because the UK was saved from high inflation and uncontrollable Trade Unions by the great lady. Also speaking were MEPs (including two of mine), think tank leaders, Oliver Cooper, and UKIPers who were strangely preaching loyalty. I find this UKIP prescence weird because all of them just hated David Cameron, so they're not really loyal. Mrs Thatcher would have hated this.

NUCA Friend, Alex Bright, enjoying the 'soapboxing'.

So what did I learn/emphasise more now because of this event. Well Thatcherism is not dead, if anything it is growing in popularity. Everyone in the Tory Party has to like or pretend to like Thatcher. Next, David Cameron needs to do better. Some speakers spoke frankly about how bad DC actually is as a leader. Essentially they said because of our huge debt we probably need a new Thatcher soon. Finally never ever give in. When times look bad if you fight hard enough they will change, but never just think things will change.

Conor Burns MP, a close friend of Mrs Thatcher, gave an excellent speech saying why he preferred to be with the foot soldiers of Thatcherism.

The event was packed and lasted several hours, my thanks go to the organisers of the event. 

Strangely the day was actually very good. Mrs Thatcher is now properly at peace and we celebrated what she did and what she meant to the people. Hopefully now we as a party can actually try live up to what she meant.

*Someone I know who Mrs Thatcher would have turned in her grave if she knew he was there.

The Real Story of Thatcherism

It sort of just struck me today that tomorrow I'm going to be in London watching the coffin of Lady Thatcher, draped in the Union Flag, come past me. As that sentence alludes I am going to be lining the route with other members of Conservative Future to pay my respects. Thatcherism means quite a lot to me, not just because it's ideas are very similar to mine, but because without it my life would be completely different.

Corby Steel Works

My family all lived in Corby, essentially a massive Steel Works and Iron Ore mine employing almost all the population. A Labour safe seat from beginning of time with a Tory MP for the first time in 1983 because of Thatcher's success, gloss over Louise Mensch. By the 1980s the steel industry in Corby was essentially on its knees, it still employed virtually all the town and was a great engineering work, but the business side was virtually non-existent.

This is my Grandad, the one in the suit. He was a Tory voter, unlike the rest of his family (extended and close) who all voted Labour. He was essentially a construction worker specifically reinforcing concrete buildings with steel rods, he built a few notable buildings in Peterborough and Corby. He actually owned his own business, but like virtually everyone else in Corby lived in a council house. He continued to live in one until he bought his sometime in the early 80s. My Nana still lives there today.

My maternal Granddad was a Labour voter originally from Glasgow and worked in the Corby Steel mill itself. He used to work a crane about 30ft above the factory floor, which wasn't very healthy for him because one day he fell out and, luckily, only broke most of his ribs. He too bought his council house under Thatcher.

 The Right to Buy gave working class families freedom

My Dad's career in Corby before Thatcher was working in the Steel Mill too. He voted Conservative, but took part, against his will, in the Steel Strike of 1980. As I have said the steel industry was failing and so Ian MacGregor, then in charge of British Steel, wanted some voluntary redundancies. In response to this the Unions called a strike, this was before any of the Thatcher Union Legislation so there was no ballot or, and demanded a 20% pay increase as well as no redundancies. Not a very proportionate response. So my dad had to go on strike, with not that much strike pay, for over 3 months. In the end I don't think he quite liked the Unions, this wasn't the first walk out they had done whilst he was there.

The Steel Strike of 1980 lasted for 13 weeks

My Dad thus took another job in marketing. He was able to do so because of Thatcher creating an economic boom in the economy so that there were more businesses and less dead industries. To qualify my Dad got a diploma in marketing, another thing Thatcher essentially allowed people to do. She gave people with aspiration of all classes the ability to actually improve their lives rather be stuck in the rut of socialism which kept class stable allowing no progress.

So that's my Who Do You think You Are moment. Without Thatcher I would be living in a Council House in Corby with not that much to look forward to. That's why, not just for the politics, I'm making the journey to pay my respects. Thatcher allowed the working class of this country on the basis of merit to aspire and achieve something. She brought freedom in a more revolutionary way than Marx or anybody else in Britain. I don't really believe in class myself, I have no time for societal snobbery, although a lot of Lefties do. I'm a lot better off because of her.

The Greatest Woman of Our Time

You may have noticed the recent colour changes on the blog out of respect to Mrs Thatcher, it will probably stay like that till after her funeral. Not sure what I'll be doing for that but in the mean time Baroness Thatcher's family say they'd like to see donations to the Chelsea Pensioners rather than flowers etc. (donate at http://www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk/ ), also you can leave a condolence here https://pm.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/condolences/ .

Margaret Thatcher was a dragon slayer. She destroyed the huge problems haunting the country that would have led unchecked to the nation's terminal decline.

Thatcher gave Britain a good handbagging till it became prosperous again.

Thatcher destroyed the socialist's dream of Britain. In the 1970s Britain was heading for a command economy with the state in control over industry, business and ultimately people's lives. We almost fell over the edge. The signs were very clear in the 70s. Industry was dead, unable to compete with any country in the West, with nothing left to replace it. Why had this happened? Because industry was under state ownership reliant on subsidies to keep going.

What made this worse was the crisis in British Politics. The 1970s was a real question of 'who governed Britain', the Trade Unions or the Government? The Government and most people were really in fear of background socialism taking over and the constant strikes were rightfully seen as signs of this. It's no wonder that the Labour PM Callaghan said "that if I were a young man, I'd emigrate." By taking on the economic problems of the UK Thatcher was defeating moves, or indeed passive inaction, to turn the country into a socialist state.

Margaret Thatcher cured the country also of the so called 'Suez Syndrome'. Government was willing to see a terminal decline in the UK, not just economically but also in its weight on the world stage. Just over a decade after Britain freed the world, we looked spent. Other countries openly called into question our seat on the UN Security Council. Our country was also openly mocked by Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin by offering food aid to a Britain during times of blackouts. Discounting the Falklands War, which was the real and obvious turn of the tide, Thatcher as a person brought Britain back to the top table. Her personal patriotism, relationship with President Regan and Mikhail Gorbachev combined with her taking on the Common Market for a rebate are just some of the things she did that made Britain Great.

Thatcher made the country we live in today.

But we must keep fighting for her beliefs. Keith Joseph said once that 'Keynes is dead', how very wrong he was. Even the Conservative led Coalition wants to continually spend, spend, spend. The Left, for the obvious reason that she destroyed what they stood for at the time, want to portray here as heartless and just ripping up the North for spite and wealth of her and close friends. Of course they make no mention of an increase of 23% in people's real wealth. Don't think Thatcher is the end of Thatcherism. As she said after the 1997 General election 'the fight back starts now'.

RIP Baroness Thatcher

RIP

RIP Lady Thatcher