Margaret Thatcher was one of the most divisive leaders of the 20th century and her death has been met with mixed emotions. How will the Iron Lady be remembered?
Though Baroness Thatcher has been out of the public eye for some years now, her death has provoked strong reactions from the nation – not all of them positive.
Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Healey said today: “People’s view of her after her death will be as divided as it was during her life”.
In some parts of the country, there was no love lost on Twitter. Indeed, @DocGamester painted a stark picture of what Baroness Thatcher meant to him. “The North-South divide,” he tweeted.
David Hopper, general secretary of the Durham Miners’ Association, said: “There’s no sympathy from me for what she did to our community. She destroyed our community, our villages and our people.
“Our children have got no jobs and the community is full of problems. There’s no work and no money and it’s very sad the legacy she has left behind.”
In another tweet from the north, @Ron_dada told Channel 4 News: “I’ve lost count of how many parties are happening up here in Yorkshire”.
Wayne Thomas, the area secretary for the National Union of Miners Wales, said: “Working class communities across south Wales will never be able to forgive her for her ruthlessness and how she could not care less for how decisions affected ordinary working families.”
@channel4news She gave birth to the inequality the country suffers today
— Son of Robespierre (@sonofr) April 8, 2013
Many of our Twitter followers grew up with Baroness Thatcher at the helm, and recalled their childhood memories.
Some were negative, with Claire Frost remembering the Thatcher era as a time of “redundancy, unemployment and almost homelessness for my parents.”
Natasha Landers said her abiding memories were: “Section 28, nimbyism, privatisation, milk snatching, racism, sinking of belgrano, poll tax, miners strike, Falklands.”
But Sharon Johnston said she will remember Baroness Thatcher as: “A strong, charismatic, principled woman. An inspiration for a generation to be aspirational.” She added: “Thanks to her I’m a home owner.”
Rachel Elnaugh agreed that Britain’s first female prime minister was: “One of the inspirational power women of the ’80s along with Roddick & Diana”
And @TopCat said: “She was right about Europe, right about the economy and right about much else besides.”
Though Baroness Thatcher’s decision to go to war over the Falklands remains controversial, @PamCarlyle wrote: “I was in the RAF 78 to 88 during Falklands conflict Had she not been PM the islanders would be speaking Spanish for sure”.
@channel4news Born in 1981, Thatcher was ever present. She was such a force that she made me take notice of politics. We lack that now.
— John Pakey (@JohnPakey_LE) April 8, 2013
Despite the criticism, few people denied that Baroness Thatcher had great strength of character.
Labour’s former home secretary David Blunkett said that Baroness Thatcher was “a remarkable woman”. He added: “A divisive figure but a politician who could mobilise both support and opposition in a way that fired British politics.”
Among the flurry of tweets Channel 4 News received, @ladylyn54 wrote: “A woman with a set of balls. They called her the Iron Lady for good reason. Time for new woman to head government me think”.
Jessica Henley-Price added: “A world leader. She had strength, determination and courage.”
Though he was born in 1981, just two years into Baroness Thatcher’s premiership, @JohnPakey said: “Thatcher was ever present. She was such a force that she made me take notice of politics. We lack that now.”