Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he is not a fan of Margaret Thatcher as he faced a backlash from his own MPs for praising the Iron Lady.
The Labour leader claimed the former prime minister did “terrible things” which he “profoundly disagrees with” as he sought to placate backbenchers angered by his tribute to her legacy.
Sir Keir caused a stir by commending Thatcher for enacting “meaningful change” and “setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism” in an article for The Telegraph.
He has since stressed he was making the point that she was a leader with a “driving sense of purpose”, rather than expressing support for her policies.
He went even further at a gala dinner in Scotland on Thursday evening, clarifying he was no champion of her politics. Asked if he was a fan of Thatcher, he said: “No, absolutely not. She did terrible things, particularly here in Scotland which everybody in this room, myself included, profoundly disagrees with.” » | Amy Gibbons, Political Correspondent | Friday, December 8, 2023
Can't these politicians let Margaret Thatcher rest in peace? It's as if they are tied to Mummy's apron strings! Margeret Thatcher was in power 40 years ago! I remember the period very well. Undoubtedly, her politics made life exciting for many, though very hard for many others. Whether you agreed with her politics, or not, nobody can deny her leadership skills and sense of purpose.
However, she governed in very different times from today. The problems she and her government faced and had to try and solve were very different from today's problems. Indeed, one of the major problems we face today is wealth inequality. The gap between the haves and have-nots has never been as big as this since the Gilded Age. It should be noted that it was Thatcherism here in the UK and Reaganomics, its brother in the States, that set this trend in motion. We wouldn't have this HUGE wealth gap today had it not been for Thatcher and Reagan. So the last thing we need now is yet more of the very policies that caused this problem.
Thatcher once said that the wealth gap doesn't matter. As a one-time student of economics, I can assure you that she was absolutely wrong on that. The gap between the rich and the poor does matter if society is to cohere and be harmonious. You only have to ask the French about that! France lost its monarchy because of the displeasure of the people with the then existent wealth gap!
I find it mystifying that Thatcher's spell on this country has still not been broken. That this is so can surely be explained only by our politicians' lack of understanding of the economy and of how economics works.
Thatcherism was all well and good in the 1980s and 90s. But all these decades later, we need another way forward.
Margaret Thatcher: Requiescat in pace. – © Mark Alexander
