Some thoughts on the death of Margaret Thatcher

As a SDP/Liberal activist in the 1980s I came face to face with the power of what became known as Thatcherism. Margaret Thatcher was a formidable politician who won three elections in a row and changed the face of British politics for ever. She came from a very modest background and by force of personality fought her way to the leadership of a Conservative Party dominated by traditional upper class men.

Whatever we may think of her policies, it was impossible not to admire her political guts and conviction. Her legacy was not overturned by successive governments. Both the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party were greatly changed in response to her achievements. She was a democratically elected Prime Minister and a firm believer in individual liberty. One can only feel saddened that with the onset of dementia she probably had little memory of her time as Prime Minister.