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| Margaret Thatcher debate reopens raw wounds among Tory veterans | Margaret Thatcher debate reopens raw wounds among Tory veterans |
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| Raw wounds over the downfall of Lady Thatcher as prime minister nearly a quarter of a century ago were reopened in the House of Lords when one of her most loyal disciples, Lord Tebbit, lamented the way in which she was overthrown by "her friends". | |
| As peers gathered to pay tribute to the late prime minister, Tebbit looked down the chamber to Lord Howe of Aberavon, whose resignation speech triggered her downfall in 1990, to express regret that he was unable to support Thatcher in her hour of need. | As peers gathered to pay tribute to the late prime minister, Tebbit looked down the chamber to Lord Howe of Aberavon, whose resignation speech triggered her downfall in 1990, to express regret that he was unable to support Thatcher in her hour of need. |
| Tebbit recalled how, as Thatcher ran into difficulties, he had to turn down an invitation to rejoin her cabinet because he needed to care for his wife, Margaret, who was paralysed in the 1984 Brighton Grand Hotel bomb. | Tebbit recalled how, as Thatcher ran into difficulties, he had to turn down an invitation to rejoin her cabinet because he needed to care for his wife, Margaret, who was paralysed in the 1984 Brighton Grand Hotel bomb. |
| "Margaret … of course was brought down in the end not by the electorate but her colleagues," he told peers. "Not only is it quite remarkable that she won three elections – someone else has done that since. What was remarkable was that she polled slightly more votes on the occasion of her third [general election] victory [in 1987] when she had been in office for eight years than she on her first. That I regard as a triumph for her." | |
| "My regrets?" Tebbit sighed as he paused for a moment. "I think I do regret that because of the commitments I made to my own wife that I did not feel able either to continue in government after 1987 or to return to government when she later asked me to do. I left her, I fear, at the mercy of her friends. That I do regret." | "My regrets?" Tebbit sighed as he paused for a moment. "I think I do regret that because of the commitments I made to my own wife that I did not feel able either to continue in government after 1987 or to return to government when she later asked me to do. I left her, I fear, at the mercy of her friends. That I do regret." |
| Tebbit, who was trade and industry secretary at the time of the attack and was trapped in the rubble of the hotel, said the aftermath of the bombing showed Thatcher's warm side: "I am grateful for the support which she gave to my wife and myself after we were injured. I cannot think of a precedent for a secretary of state remaining in office although absent from the cabinet for over three months. She allowed me to run my office from my hospital bed." | Tebbit, who was trade and industry secretary at the time of the attack and was trapped in the rubble of the hotel, said the aftermath of the bombing showed Thatcher's warm side: "I am grateful for the support which she gave to my wife and myself after we were injured. I cannot think of a precedent for a secretary of state remaining in office although absent from the cabinet for over three months. She allowed me to run my office from my hospital bed." |
| Lord Wakeham, Thatcher's chief whip at the time of the attack who lost his wife Roberta in the bombing, paid tribute to the way in which Thatcher went "way beyond the call of duty" in her "support and kindness" after Brighton. He recalled how Thatcher threw open the doors of Downing Street when he married for a second time: "I actually had my wedding reception at No 10 afterwards – I think the first time anybody had been married in No 10 since Lloyd George's daughter. That was very special." | |
| Friends and former colleagues highlighted Thatcher's human side as they challenged the image of the Iron Lady. | Friends and former colleagues highlighted Thatcher's human side as they challenged the image of the Iron Lady. |
| "She was nothing if not feminine," her cabinet secretary Lord Armstrong of Illminster said after Lady Royall of Blaisdon that Thatcher had done little to help women. | "She was nothing if not feminine," her cabinet secretary Lord Armstrong of Illminster said after Lady Royall of Blaisdon that Thatcher had done little to help women. |
| Armstrong recalled the first visit to Downing Street in 1981 by the newly elected French president, François Mitterrand, a notorious womaniser who later said that Thatcher had the lips of Marilyn Monroe and the eyes of Caligula. "We were all dreading it. because he had no English or claimed to have no English and so everything had to be interpreted," he said. To laughter Armstrong paused as he added: "And of course he was French. She greatly disliked her predecessor and he was said to be a socialist. But the meeting went rather well. | Armstrong recalled the first visit to Downing Street in 1981 by the newly elected French president, François Mitterrand, a notorious womaniser who later said that Thatcher had the lips of Marilyn Monroe and the eyes of Caligula. "We were all dreading it. because he had no English or claimed to have no English and so everything had to be interpreted," he said. To laughter Armstrong paused as he added: "And of course he was French. She greatly disliked her predecessor and he was said to be a socialist. But the meeting went rather well. |
| "When the president finally came to leave, I went with the prime minister to see him off at the front door. As we walked back, I said to the prime minister in a tone of some surprise: 'That visit went rather well.' She said: 'Yes I suppose it did.' Then there was a pause and she said: 'Of course he likes women you know.'" | |
| Lady Trumpington, a long serving minister under Thatcher, echoed Armstrong's comments as she admonished peers for failing to acknowledge Thatcher's beauty. "None [of the speakers] have commented on her beauty. She was a beautiful woman. It took a French man – a French president – to appreciate her though it had a twist but that is typically French." | Lady Trumpington, a long serving minister under Thatcher, echoed Armstrong's comments as she admonished peers for failing to acknowledge Thatcher's beauty. "None [of the speakers] have commented on her beauty. She was a beautiful woman. It took a French man – a French president – to appreciate her though it had a twist but that is typically French." |
| Lord Heseltine, whose challenge against Thatcher for the Tory leadership ended her premiership, and Lord Kinnock, who was defeated by her in the 1987 election, did not attend the Lords debate. David Cameron listened to a number of the speeches from the bar of the upper house after the main speeches in the Commons. | |
| Trumpington, who said she owed everything to Thatcher after being elevated to the Lords on her recommendation in 1980, said of Thatcher: "It was either death to the end or eternal friendship and I know which I would choose." | Trumpington, who said she owed everything to Thatcher after being elevated to the Lords on her recommendation in 1980, said of Thatcher: "It was either death to the end or eternal friendship and I know which I would choose." |
| Lord Waldegrave, who served as a minister in Thatcher's government for nearly 10 years who is a fellow of All Souls Oxford, expressed fury with the way in which his university refused to follow the convention of granting a doctorate to alumni who make it to No 10. "It was a disgraceful example of the perennial ineptitude of the collectivity of the University of Oxford which has nearly always managed to get these issues wrong. They got it wrong over Asquith, they got it wrong over her. But it remains a disgrace and I only wish there was some way of putting that right posthumously. There isn't." | Lord Waldegrave, who served as a minister in Thatcher's government for nearly 10 years who is a fellow of All Souls Oxford, expressed fury with the way in which his university refused to follow the convention of granting a doctorate to alumni who make it to No 10. "It was a disgraceful example of the perennial ineptitude of the collectivity of the University of Oxford which has nearly always managed to get these issues wrong. They got it wrong over Asquith, they got it wrong over her. But it remains a disgrace and I only wish there was some way of putting that right posthumously. There isn't." |
| The Bishop of Oxford expressed regret that Thatcher had refused to be a little more flexible. "Some of us perhaps wish that, on a few more occasions, the lady had been for turning – for turning has a good pedigree in Christian theology – but we can still applaud her many achievements while regretting some of the excesses. We will most certainly not forget her. May she rest in peace." | The Bishop of Oxford expressed regret that Thatcher had refused to be a little more flexible. "Some of us perhaps wish that, on a few more occasions, the lady had been for turning – for turning has a good pedigree in Christian theology – but we can still applaud her many achievements while regretting some of the excesses. We will most certainly not forget her. May she rest in peace." |
| The Commons witnessed more pointed exchanges after speeches by David Cameron and Ed Miliband. Nick Clegg delivered one of his less memorable performances when he sought to challenge conventional wisdom about Thatcher by saying: "For me, the best tribute to her is not to consign her to a simplified heroine or villain, but to remember her with all the nuance, unresolved complexity and paradox she possessed." | The Commons witnessed more pointed exchanges after speeches by David Cameron and Ed Miliband. Nick Clegg delivered one of his less memorable performances when he sought to challenge conventional wisdom about Thatcher by saying: "For me, the best tribute to her is not to consign her to a simplified heroine or villain, but to remember her with all the nuance, unresolved complexity and paradox she possessed." |
| The deputy prime minister also debunked the idea that Thatcher was a staunch Eurosceptic. "Margaret Thatcher was a staunch patriot who was much more comfortable reaching out across the Atlantic than across the channel. However, she participated in one of the most profound periods of European integration and was herself an architect of the single market. Although she was a Conservative to her core, leading a party that traditionally likes to conserve things, she held a deep aversion to the status quo. She was restive about the future, determined to use politics as a force for reform and never feared short-term disruption in pursuit of long-term change. In many ways a traditionalist, she was one of the most iconoclastic politicians of our age. It was also said that Margaret Thatcher could be very intolerant of those who did not agree with her. That was also a parody of the truth." | The deputy prime minister also debunked the idea that Thatcher was a staunch Eurosceptic. "Margaret Thatcher was a staunch patriot who was much more comfortable reaching out across the Atlantic than across the channel. However, she participated in one of the most profound periods of European integration and was herself an architect of the single market. Although she was a Conservative to her core, leading a party that traditionally likes to conserve things, she held a deep aversion to the status quo. She was restive about the future, determined to use politics as a force for reform and never feared short-term disruption in pursuit of long-term change. In many ways a traditionalist, she was one of the most iconoclastic politicians of our age. It was also said that Margaret Thatcher could be very intolerant of those who did not agree with her. That was also a parody of the truth." |
| Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who began an 11-year cabinet career as Thatcher's Scottish secretary in 1986, said: " I went to see her when I was defence secretary some years later, after she had retired, and she said to me: 'You know, Ministry of Defence, your problem is you've got no allies. The Foreign Office aren't wet – they're drenched.' When it came to the Foreign Office and to diplomats, she sometimes had a remarkable capacity to distance herself from the government of which she was prime minister. | Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who began an 11-year cabinet career as Thatcher's Scottish secretary in 1986, said: " I went to see her when I was defence secretary some years later, after she had retired, and she said to me: 'You know, Ministry of Defence, your problem is you've got no allies. The Foreign Office aren't wet – they're drenched.' When it came to the Foreign Office and to diplomats, she sometimes had a remarkable capacity to distance herself from the government of which she was prime minister. |
| "Margaret Thatcher was someone who did not worry, as has already been remarked, about people being rude about her. The term 'Iron Lady' was first coined by the Soviets as an insult. She, of course, took it on as a badge of pride. Denis Healey referred to her memorably as Attila the Hen. François Mitterrand famously said she had the eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe. She took them all as compliments because she asked for no quarter and she certainly gave none." | "Margaret Thatcher was someone who did not worry, as has already been remarked, about people being rude about her. The term 'Iron Lady' was first coined by the Soviets as an insult. She, of course, took it on as a badge of pride. Denis Healey referred to her memorably as Attila the Hen. François Mitterrand famously said she had the eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe. She took them all as compliments because she asked for no quarter and she certainly gave none." |
| Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West who was a close friend in Thatcher's final years, stood in the spot where she gave her maiden speech after her election as MP for Finchley in 1959. He said: "No one should shy away her controversial character … nor should we on these benches be afraid to talk about that. That would be to betray who she was. She was a robust, principled, confrontational character. | |
| "She wasn't, if I may say to the deputy prime minister, a Tory at all – she proudly stated she was a laissez-faire, Gladstonian liberal, in the proudest traditions of the Gladstonian Liberal party". | "She wasn't, if I may say to the deputy prime minister, a Tory at all – she proudly stated she was a laissez-faire, Gladstonian liberal, in the proudest traditions of the Gladstonian Liberal party". |
| He said she would not have been fazed by the recent protests sparked by her death: "She would take great pride in these protests. She wouldn't get angry about them; she would regard them as utterly and completely absurd." | |
| Peter Lilley, who served briefly in Thatcher's cabinet as trade and industry secretary, took a more abrasive approach, saying: "She made us face reality and reality was harsh. Those who did not like facing reality projected their hatred of reality onto her. But the human cost of facing up to reality would have been much less if previous governments of both parties had not, through a mix of false analysis and cowardice, failed to face up to those realities and deal with them earlier. If blame is due, it is due to her predecessors rather than her that harshness materialised.." | |
| Lilley said Thatcher had been "big enough and strong enough" to act as a lightning rod for their feelings. "Her greatest success was converting her opponents to her way of seeing things," he said. "Not a single one of the major measures she introduced was subsequently repealed or reversed by those who followed her". | Lilley said Thatcher had been "big enough and strong enough" to act as a lightning rod for their feelings. "Her greatest success was converting her opponents to her way of seeing things," he said. "Not a single one of the major measures she introduced was subsequently repealed or reversed by those who followed her". |
| Her critics did not hold back. The Scottish National party Westminster group leader, Angus Robertson, was one of the first to challenge her record directly in a brief speech registering his party's "profound disagreement with her socially and economic divisive policies which were particularly opposed in Scotland and Wales". He said: "We will never forget, we will never forgive the poll tax being imposed on Scots a year before the rest of UK."Labour MP Diane Abbott, only the second woman to speak after nearly two hours of debate in the Commons, described Thatcher as a "remarkable parliamentary phenomenon" who was often "the leading lady" of some of parliament's most momentous occasions. | |
| But the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said: "Whether it was the people who felt the poll tax was imposed on them wrongly, whether it was young people who were caught up in the difficult relationship between the police and communities in our inner cities, whether it was people who were dismayed at our unwillingness to impose economic sanctions on South Africa and dismayed as well by her insistence on calling the ANC a terrorist organisation, or whether it were communities caught up in the miners' strikes, there are still people living today who felt themselves on the wrong side of those titanic struggles." | But the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said: "Whether it was the people who felt the poll tax was imposed on them wrongly, whether it was young people who were caught up in the difficult relationship between the police and communities in our inner cities, whether it was people who were dismayed at our unwillingness to impose economic sanctions on South Africa and dismayed as well by her insistence on calling the ANC a terrorist organisation, or whether it were communities caught up in the miners' strikes, there are still people living today who felt themselves on the wrong side of those titanic struggles." |