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| Methodist hymns for Margaret Thatcher | Methodist hymns for Margaret Thatcher |
| (6 months later) | |
| Perhaps the most salient and significant feature of Lady Thatcher's character, which seems to have been missed so far by the commentariat, is the fact that she was the last great political embodiment of the nonconformist conscience, that once mighty moral force whose many offspring include the Guardian. It is true that nonconformity predominantly influenced Liberal and then Labour politics in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain but we should never underestimate its hold on Conservatives, especially in the case of Methodism, whose founder was a loyal Tory to his dying day. In her distinctive mixture of patriotism, moral fervour, strenuous work ethic, individualism, frugality and dislike of the smooth ways of the metropolitan establishment, Margaret Thatcher epitomised provincial nonconformity more than any other 20th-century British prime minister, with Harold Wilson coming some way behind her. I hope that she will be given some decent Methodist hymns (with their proper rousing Methodist tunes rather than the sanitised versions so often substituted in the Church of England) for her funeral next week. Rev Dr Ian Bradley Reader in church history, University of St Andrews | Perhaps the most salient and significant feature of Lady Thatcher's character, which seems to have been missed so far by the commentariat, is the fact that she was the last great political embodiment of the nonconformist conscience, that once mighty moral force whose many offspring include the Guardian. It is true that nonconformity predominantly influenced Liberal and then Labour politics in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain but we should never underestimate its hold on Conservatives, especially in the case of Methodism, whose founder was a loyal Tory to his dying day. In her distinctive mixture of patriotism, moral fervour, strenuous work ethic, individualism, frugality and dislike of the smooth ways of the metropolitan establishment, Margaret Thatcher epitomised provincial nonconformity more than any other 20th-century British prime minister, with Harold Wilson coming some way behind her. I hope that she will be given some decent Methodist hymns (with their proper rousing Methodist tunes rather than the sanitised versions so often substituted in the Church of England) for her funeral next week. Rev Dr Ian Bradley Reader in church history, University of St Andrews |
| • The estimated cost of a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher is £8m, to be paid by society in general, which she did not believe in. Surely it should be paid for, not by a bankrupt country, but by the successful individuals she was so eager to promote. Or even by her family? Sheila Kingham Oldham | • The estimated cost of a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher is £8m, to be paid by society in general, which she did not believe in. Surely it should be paid for, not by a bankrupt country, but by the successful individuals she was so eager to promote. Or even by her family? Sheila Kingham Oldham |
| • With Thatcher continuing to dominate Wednesday's Guardian, it was a relief to turn to page 38 and discover that there is still such a thing as Society... Barry Ramshaw Bristol | • With Thatcher continuing to dominate Wednesday's Guardian, it was a relief to turn to page 38 and discover that there is still such a thing as Society... Barry Ramshaw Bristol |
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