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Margaret Thatcher funeral: Galloway attacks 'canonisation of wicked woman' Margaret Thatcher funeral: Galloway attacks 'canonisation of wicked woman'
(6 months later)
George Galloway has denounced the decision to spend £10m on the "canonisation of this wicked woman", a reference to Lady Thatcher's funeral on Wednesday.George Galloway has denounced the decision to spend £10m on the "canonisation of this wicked woman", a reference to Lady Thatcher's funeral on Wednesday.
The Respect MP will attempt to ensure that parliament continues to sit during the funeral. David Cameron, with the agreement of the Labour frontbench, has proposed cancelling the morning sitting of parliament on Wednesday to allow MPs and peers to attend the funeral.The Respect MP will attempt to ensure that parliament continues to sit during the funeral. David Cameron, with the agreement of the Labour frontbench, has proposed cancelling the morning sitting of parliament on Wednesday to allow MPs and peers to attend the funeral.
The cancellation would mean that for a fourth week in a row Cameron would not have to face prime minister's questions. Cameron last faced the half-hour session on the day of the budget.The cancellation would mean that for a fourth week in a row Cameron would not have to face prime minister's questions. Cameron last faced the half-hour session on the day of the budget.
Galloway said on BBC2's Daily Politics: "We're spending £10m on the canonisation of this wicked woman, this woman who laid waste to industrial Britain, to the north, to Scotland, to south Wales. We've already had the recall of parliament last week, with MPs being paid up to £3,700 to fly back from the Caribbean holiday that they were on and then fly back to start their holiday again, for a totally unnecessary fawning over this woman. And now they want to cancel prime minister's questions. It's absurd."Galloway said on BBC2's Daily Politics: "We're spending £10m on the canonisation of this wicked woman, this woman who laid waste to industrial Britain, to the north, to Scotland, to south Wales. We've already had the recall of parliament last week, with MPs being paid up to £3,700 to fly back from the Caribbean holiday that they were on and then fly back to start their holiday again, for a totally unnecessary fawning over this woman. And now they want to cancel prime minister's questions. It's absurd."
He criticised the level of attention Thatcher's funeral had received. He pointed out that the Labour prime minister Harold Wilson had won four general elections, and said the Labour postwar prime minister Clement Attlee "totally transformed the country in the wake of the second world war – neither of those had anything remotely like this, this tidal wave of guff that the country's been forced to listen to, particularly on the BBC.He criticised the level of attention Thatcher's funeral had received. He pointed out that the Labour prime minister Harold Wilson had won four general elections, and said the Labour postwar prime minister Clement Attlee "totally transformed the country in the wake of the second world war – neither of those had anything remotely like this, this tidal wave of guff that the country's been forced to listen to, particularly on the BBC.
"And when they bought Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead you censored it, as the only means they had of expressing their own rejection of all of this.""And when they bought Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead you censored it, as the only means they had of expressing their own rejection of all of this."
Some MPs are calling for Big Ben to be silenced when Thatcher's funeral cortege leaves Westminster, but No 10 refused to state whether it supported the idea.Some MPs are calling for Big Ben to be silenced when Thatcher's funeral cortege leaves Westminster, but No 10 refused to state whether it supported the idea.
Galloway said: "The comparison of Margaret Thatcher with Mr Churchill is utterly absurd. We'd be conducting this conversation in German if it was not for Mr Churchill, he saved the very existence of this country, while Mrs Thatcher did her best to destroy what was good about this country and did destroy more than a third of our manufacturing capacity, reducing us to the state we're in now. People are very angry in Britain, and it's not reflected in your studio and it's not reflected on the BBC."Galloway said: "The comparison of Margaret Thatcher with Mr Churchill is utterly absurd. We'd be conducting this conversation in German if it was not for Mr Churchill, he saved the very existence of this country, while Mrs Thatcher did her best to destroy what was good about this country and did destroy more than a third of our manufacturing capacity, reducing us to the state we're in now. People are very angry in Britain, and it's not reflected in your studio and it's not reflected on the BBC."
Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative chairman of the public administration select committee, and a supporter of Thatcher, said there was a "tiny minority" gloating over the former prime minister's death, and criticised attempts to blame her for Britain's industrial decline.Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative chairman of the public administration select committee, and a supporter of Thatcher, said there was a "tiny minority" gloating over the former prime minister's death, and criticised attempts to blame her for Britain's industrial decline.
"One has the highest respect for people who take a different view. But it's a tiny minority who are gloating over her death and indeed, that's the kind of real personal unpleasantness that she had to put up with … the personalisation of the argument, blaming her."One has the highest respect for people who take a different view. But it's a tiny minority who are gloating over her death and indeed, that's the kind of real personal unpleasantness that she had to put up with … the personalisation of the argument, blaming her.
"I mean, there was a protest in Corby on Friday when apparently all the Labour councillors walked out of a council meeting during a minute's silence, and one just reflects: first of all it was the Labour party that decided to close the steel mill in Corby. It was Margaret Thatcher that set up the enterprise zone and attracted the investment and, by the time she left office, unemployment in Corby was back to the national average. That's the real record, not the distorted record that we hear so much about.""I mean, there was a protest in Corby on Friday when apparently all the Labour councillors walked out of a council meeting during a minute's silence, and one just reflects: first of all it was the Labour party that decided to close the steel mill in Corby. It was Margaret Thatcher that set up the enterprise zone and attracted the investment and, by the time she left office, unemployment in Corby was back to the national average. That's the real record, not the distorted record that we hear so much about."
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