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Margaret Thatcher's funeral was deeply political Margaret Thatcher's funeral was deeply political
(35 minutes later)
Was the service "too political"? That was always going to be the question. But how could it have been otherwise? It was never going to be straightforward to distinguish Margaret Thatcher the person from Margaret Thatcher the politician. Apart from Denis, she was all politics. And the service inevitably reflected this. Outside the cathedral, the whole military shebang did have the feel of a state-backed quasi-political event – the Tory party and the wider establishment (even the BBC) all in their natural harmony.Was the service "too political"? That was always going to be the question. But how could it have been otherwise? It was never going to be straightforward to distinguish Margaret Thatcher the person from Margaret Thatcher the politician. Apart from Denis, she was all politics. And the service inevitably reflected this. Outside the cathedral, the whole military shebang did have the feel of a state-backed quasi-political event – the Tory party and the wider establishment (even the BBC) all in their natural harmony.
But the church ought to make an uncomfortable partner in all of this, and not allow itself to be conscripted into the spiritual arm of the Tory party. But the church ought to make an uncomfortable partner in all of this, and not allow itself to be conscripted into the spiritual arm of the Tory party. Especially as the church was one of the most vocal sources of opposition to Thatcherism during the 1980s. Indeed, it was in St Paul's that Thatcher fell out with Robert Runcie because he prayed for the Argentinians. Singing I Vow to Thee my Country – despite the second verse's qualification that nationalism is subject to a higher authority – is a poor guide to Christian reflection on her flag-waving patriotism. And He who Would Valiant Be can too easily be read as a theological defence of her stubborn "not for turning" defiance of dissent. All this jarred – and not least because the hymn choices were just a little too Magic FM.
Especially as the church was one of the most vocal sources of opposition to Thatcherism during the 1980's. Indeed, it was in St Paul's that Thatcher fell out with Robert Runcie because he prayed for the Argentinians. Singing I Vow to Thee my Country – despite the second verse's qualification that nationalism is subject to a higher authority – is a poor guide to Christian reflection on her flag-waving patriotism. And He who Would Valiant Be can too easily be read as a theological defence of her stubborn "not for turning" defiance of dissent. All this jarred – and not least because the hymn choices were just a little too Magic FM. The bishop of London did his bit in the name of balance to slip in a reference to the Tolpuddle Martyrs – they were Methodists not proto-Marxists, he said. But it was no more than a gesture. His jest about discussing Hayek over the duck pâté was the real giveaway. It is at such dinners that the establishment recognises each other as "one of us". Moreover, it felt strange to hear of that the great champion of the individual was apparently in favour of interdependence. This from the woman who actively disliked the whole idea of society and sought to free the individual from its apparently oppressive power.
The bishop of London did his bit in the name of balance to slip in a reference to the Tolpuddle Martyrs – they were Methodists not proto-Marxists, he said. But it was no more than a gesture. His jest about discussing Hayek over the duck pate was the real giveaway. It is at such dinners that the establishment recognises each other as "one of us". Moreover, it felt strange to hear of that the great champion of the individual was apparently in favour of interdependence. This from the woman who actively disliked the whole idea of society and sought to free the individual from its apparently oppressive power.
That "we are all members, one of another" and that "we do not achieve happiness or salvation in isolation from each other but as members of society" will not sound like Thatcher to the Durham miners, for instance.That "we are all members, one of another" and that "we do not achieve happiness or salvation in isolation from each other but as members of society" will not sound like Thatcher to the Durham miners, for instance.
Of course, the service wasn't political if by political we mean the promotion of some particular policy. But it was deeply political in the wider sense, in so far as it celebrated some apparently deep connection between the various institutions of power – military, religious, royal, political, even conscripting the generally obsequious media.Of course, the service wasn't political if by political we mean the promotion of some particular policy. But it was deeply political in the wider sense, in so far as it celebrated some apparently deep connection between the various institutions of power – military, religious, royal, political, even conscripting the generally obsequious media.
It is a bit of an irony really. She spent her political life calling for a smaller state. And yet, in the end, it was the state in all its glamour and grandeur that was the star of her own funeral.It is a bit of an irony really. She spent her political life calling for a smaller state. And yet, in the end, it was the state in all its glamour and grandeur that was the star of her own funeral.