The Death of Margaret Thatcher

Like most Scots, I have always been politically opposed to Margaret Thatcher and the brand of conservatism that bears her name. She was the prime minister during a large part of my childhood, from I was still at primary school through till my first year at university. In Glasgow and the west of Scotland it was difficult to miss the immense social damage that Thatcherism did to ordinary working-class people, their jobs and their communities.

I don't disagree with everything the Thatcher government did, particularly the defence of the Falkland Islands and the islanders who have always been and always want to be British, not Argentines. And maybe a lot of what happened in terms of failing industries would have happened anyway, but that doesn't remove the hurt that the free market policies she introduced - essentially "the Market is king and to hell with the social cost" - were implemented with such apparent glee and lack of compassion. While her social policies may have their roots in her Methodist upbringing, the harsh monetarist economic policies her government pursued seem to me to owe more to social Darwinism (survival of the fittest) than Christianity (love thy neighbour).

It is hard to forgive the redistribution of wealth from the poorer to the richer as income tax rates were cut while VAT rates were increased. The final straw was the unjust Poll Tax under which a millionaire and his cleaner were both to pay the same amount in local taxation.

So do I mourn her? I could only mourn her as a politician and prime minister. I never knew her any other way. As a person she is a complete stranger to me. I mourn her no more than any other elderly woman's passing I might read about in the death notices. But will I mourn her in the terms in which I did know her? No I won't. The divisive manner in which she governed the country was a blessing only when that government left office. I see no reason to mark her passing as if a national heroine had died. A private funeral, like every other prime minister who has died since Churchill, would have been a much wiser and more healing event than the bloated spectacle being held tomorrow.