Legacy

In a recent post, I paid tribute to the life and achievemnts of the late Dr. Martin Luther King. It was my assertion that he achieved greatness as opposed to being born great or having greatness thrust upon him. The death today of Lady Thatcher has caused more opinion in a very short time frame than anyone in recent memory. I don't think she ticked any of the three boxes. She was born as the very ordinary daughter of a grocer. She definitely didn't have greatness thrust upon her because she spent the majority of her adult life punching above her weight in the hitherto male dominated world of politics. Whether or nor she achieved greatness is open to conjecture and her legacy polarises opinion even now, over twenty years after her quiet exit from British political life.

Whenever we begin the process of assessing the achievements of a politician, footballer, singer or anyone else who has occupied centre stage, we can only do so by considering their achievements within the context of the times in which they shone. When she entered the Tory Shadow cabinet in the 1960s, it was a considerable achievement for a woman. Her promotion to the cabinet of Heath's government in 1970 reflected her rising stature within the party. Heath's government was doomed from day 1 with the least enviable job in British Political history (notwithstanding the job facing the current coalition of course). He arrived at Downing Street with the public finances in a mess following six years of Harold Wilson's boom-time spending. To add to his woes, the country was, in effect, being run not by politicians, but by Union leaders who were not exactly averse to calling their workers out on strike. To try and get a flavour of what life in Britain was like at this time, I can heartily recommend a film entitled, "I'm alright Jack" starring Peter Sellers. Putting the irony and humour to one side, it paints an all too real picture of the extent to which the Unions had begun to dominate and dictate British life. Following Heath's departure from Downing street, Thatcher successfully launched her challenge for the leadership which she was to retain for the next fifteen years and it will be a long time before that happens again.

Few were surprised when Heaths government collapsed in 1974 with the only real surprise being that it had managed to lurch on for so long. Meanwhile Labour resumed power being the puppets of their Union paymasters. The deteriorating national industries went from one strike to another with no politician seeming either disposed or able to intervene. It culminated with people being unable to bury their dead and mountains of rubbish left uncollected in the streets. It would be wrong to report it otherwise because that is how it really was. Following the winter of discontent, the Tories were returned as the only viable alternative. Thatcher had no choice really. Indeed, the parallels with today are compelling. She knew that the only way to get the country out of its mess would entail upsetting millions of people. She aslo knew that it would take a few years before the fruits of her changes would become apparent. She got lucky. The Falklands campaign could not have come at a better time. Up to that point, her popularity was more of a threat than a promise. British history shows though that we all seem to thrive on a good war and moreso when we win it. Jingoism once morew comes to the fore and all is well in the garden. Following her e-election in 1983, her biggest achievement by far was her successful battle with the unions. The unions had stripped bare the once proud British car manufacturing industry, the Steel industry and the Coal miners alone remained with any discernable power. Had she not won that fight, I would question what her legacy would be now. The time had come to promote free enterprise and show the unions that they no longer ran the country. Her success in this should never be underestimated. As I write, Unison, the largest public sector union in the country is desperately seeking the legal right to stage a one day national strike. But for the achievements of Lady Thatcher, they would need no such permission. If we think times are hard now, the unions would soon make it even moreso if they could.

I don't particularly agree with everything she did but she did see off the unions. Stabbed in the back she may have been but politics has always been like that and sadly always will be. Without Thatcher, there would have been no Tony Blair or New Labour because she was the role model to whcih he aspired. The biggest irony of all is that when Labour were eventually returned to power after their seventeen years in the political wilderness, it was with a Thatcher protegee in charge. The big difference between Blair and Thatcher though was their attitude to the balance book. She was Tory to the core and was intent on building up a national surplus. He, by contrast, was really Old Labour with an inclination to spend money rather than save it.

You can't please all of the people all of the time and in this respect Lady Thatcher was no different to anyone else. What she did do though was to expose the polarity of political opinion in this country more than anybody before or since. If you liked her, that was a bonus. If you didn't, she was going to carry out her plan regardless. Her legacy and achievements are undeniable and I am not a Tory voter. An era has passed today because like her or loathe her, she was the last of the conviction politicians. She wouldn't have fudged in the way the current crop do. She stuck to her guns but she actually had a clear vision in the first place. People fear change and so she alienated millions.