Today Stephen Metcalfe MP paid his respects to a “great leader, a great Briton, and a great Prime Minister”.
Mr Metcalfe said: “Margaret Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister in our history. She served three terms in a row, and was Prime Minister for longer than anyone for 150 years. She solved some of Britain’s deepest problems in terms of industrial relations and helped to end the Cold War. She liberated the Falklands.
So it is right that we have commemorated her with dignity and fanfare, properly marking the passing of this extraordinary woman.
Stephen said: “It was my honour and privilege to have today attended Margaret Thatcher’s Funeral. It reminded us all of both her colossal achievements and that behind the public persona lay a truly decent caring human being with strongly held religious beliefs that informed all the decision she took, truly believing that they were for the greater good.”
Stephen continued: “As I have said before, Margaret Thatcher changed not only the face of politics but the face of a nation. Through her dedication, commitment, energy and determination Mrs Thatcher secured a successful future for this country that many at the time thought unattainable. It was therefore right and proper that a nation paused today to ponder on her legacy and I am humbled that I was able to play a small part in that.”
“To my mind, Margaret Thatcher’s enduring legacy will be to have left our nation in a better state than she found it. She put the Great back in to Great Britain and gave our nation pride in itself again.”
YourThurrock Comment
By Michael Casey
A member of my family, worked in Margaret Thatcher’s office in 1978-79. They were close to three people: Baroness Thatcher, Matthew Parris and Airey Neave.
Tragically, my cousin Jim was one of the last people to see Airey Neave before he was blown up by the INLA.
In 1984, both my aunt and uncle died. The very next morning, a bunch of flowers arrived at the family home in Streatham. They were from Margaret Thatcher.
Our family never forgot that gesture.
I think a more appropriate title to the story would have been a political broadcast by Stephen Metcalfe
Just out of interest, who wrote the first paragraph of this article? Written in the third person I must assume that it was one of Mike’s journalists, or even Mike himself. For such a divisive PM you cannot call her, ‘Great’, in any sense of the word. As for the comments of Mr Metcalfe, has he ever bee north of Watford?
The man is just a misguided fool, with absolutely no moral compass, to coin a phrase. Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s how I feel.