In life and death-Margaret Thatcher

As my work day came to an end today I found out that the life of someone I have admired growing up has also come to an end. Baroness Margaret Thatcher passed away today from a stroke which was confirmed by her spokesperson Lord Bell at 12:52 (BST).

You may also ask how does someone growing up on the opposite part of the world to Thatcher become such an ardent admirer of her. To tell you the truth I am not entirely sure about how and when it happened. My earliest memory of speaking about Margaret Thatcher was when a very exasperated 5 year old me demanded that given that we invite so many people to dine at our house why do we never invite Baroness Thatcher? I’m not sure how my father got round that one but I do know that from an early age I have been attracted to strong, independent, successful women leaders. I can only assume that is how I ended up respecting and admiring this rather controversial politician.

Margaret Thatcher was nicknamed the Iron Lady as it was often thought that she ‘ruled’ Britain with an iron fist. From her refusal to back down during the year long miner’s strike in Britain to her ferociously defending the Falklands islands she has seldom shown weakness. I am not particularly fond of the name iron lady nor of some of her other nicknames as they seem deeply rooted in sexism to me. It is simply because she is a woman that people have chosen to label her ‘Attila the Hen’ and ‘The Great She-Elephant’.  I also very much doubt if she were male anyone would have paid this much attention to her appearance or her sartorial sense. Saying that, as a fashion lover, I would hate to write this article without giving a nod to her style. Her signature black leather handbags (one Asprey handbag was auctioned for £25,000 at Christie’s in 2011), her conservative but well tailored suits and of course those pearls have defined Maggie’s style. The word ‘handbagging’ was coined from a mixture of Thatcher’s abrasive style of dealing with individuals who had upset her as well and her fondness for her handbags.

As a very liberal, very left wing individual I do not agree with many of Baroness Thatcher’s policy and politics. But not for a moment does that take away the respect I feel for her for rising from a lower middle class background with no family connections to going to Oxford, becoming an MP and eventually ending up as the first and only female prime minister of United Kingdom. Say what you want about her and her politics but achieving what she has, as a woman during the 60’s and 70’s, must have been no easy feat. Therefore, I mourn the loss of this incredible woman. It is the end of an era for British politics but I hope that women in politics can look at her example and be inspired by her. Thatcher has paved the way for all women, regardless of their professional ambitions, to make us realise that if you are willing to work hard you can achieve anything. RIP Baroness Thatcher- you will be missed!