Gordon Brown had tea today at Number 10 with Mrs Thatcher. It follows the comment he made last week when he said he was a "conviction politician" and noted Thatcher was one too.
Mrs Thatcher was so pleased at this, she got her official spokesman to acknowledge the compliment in public:
She was delighted to have such flattery, as she always is from any source,” the spokesman said. “It is nice to have someone say such things about you.”
It suggests that she is still hurting from the way the Tories despatched her 17 years ago, and starving for acknowledgement. Hence her willingness to visit Gordon Brown at Number 10 and be photographed with him on the steps.
She has only visited Downing Street twice since she left office, once at the invitation of Tony Blair, and now at the invitation of Gordon Brown. John Major kept her at a distance.
Some in Labour will raise eyebrows at this, given the hurt she inflicted on the country in the early 80's. But we're comfortably in power now, and vengence isn't part of the Labour character. We can afford to be magnanimous and kind to a very old lady who is clearly still upset at events of the past. Besides, by being a radical (as opposed to a conservative), Thatcher destroyed the Tories by turning them into an ideological party. Labour is in power because of the collapse of the Tories that she set in train. The least we can do is give her tea.
UPDATE: It turns out that this whole thing was initiated by Mrs T, who wrote to Gordon Brown when he became PM, they then corresponded and he then invited her to tea. The FT reports that Downing Street offered to let her enter discreetly through the back door, but Mrs T turned the offer down preferring to enter by the front door and be photographed.
It's clear to me that she is still angry with the Tories for the way they despatched her all those years ago, and is determined to stick it to them whenever she can. And of course the Labour party assists whenever it can.... It recalls the 1995 interview she gave when she practically endorsed Tony Blair and New Labour (which influenced many former Tory voters to abstain or vote Labour).
Downing Street reports that she brought toys for Mr Brown's sons (a cement mixer and remote controlled cars). Very sweet.
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6 comments:
Politics is dea
What an insult to all the lives the witch blighted.
Most of the New Labour careerist apparatchiks crowd were still in nappies or not even born when she was destroying lives.
Anonymous - it's always a red letter day when a former conservative leader acknowledges that the country is better off under Labour rather than under a potential Tory govt (which in effect is what this visit was about). Don't you think?
I know that there is a shortage of talent in Labour but for Brown to start getting advice from Thatcher seems desperate.
We are at the beginning of a financial crisis,we have a further outbreak of foot and mouth with a smoking gun back to Brown,and all Brown can do is to play childish games,I thought this guy was meant to be a serious politician.
"Labour is in power because of the collapse of the Tories that she set in train. The least we can do is give her tea."
Great post Snowflake (as ever). It made me smile. What better way to stick it to the tories than Margaret T taking tea with one of the architects of Labour's longest period in government.
I understand your senitments but this is a bitter pill to swallow. Labour politicians are always swayed by the imperial setting of government. As soon as they get to Whitehall they forget their own heritage, where they came from and the people they represent. This is simply too much and I totally agree with anonymous.
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