No one can ever question whether women are capable of single-minded vigour, of efficient leadership, after Margaret Thatcher. She is the great unsung heroine of British feminism.
– Natasha Walker, in her book The New Feminism
Margaret Thatcher said once, “Too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it is the government’s job to cope with it. ‘I have a problem, I’ll get a grant. ‘I’m homeless, the government must house me.’ They are casting their problem on society. As you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and then there are families. And no government can do anything except through other people, and people must look to themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves, and then to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There is no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.”
She understood that there was a limited role for government in people’s lives. She sought to have the government serve the public interest and the people, rather than have people in service for government. I couldn’t agree more.
She was pragmatic, and resolute. Unflinching, unapologetic, uncompromising and untiring. Passionate, intelligent and wilful. Courageous and driven. Stubborn and demanding. She had gumption and loads of spunk.
But above it all, Thatcher, Iron Lady, had a vision and the indomitable will to see it through. Her spirit is encapsulated in a speech made to her critics within the Conservative Party in 1980, “To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the ‘U’ turn, I have only one thing to say: “You turn if you want to… The lady’s not for turning.”
And that sums up the Thatcher era. There was no turning back. In fact, SHE made others turn. It is nearly a quarter of a century since she left 10 Downing Street for the last time in November 1990, however her legacy has remained intact. All that talk about rolling back Thatcherism which her opponents had announced in the 80s never happened? For the British public then would not have stood for going back to the dark days of the 70s – of power cuts, strikes, inefficiency, and a sense of general decline and malaise. They would not have tolerated a return to nationalised industries that were a drain on the Treasury.
It’s sliding back today though, under weak and corrupt leadership, but that’s another story for another day.
Perhaps the biggest tribute to the Iron Lady is the one paid, not by her friends or allies but by her ‘enemies’. For her entire political life, the Labour Party and its agenda of state socialism was her political and ideological nemesis. Labour only managed to come back in power after nearly 20 years in the wilderness by renouncing nationalisation and embracing the Thatcherite ethos of free market capitalism and private ownership.
Funnily enough for someone who identified with and led the Conservative Party, Thatcher was the greatest revolutionary modern Britain has ever seen. She destroyed the greatest cancer in Britain, namely the class system, by introducing policies that allowed those who aspire to better their status, to do so.
Thanks to her, things that were thought impossible 40 years ago are not surprising today. A taxi driver could become a shareholder of a major public-listed company; a working-class family could own their house instead of having to rent it from the local council. But then again, Margaret Thatcher, the grocer’s daughter, didn’t just break barriers.. She kicked the foundations down.
She normalised female success – made it about an individual and not about sex. She had an aversion to being called a feminist, because she believed in equality for all – based on performance, not sex. I say ‘amen’ to that, for wasn’t the suffragettes’ motto also “Deeds not words” way back then? Every country could do with a Margaret Thatcher. To her dissenters, I quote Albert Einstein, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
I will end my tribute to Baroness Margaret Thatcher with her own quote, “Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.”
She did in a lifetime what many would need a few generations to achieve. I strive to be like Maggie, I want to do it all, live it all, be it all, and have my actions and not my talk, make an impact on the world around me. And if one day, another girl, comfortably unknown in another part of the world, would write a tribute to me, having been inspired by me to go on and do whatever her imagination wills her to do, I can think of no greater legacy and honour than that.
Rest in Peace, Maggie, you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it. Some peace is due now.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune. Feedback can reach the writer at beatrice@ibrasiagroup.com
