Mrs T. & Me Poem by NAYYAR SHABBIR AHMAD

1

Love her or loathe her
no one who know's about her
or, of her achievements
can ever forget
Britain's one and only woman Prime Minister
The most distinguished
Baroness Margaret Hilda Thatcher

She was born Margaret Hilda Roberts, on - Oct.13th.1925
to Mr, and Mrs. Roberts - proud owners of two Grocery stores in Grantham, Lincolnshire

My own abiding introduction to her
was on the day
I landed in London
to study Business Management in ‘Oct.1970

At that time she happened to be
The Secretary of State for Education and Science
in Edward Heath's 1970 Tory Government.

As my taxi closed in on my Hotel,
we passed a crowded demonstration
gathering in Hyde P\ark - a two minute walk
from my destination

As I unpacked my suitcase
in my Hotel room in Marble Arch
I was serenaded by the vociferous refrains of:
‘'Thatcher, Thatcher - Milk snatcher! '

Someone told me briefly who Mrs. Thatcher was
and how her decision to end free school milk
for the over seven's, had led to this present agitation.

(I read later that she had relented and therefore pre-school and primary school children were getting their free milk as per usual.)

2

Over the coming months and years I followed her progress with mild interest. And, it wasn't until 1975 when Mrs. Thatcher stood against Edward Heath for the Conservative Party Leadership, that my interest in her grew.

In the 1979 General Election she ousted the incumbent Labour Prime Minister, Mr. James Callaghan with a 43 Seat Parliamentary Majority and became Europe's first female head of Government.
It wasn't long after that
that I became
one of her most ardent admirers.

3

None of you are remotely interested
in the Author of this write-up
Very rightly so
All I am. Is an entity unto myself

But, I feel that
on this Occasion
I really must
insist you cast an eye over my Credentials

I was born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1950
and, didn't arrive in London until 1970

On a brief visit to Pakistan in 1974
a botched operation to remove a brain tumour
left me semi-paralysed and wheelchair-bound

My zest for life may have dipped momentarily
but, once it had adjusted itself to a different lifestyle
I quickly realized - to my intense relief, that
this zest for life - in no way - had been taken away from me

And although, henceforth
I led a quiet, stay-at-home life in Wimbledon
I had complete access to various media outlets:
like the Guardian and The Sunday Times
radio stations like LBC & BBC Radio4
Plus, a range of TV stations

So. you must agree that I was
armed with a newfound ability to gauge
the Nation's temperature
and, enjoy a ringside seat
to a slice of ‘very eventful'
History unfolding before me

4

Someone asked me to try summing up Mrs. T's
three terms in Office as clearly and succinctly as I could

It's quite impossible, I dismissed
But, then I thought - let me give it a try:

She tackled the Unions
Navigated Britain out of a recession
Stood no nonsense from the European Union
Helped The British Falkland Islands defend itself
against Argentina's invasion
Confronted the Soviet Union
amongst a great many other things

She served as Great Britain's
Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990
The longest serving PM, last Century

The above, is only the briefest of brief
Historical Record

She deserves more - much, much, more
Don't you think....?

So, should we get back to the beginning...?

5

As I mentioned, earlier
Mrs. T. was born Margaret Hilda Roberts on Oct.13th.1925. in Grantham, Lincolnshire, where her father, Alfred Roberts - a well respected Community Leader and Conservative Party Member - owned and ran two grocery stores.

She lived above the larger of the 2 stores with her Parents and her older sister, Muriel.

The two girls attended the local Grammar School

Besides which, their father instilled into them
two very strong beliefs of his:

1. His lifelong Conservative Party principles
and,2. The strict Methodist traditions he believed in.

In her last year in school,
Margaret applied for a scholarship
to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford.
She was accepted
And, was there from 1943 to 1947

While there, In 1946, she became the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association

Later, she graduated with a Chemistry Bachelor of Science degree.

Immediately, Margaret moved to Colchester in Essex
to work as a research chemist..

She joined the local Conservative Association
and, gradually got to know a wide variety of people
on whom she made a very strong impression.

A friend of her's suggested she apply to join the Conservative Association of Dartford, as they were looking for suitable
Candidates to represent them.

She applied
Impressed everyone
And was selected in 1951
as Dartford's Conservative representative

She met Denis Thatcher, a rich, divorced businessmen
soon after
but, prior commitments meant that
Margaret had to move to Dartford

Whilst there, she supported herself by working as a Researcher
and, although she worked hard to advance her political career
the 1951 and ‘52 Elections were lost to her

Denis and she married in 1951
and, she began to study for the bar
where she specialized in taxation

She qualified as a barrister in 1953
Her twins, Carol and Mark were born later that year

It wasn't till 1956 that she resumed her political career
However, she was defeated again in the Orpington by-election

After that she began to look around for a safe seat
She found one in Finchley - a Borough of London

From 1958 she began to represent the
Conservatives living in the area.

She was elected MP after the 1959 General Election
and promoted to the Front Bench in Harold Macmillan's Govt.
as Parliamentary Undersecretary at The Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance

After the 1964 Election the Tories found themselves out of Office
She became the spokeswoman for Housing and Land
It was there that she promoted her Party's Policy of
selling off Council homes to its Tenants

Next, she was promoted to the Shadow Treasury in 1966
By 1967, she had become the Shadow Cabinet's fuel spokesman

Before the 1970 General Election she became the Shadow transport spokesman
Later, she went on to - Education.

This is where I come in
Remember, my awareness of Mrs. Thatcher
came into existence only in 1970

True, my reason for buying newsprint at the time
was solely to do with the fact that
a war was being fought out in my Home Country - Pakistan

A section of it wanted to break away
and form an Independent State, called, Bangladesh

Remember the concerts for Bangladesh
organized in New York by George Harrison
and Ravi Shanker to raise awareness of
the atrocities taking place in East Pakistan?

The glaring headlines writ large in British newspapers
of the time, said it al:

Pakistan's name was mud
But, glancing at the British section of the newspaper
so was Mrs. Thatcher's

The end of ‘71 saw two major upsets - (for me)
One, Mrs. T's job approval rating plummeted
as she snatched milk

And, two, East Pakistan - with India's help - triumphantly emerged as Independent Bangladesh

6

The spotlight shifted away from the Sub-Continent
and, confined itself solely to scrutinizing
in detail - the policies of the Heath Government

In 1973 it took the UK successfully
into the European Economic Union

However, it had failed to control the troubles in Northern Ireland
And, it had disastrously failed in it's attempts to curb the growing power of the Unions

Two damaging Miners strikes led to ‘the three-day working week' - (in order to save electricity)

I remember taking a friend shopping down Oxford Street. She bought two outfits from Selfridges in virtual darkness!

The Government went to the Nation
to ask it for a mandate to curb the excesses of the Unions
But, all it was rewarded with was a hung Parliament

The Tories failed to get the support of the Liberals, so the Heath Govt. had to allow Labour under Harold Wilson to replace it. Later that year Wilson went to the electorate in hopes of securing a large mandate....He did manage to win more seats but not that many.

I recall that whenever there was an important vote in the House of Commons, the Labour Whips had to make sure that all it's Mp's were present to vote with the Govt. (No matter that a Patient had to be transported to Parliament by ambulance, cut short a honeymoon in Honolulu - or whatever -)

Although, Heath lost two General Elections in a year
(February ‘74 and October ‘74)
he intended to stay on as Party Leader
and, fight a third Election- whenever that was

However, his former
Secretary of Education and Science, Margaret Thatcher
had other ideas
and, challenged him

She had already been in several Govt. Departments
and, had a great deal of experience
No one else was as experienced
So she, easily won the Leadership election against him

Heath took his defeat very badly
He refused to serve in the Shadow Cabinet
and, went to the back benches
only to snap and criticize Mrs. T. throughout her years in Office

During the above drama, I went briefly to Pakistan - and, that's where my very own drama unfolded.
Aged just 24
I found myself saddled with a brain tumour

An immediate operation was the only option

Ofcourse, it was botched up!

The electricity, which often fails in my Country
choose the very moment I was on the operating table - to go off

The Hospital's generator was hastily switched on
but, by then my brain had been starved of oxygen
and the left side of my body had become paralysed

I was kept partially sedated for long periods
One day it was Monday, the next Saturday
One day, everyone was wishing me a happy New Year
the next, it was the 15th of January.

I don't remember when I realized that I had become semi-paralysed. Perhaps, it crept up on me gradually - because, no one had the courage to say anything to me. Maybe it was better that way. Allow me to feel around for myself - look at different possibilities.

On hindsight, I'm very glad that no Doctor shared his doom and gloom about my future with me.
Anyway
finding myself on my own
is how I developed this very positive personality
I wouldn't change it for anything
But, back then, the silence of those around me was deafening.

I was forced to turn into myself for strength...
Was it a good thing...?
Positively!
It turned out to be the making of me.

I was probably devastated by my condition for a bit
But, at the same time I was positive
that my illness wasn't going to be permanent.

Armed with that self-assessment
I was flown to Germany for some corrective treatment.

Did it help?
Unfortunately-no!

My father was told that the World famous
Wolfson Rehabilitation Centre located in
Britain was my best hope for a reasonable future

So, England
back I returned

My Father bought me a house in Wimbledon
and, I settled down to my rehabilitation

Luckily for me
within two days the Wolfson Centre
made me virtually independent

I couldn't walk
I didn't know then, that I would never walk again
and, that, I'd be forever wheelchair bound

But, at the time - my optimism knew no bounds

Being virtually independent was the key
to my good humour and zest for life

I could get from my chair to my bed by sliding on a board
I could grip a handle and hop on my good leg across to the toilet

Make myself some coffee
What else did I need...?

Oh yes...
I couldn't write anymore
so, therefore
a typewriter was a pre-requisite
in order to write letters etc.

I knew, I was going to shift from Business Studies
to writing something
...But, what....?

While I was wondering
me and my TV switched our attention to
none other than - British Politics

7

Almost the first thing that was bought to my attention was
that Mr. Heath had been defeated
in a January 1975 Leadership election
and, replaced by Mrs. Thatcher

(When Heath first learnt of his defeat
apparently, he was stunned into saying:
'It feels like a dream.')

I found it very intriguing that
Mrs. Thatcher was the new Conservative Party Leader

But, apart from her getting elocution lessons in order to lower
and smoothen out her Lincolnshire accent
She made - according to me - only two notable speeches at the time:

One in 1976 - at the Kensington Town Hall
in which she attacked the Soviet Union, robustly:

'The Russians are bent on World dominance, and, they are rapidly acquiring the means to become the most powerful imperial Nation the World has ever seen.......'

After that, ‘the Red Star' newspaper
belonging to the Soviet Defence Ministry
dubbed her: 'The Iron Lady'

The name stuck
She loved it
So did we
It suited her to a ‘T'

(Years later, (2007) when a bronze statue in her honour
was unveiled in her presence at the Houses of Parliament -
opposite Winston Churchill's - TV cameras captured her
stating: 'I would have preferred iron-but, bronze
will do...It won't rust.')

And. the other notable speech
was made in 1978 regarding: 'Immigration.'
In which, she claimed:
'People here, were beginning to feel ‘swamped' by
the influx of immigrants........ '

You can imagine, what a storm that sentence
and. others like it. caused

By ‘78-'79 - there were a series of damaging strikes
notoriously dubbed: ‘The Winter of Discontent'

Thanks to the unruly Unions
the entire Country came to a virtual standstill

The garbage collectors -
the grave diggers etc.
went on strike, too -
It was a God-awful time!

During the Elections
the Tories put up the memorable poster:
‘Labour isn't working'

Even without that damaging poster
Labour would have been swept out of Office

Until then, Britain had been known as:
'The sick man of Europe'
thanks to the strength of the Unions
who knew how to manipulate a Labour Govt.
And, hence
hold the Country to ransom

Little did the Unions know
that Mrs. Thatcher was waiting with impatience
to 'comprehensively clip, ' their wings

8

Mrs. T. won the 1979 General Election with a 44 seat majority.

Outside, No.10 Downing Street, she memorably quoted Saint Francis: 'Where there is discord, may we bring harmony....'

Despite those words
the next few years certainly saw more discord than harmony

Almost immediately, Mrs. Thatcher began trying to renegotiate Britians' Annual Budget contributions to the EEC.

In her bid to raise money
she sold, what was considered to be - some of the UK's
finest ‘Family Silver'
i.e. British Gas, Rolls Royce, British Airways, etc.

Luckily for her
The North Sea oil tap had been turned on in ‘75
And, people weren't that hard up.....
Not, like they are today
(I'm writing this retrospective in the year 2012)

The following claim will be hotly contested
till the end of time: 'Some of her policies:
helped increase the North/South Divide
and made - the rich-richer and, the poor-poorer.'

Perhaps...

Anyway, let me tell you what her philosophy was
Lower taxes and less government
More freedom for consumers and business
A reduction in social expenditure

Sounds simple... doesn't it...?
but, it was more than complicated

She oversaw cutbacks at Home
Inflation came down
But, unemployment went up

Her Chancellor, Sir Geoffery Howe
announced further cutbacks
Naturally, all opinion polls swore that Mrs. T.
was the worst British Prime Minister in history

However, Mrs. T. took no notice of polls
unlike the Prime Ministers of today
She just pressed on with her convictions

In a sense, many of her policies
went hand in hand with those of the US President, Ronald Reagan

But, whereas he was popular with the American Public
She didn't seem to endear herself to many of Uk's citizens

Both believed in the free market
Some of today's banking crisis
Is being traced back to them

Still, Ronald Regan and, Mrs. Thatcher
dominated the World stage of the 1980's
Both played a big part in the collapse of the Soviet Union
How big a part is debatable? !

Since Mrs. Thatcher had few friends
she found herself frequently standing alone at meetings

I've already mentioned the EEC
now - a few words about The Commonwealth

At meetings, everyone was for sanctions against South Africa
and it's Apartheid policies

Although Mrs. Thatcher insisted she hated Apartheid
she refused to join in the sanctions

Yes, she cut a lonely figure
In most places
bar, America

Fortunately for her
a critical moment in history
turned her abysmal standing, around

the defining moment of her Premiership
came with The Falklands War

(The Falklands being a group of Islands off the coast of Argentina.
Since 1764 they had been alternatively owned by France and Spain.
Then, disputed over by Britain and Spain and finally Britain and Argentina.)

The Military Junta in Argentina suddenly invaded the Islands in April 1982
In response, The Iron Lady dispatched a Military force to
defend the territory
Something the Argentineans thought she would never do

After a fierce fight Argentina was forced into
surrender in June ‘82

(But, Britain has to stay ever vigilant
the Islands and their surrounds are rich in offshore oil and fish
So despite Argentina signing a Treaty which promised
not to invade the Islands again
it is constantly claiming sovereignty over the Territory.)

The 1982 victory'
The Labour Party's disunity
And the recovery of the UK economy
Happily conspired to assist Mrs. T.
and she romped home in the 1983 General Elections - with a whopping 144 seat majority

9

All through her Premiership she never missed an opportunity to criticize The Russians
Even though she admitted
she could do ‘business with'
its reformist Leader Mikhail Gorbachev

Regan was just as belligerent

Although a NATO-led decision was made in early 1981
(Before his Term in Office began)
to house American Cruise Missiles on Greenham Common - England
he didn't reverse the decision when he entered Office in late ‘81

But, some of the British public
wished to rid their soil of cruise missiles

The UK Government's consent
triggered off mass protests and sit-ins
It took a decade before ‘successful evictions' came into force

But, the brave women who had set up Camp there
were the clear winners
America was forced to take it's Missiles home by 1989/90

Foreign Policy aside
Mrs. T's second-term was
noted for her ‘action' against the Country's Unions

She was determined to curb their powers
They undermined Parliament
and, stifled the economy

Ted Heath had tried but failed to dominate them.
But, Mrs. T. was determined not to be the first to blink

So, before confronting the Union of Coal miners
she hired strongman, Ian MacGregor
Then, stock-piled large supplies of fuel
and, equipped the Police with riot gear

Then, she announced that she was
shutting down 20% of the coal mines
And, waited expectantly for the Miners to go on strike

They did - under Arthur Scargill -

The strike went on for over a year ('84-'85)
It cost the economy over a billion pounds
The clashes between Govt., Miners and Police turned violent
But, Mrs. T. conceded nothing

In fact, she succeeded in closing many more Mines than were originally intended

Financially wrecked Miners drifted back to work

Yes, thanks to her steely determination
the stranglehold over the Country
the Mine workers and other Unions
had once enjoyed was either snuffed out
or, left severely weakened

She continued to privatize loss making Companies
and, sold-off Council houses to their Tenants
Both were popular though controversial moves

In Oct. ‘84 I flew off to Amsterdam with my father
to check out Holland's reputed: ‘Disabled friendly' credentials

Shortly after entering my hotel room
I tuned into BBC1 to see what was
happening at the Conservative Party Confrence
taking place in Brighton -

Two minutes later
I watched in horror
as an IRA bomb intended for her
almost brought the huge hotel she
was staying in, crashing down

5 people died
But, she emerged calm and unscathed

She insisted the Conference go ahead as planned
Gave a rousing speech
and, enhanced her standing throughout the Country

As for the IRA and the other dissident groups of Northern Ireland
they've had longstanding grievances against Britain
going back centuries

During Mrs. T's tenure
the violence in Belfast got worse
And, no progress was made

Hunger strikes were staged by the IRA
The British Government made a few concessions
But, ofcourse-they were never anywhere near enough!

10


In June ‘87 Mrs Thatcher won a record Third General election
She was the first Prime Minister in 160 years to do so

On the steps of No.10 she said: 'It is wonderful to be entrusted
with the government of this great Country, once again...'

But, a central policy
written into the Tory Party manifesto
which replaced the Household rates with a Community charge
was widely disparaged by the Public
and, it dealt her Government a fatal blow

Things went swiftly downhill after that
and, her Premiership wasn't allowed to last out it's full term

In essence the Community charge was this:
in future a householder would be taxed according to the number of people living under the same roof rather than the size of one's property. In other words, a couple living in a small bed-sit would be charged more than the millionaire living alone - down the road.

Ofcourse this led a normally patient and tolerant society
to revolt and riot
Mrs. Thatcher's standing plummeted
- never to recover, again

Even her most ardent of supporters
(of which-I am one)
Saw the flaw immediately

But, she didn't
or, worse still - wouldn't...!

The Country went berserk
But, she simply refused to budge

Her final downfall came soon after

On hindsight
history has proved her right
But, back then....

The sheer brutality in which she was dismissed
was stunning, as well as. heartbreaking

Mrs. T. had originally voted with Heath's Government to join the EEC
Because, dealing with E\urope would be good for Uk's industry

But, her enthusiasm eroded as the EEC began to intrude further and further into the British way of life

The very last straw for her came at a Rome Summit in late 1990
when the UK was invited to join a Common European Currency - the Euro

All Europeans agreed to it in principle
She didn't...!

As she famously confirmed in her: ' No! No! No! ' explanation to the House of Commons
Britain would become subservient to the EEC
If she had signed the treaty

Like many, I agreed with her wholeheartedly
Not so - many in her Party

They wanted closer ties with Europe
Not the gulf she was creating

Her normally stringent and combative style didn't help improve matters
In fact, many felt, she had became very shrill, dictatorial
and, absolutely incapable of listening to any of her colleagues.

(Although the following famous quote is from a Tory Conference Speech given in 1981, it might as well have been made years later...When the Press had suggested she do an economic policy U-turn -
she Majestically replied: 'You turn if you want to. The Lady's not for turning.')


Labour zoomed ahead of her and panicked
the discontented Tories
They simply had to find another Leader
before they lost their seats at the next Election

The, 'No! No! No! ' speech as regards the EEC
triggered off the events that led to her swift
and brutal downfall

First, her Pro-Euro Deputy PM, Sir Geoffrey Howe resigned
in an angst-filled speech because she had refused to give a
date to join the European Currency.
Next, Michael Heseltine, who used to be a Cabinet Minister, but had resigned years earlier
back-stabbed her by challenging her for the Leadership of the Conservative Party
And finally - most humiliatingly - she didn't win decisively against him in the first ballot

She was persuaded by friends
not to stand in a second ballot

Instead, she put a candidate of her own choice in place
to challenge, ‘The Back stabber'

She agreed to refrain from standing in a second ballot
Choose John Major to replace herself
And resigned

(John Major went on to beat Hurd and THAT other Challenger
and followed Mrs. T. into Downing Street.)

(Mrs. T. foresaw just the scenario that is being played out in Greece and other European Countries
She wanted a strong Sterling
able to stand on its own
Beholden to no one but the British Taxpayer


Such disparate groups as:
The CBI
The Unions
Richard Branson
et al.
held the opposite view
|and couldn't wait to join
the Europeans

Now that Mrs. Thatcher's been proved right
And most other people wrong
Where are they now...?
Politicians from every Party:
Tony Blair
Peter Mandelson
Michael Heseltine
Kenneth Clarke
Paddy Ashdown
...You name them
Where...?

Gone to ground
....that's where
Ha! Ha!

As for Mrs. Thatcher - elevated!
William Hague - similarly, so

In conclusion:

Mrs. Thatcher
changed Britain forever
for the better

She inherited an ailing economy
Turned it around
Put the ‘Great' back into Britain
and achieved
too many things to mention in this record

As she bade Downing Street a tearful farewell
after 11 years and 209 days in Office
I recalled a quote from her 1973 TV interview, in which she said:
'I don't think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime.'

All that's left for me to say is
Well done Mrs. Thatcher
There will never, ever be anyone
to match your stature.

Since you left the scene
my newspapers, radio and TV screen
have been awash with Pygmies
posing as Important Politicians!
None of them can hold a candle to you
NONE!


THE END