Comments (13) The wave was as magisterial as ever, although her steps were a little less confident.Posted on 09/13/2007 5:11:34 PM PDT by Pikamax
Comments (13) The wave was as magisterial as ever, although her steps were a little less confident.
But walking through the front door of No 10 Downing Street yesterday, Maggie Thatcher seemed to be back where she belonged. It was a day that many thought they would never see.
And as she arrived as the guest of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, it was perhaps a day that David Cameron wished he hadn't seen.
As the Tory leader launched his green policy proposals, Westminster's attention was riveted by the meeting between the Iron Lady and the Iron Chancellor.
All eyes were on the Labour-friendly colour of her dress, which complemented Mr Brown's tie and was a far cry from the electric blue so closely associated with the former Conservative leader.
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Her old haunt: Gordon Brown brings Margaret Thatcher back to Downing Street
The timing of the visit was said to be coincidental but there was no escaping the political potency of an event that embarrassed the Tories and handed another propaganda coup to Mr Brown.
A fortnight ago he mocked Mr Cameron by claiming he - and not the Tory leader - was a "conviction politician" like Lady Thatcher.
Last night Tories claimed the public would refuse to be taken in by a "political stunt" that made a mockery of Mr Brown's promise to end the politics of spin.
There was also surprise that the Labour leader, who devoted so much of his early political career to demonising Lady Thatcher, could bring himself to put on such a public display of admiration.
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Greetings: The PM welcomes Margaret Thatcher to his home
As an ambitious young MP in 1989, Mr Brown published a book entitled "Where there is greed: Margaret Thatcher and the betrayal of Britain's future".
Whether that delicate topic was raised over the clink of teacups remains to be seen.
Both sides, however, dismissed speculation that the visit had been timed to embarrass Mr Cameron.
Sources said Mr Brown had invited Lady Thatcher soon after he took over from Tony Blair, after she wrote to him to congratulate him on taking office.
A friend of Lady Thatcher said: "This is Prime Minister to Prime Minister. If the PM invites you to go to No 10 you don't say no. Politics just don't come into it."
Nearly 17 years after she left Downing Street in tears, Lady Thatcher was greeted by Mr Brown, who helped her from her official car and escorted her with a guiding hand over the threshold.
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Odd couple: Gordon Brown and Margaret Thatcher at No10
Inside, he introduced her to the staff in his private office, including his chief of staff Tom Scholar, whose father Sir Michael served as Lady Thatcher's private secretary when she was Premier. After a visit to the Cabinet room, Mr Brown and Lady Thatcher spent 50 minutes in his office - known as the Thatcher room - for private talks.
The Prime Minister then took her upstairs to the apartment above No 10, where she lived with her husband Sir Denis. She had tea with Sarah Brown, her sons John and Fraser, and Maggie Darling, the wife of the Chancellor, who now uses the flat. The custodian who served her - Bill - remembered that she took her tea black. Sybil, the new Downing Street cat, perched on her lap.
Mr and Mrs Brown appeared on the doorstep to see her off. As she left, clutching flowers presented to her by John, she wagged a finger at journalists who asked if she had joined the Labour party.
Labour yesterday announced it had awarded its advertising contract to Saatchi and Saatchi - the agency which helped Mrs Thatcher win power in 1979 with its slogan "Labour Isn't Working".
The Saatchi brothers who founded the original agency, Maurice and Charles, have since left to set up their own company.
Yesterday Labour released an image it said had been crucial to the agency's success. It shows a suited Prime Minister accompanied by the slogan: "Not flash, just Gordon."
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Welcome back: a tearful Mrs Thatcher leaves No 10 in 1990
This incident tells me that Brown is filthy...filthy...FILTHY!
She was born in October 1925...making her almost 82 years old and below I'll provide a link to her website which gives a brief history of her health problems:
I don't know about you but to me she looks quite frail in these photos...far more frail than my Dad looked at 82,that's for sure.
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=109305
Maybe he is...though I don’t know that her attendance at his invitation is enough to credit her with failing mental faculties. She’s frail physically, mentally? Provide evidence.
Without evidence I’ll presume mentally she’s still a steward of her own mind, and with that I’d state Cameron and the Tories that elected him DESERVE the embarrassment received. Cameron=McCain. Leadership of Tories=RINO’s
I have no use for the Tory party led by Cameron, and I’d be a bit put off if Thatcher was overtly friendly to that crowd.
Now I’m not a fan of Brown either. But I could certainly understand how their mutual interests in delivering that crowd of Tories a stunning rebuke could breed temporary good will.
Go here:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=051210030244.lpbfxvhd&show_article=1
Thatcher ‘cannot remember start of sentence’: daughter
Lady Thatcher has put on weight, and she does look a little stuned, as we say around here. However, she’s as well turn-out as always!
Remember that strokes don’t so much affect what a person thinks and feels, as the way they’re able to express themselves.
It's always a pleasure to see Lady Thatcher, though sad to see how her strength is fading.
However, Gordon Brown is going to discover soon enough that media PR stunts aren't going to be enough to carry him and Britain through the gathering storm.
From 1994:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyoooi1IqiQ&mode=related&search=
I'd encourage you to check out the video to which I refer in Post#9 and also check out the link provided in Post#6.
Strokes,depending on how many there are and where in the brain they occur can very seriously affect one's thinking,the way they feel and the way they express themselves.From what I saw today on the BBC News combined with other things (including the link in Post#6) I firmly believe that Brown has taken advantage of a **frail old lady** for political gain.This puts him in the same league as any of the most despicable RATS that you'll find in this country for it's *exactly* the same thing that a Clinton,an Osama Obama or an Edwards would do.
I won't argue with you. Nothing a politician does can be awful enough to surprise me.
I think Gordon Brown is a scum, but the Tory leadership has been increasingly irrelevant ever since they pushed Maggie Thatcher out of the government.
There is no alternative to Labour that isn’t even worse at this point.
All I need to know is the Torries’ recently explained environmental policy.
Conservative? I think not. I’m sure Lady Thatcher would feel the same way.
You are most welcome, and thank YOU for the link.
My best regards.
“I won’t argue with you. Nothing a politician does can be awful enough to surprise me.”
Yes, and I thought it was really, really more than scummy and despicable that a couple of our politicians hoping to become president went to London for photo ops with Lady Thatcher.
It was selfish, revolting, and unforgivable.
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