Margaret Thatcher Statue Egged Within Hours of Unveiling

    Photo: PA [via The Daily Mail]

    The Facts

    • A statue of late UK PM Margaret Thatcher was egged on Sun., just hours after being unveiled in her hometown of Grantham, Lincolnshire.

    • The former Conservative leader has proven a controversial historical political figure. Alongside the widespread privatization of public sector services, she oversaw the closure of British coal mines in 1984-85, resulting in mass unemployment and an embittered battle between striking miners and authorities.


    The Spin

    Right narrative

    Margaret Thatcher is a significant part of Grantham's heritage and it's only right that her influence and legacy, not only in policy but as the UK's first female PM, should be recognized and honored. Vandalism isn't a political statement, it's a juvenile way of avoiding the education and information symbolized by such a memorial.

    Left narrative

    This statue was always going to be a prime target for political protest. Thatcher's decimation of Northern mining communities has made her easily the most divisive PM of the last century. Putting up a statue of this controversial figure during a cost of living crisis will only prompt people to concentrate on the modern-day Tory austerity that's driving Brits to the breadline.

    Nerd narrative

    There is a 49% that the UK will have a Conservative PM at the beginning of 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


    Political split

    LEFT

    RIGHT

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