Should Baroness Thatcher Be Accorded The Honour Of A State Funeral?

[sp1814]

Can Churchill's funeral be used as a precedent?

Is there a danger of re-opening old wounds?

By the way - I don't even know whether it's being considered yet!

[OrdsallSi]

NO

[anneasquith]

no,

[gness]

No

[sp1814]

friedgreentomato - yes...it's known as Godwin's Law.

[zebo]

No, but not for the same reasons as those who are dancing on her potential grave. I'd like her to have a private dignified funeral, as anyone deserves, not something which the morons will attempt to hijack.

[jason.p]

Absolutely not. She was just another politician pushing her own brand of, ideology for which many in this country are still suffering. Whether you agree with her politics or not she was no different from any other politician pusuing her own selfish ideals. Anything other than an ordinary funeral will only rake up a load of sh1t. There's a lot of very deep held feelings about that woman.

[DTCwordfan]

Yes. She had her flaws and policy errors but she did a hell of a lot to turn this country around, a country that was heading down the tubes from an economic and societal perspective, a country that was heading to being the equivalent tinpot dictatorship (and not le's forget there was even strong suggestion of Mountbatten triggering a coup d'état back in the 70s....), anyway the sort of tinpot country that one Thatcher-hater here has referred to.

A ceremonial funeral would be right, a State funeral, no. She wasn't a Churchill - even allowing for the authorities wanting one before the Queen pops her clogs. Secondly, it will also be a decision for her family, precedence in declining State funerals being set by Disraeli's and Nightingale's families - one assumes that the family have the same right over a ceremonial funeral.

[friedgreentomato]

Thank you SP

[DJHawkes]

It's going to cost a blookin fortune in police and military hours and the BBC will no doubt use license payers money to get claire balding and david dimbelby to get in that perspex studio again and sound sombre. If the funeral was on a race day cliare wouldn;t be able to do it though would she

[ummmm]

Wow....Is there any vinegar to go with all these chips?

[sir.prize]

This was the feeling 12 months ago - and nothing seems to have changed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/04/margaret-thatcher-state-funeral-protests

Why can't she just have a dignified family funeral.?She deserve that but nothing more.

[anneasquith]

who will be paying for this state funeral ?

[chaptazbru]

Agree sir.prize.

[sir.prize]

anne - apparently it is not strictly a State funeral. It is call3d a ceremonial funeral with full military honours. Cannot see why. She was not even in the military. But who are we to question how the Government spends our cash.

No doubt it will be a state-sized event similar to the late Queen Mother's funeral. But I don't expect there to be millions lining the route to St Paul's.

And her darling son will need a chaperone to ensure he doesn't get lost again!

[sp1814]

Interesting:

A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition. Generally, state funerals are held in order to involve the general public in a national day of mourning after the family of the deceased gives consent. A state funeral will often generate mass publicity from both national and global media outlets, such as state funerals undertaken in the United Kingdom as well as state funerals in the United States.

[B00]

Has it said anywhere what type of funeral she wanted. Or her family?

[Kromovaracun]

I'm something of an admirer of the first two terms or so of Thatcher's premiership, but even if she hadn't inflicted a third term on us, I would still think she didn't deserve a state funeral.

For one, it's profoundly contradictory to her own principles, and second, as a leader she was too divisive. There's no good reason in the modern age for vast swathes of the population who hated her to be forced to pay for her funeral.

[modeller]

// Can Churchill's funeral be used as a precedent?//
No ! He was a great wartime leader . He was never much good as a peacetime politician.

//Is there a danger of re-opening old wounds?//
Yes ! From the same people who brought this country to its knees during Wilson's term and the Callaghan's Winter of Discontent when Labour tried to control the unions and failed .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_Discontent

They failed and Maggie succeeded for which they never forgave or forgot.
Significantly neither Blair nor Brown attempted to undo her legislation and neither are the two Eds promising to do so.