This in from Andrew Turner’s office, in their own words. Ed
Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP has said he is very sad to hear of the death of Baroness Thatcher this morning following a stroke.
Mr Turner said, “Baroness Thatcher was quite simply the best Prime Minister of my lifetime I am very sad to hear that she has died. She turned Great Britain around from being the ‘sick man of Europe’ to a prosperous country with wealth spread throughout all parts of the nation and across all sectors of the public.
“Coming from a humble background herself she understood the aspirations people have to forge better lives for themselves and their families. Many people’s lives were transformed by opportunities she created; for example for the first time tenants were able to buy their council houses and so build up some return from the rent they had paid in for many years.”
The Iron Lady
He went on to say, “It was not for nothing that she was known as the Iron Lady – and together with Ronald Regan and Pope John Paul II she brought about the collapse of communism. Of course she also stood firm in 1982 against Argentinian aggression over the Falkland Islands – sending a task force some 8,000 miles around the world to stand up for those British people living so far away.
“I had not seen her for some time – but when I last saw her although her body was frail and she had some difficulty speaking and problems with her memory – her mind was as sharp as ever.
“In 1997 she signed a card wishing me well in my selection interview for the Isle of Wight and it must have brought me luck.”
Image: Robert Huffstutter under CC BY 2.0
