Petition for the Thatcher state funeral to be privatised

[T_i_B]

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18914

In keeping with the great lady's legacy, Margaret Thatcher's state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector to offer the best value and choice for end users and other stakeholders. The undersigned believe that the legacy of the former PM deserves nothing less and that offering this unique opportunity is an ideal way to cut government expense and further prove the merits of liberalised economics Baroness Thatcher spearheaded.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Signed

Give the contract to Group 4 - with any luck, they'll lose the coffin on the way to the church, and everyone could go home ...

[oldironside]

2. I'm not sure if I postedt this before...

... but it's worth watching again. Especially the bit about the shovel.

[CBHagman]

13. I LOVE that "Mock the Week" segment.

And yes, the proposal regarding the shovels was priceless.

[Nihil]

3. Beautifully done!

K+R+Signed!


(ETA: Over 10,900 signatures so far )

[steve2470]

4. This thread made me search Google News to see IF she had died

All I could find were articles about Meryl Streep depicting her in a movie.

[T_i_B]

5. Yeah well Meryl Streep playing Thatcher in a film is one of the Torygraph's pet topics

The Daily Telegraph being a paper that regards Margret Thatcher as something of a saint to be venerated without question.

The main subject that the Telegraph discusses at length all the sodding time is the Euro crisis. Some of their writers such as Dan Hannan are totally useless on this subject and to be avoided due to their inability to understand that schadenfraude is not a policy, nor is it a substitute for policy.

Others such as Jeremy Warner and even Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (never thought I'd say that) on the other hand are actually quite good on that subject.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. There were some: "Margaret Thatcher approves plan for state funeral costing at least £2m"

Dec 12 2011 By Torcuil Crichton

MARGARET THATCHER is said to have approved a blueprint for an eye-wateringly expensive state funeral.

The former Tory Prime Minister's plans are said to include similar arrangements to those given to Winston Churchill, including a send-off at St Paul's Cathedral and a concert orchestra playing Land Of Hope And Glory.

But the 86-year-old has said that she does not want the public to see her lying in state and does not want a military fly-over at her funeral.

The price for a state funeral is likely to run into millions of pounds, with policing such an event costing s2million alone.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/12/12/margaret-thatcher-approves-plan-for-state-funeral-costing-at-least-2m-86908-23628665/

I seriously do think some arse-licking corporation, or her 'foundation', should be made to pay for it. Here's a piece by a Thatcher supporter, who nevertheless sees why a state funeral is inappropriate:

Margaret Thatcher deserves every honour – apart from a state funeral

The problem is that talk of a state funeral for Lady Thatcher reflects a troubling failure to understand what such events are about. They are so very rarely awarded because they have been designed for a category of great men and women who have come to represent the nation as a whole, rather than a particular sect or faction.
...
Yet her greatness as a prime minister is not enough. State ceremonies can be very damaging unless (as with the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton) the whole nation can come together.

This will not happen after Lady Thatcher’s death. There are too many people – for example, shipyard workers from Glasgow, miners from Yorkshire and the Welsh valleys – whose livelihoods were destroyed during her premiership. They struggled against her government passionately at the time, and many still abhor her memory.
...
As it happens, I reluctantly take the view that Mrs Thatcher was right to take on the trade unions as she did, even though the human consequences were dire. But Mr Farham – who accurately states in his letter that there are “hundreds of thousands like me” – has every right to believe what he does. He is a British citizen just as much as the most ardent of Thatcher fans, with the proviso that, as a miner, he probably worked harder and risked more for his country than they did.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100125535/lady-thatcher-deserves-every-honour-%E2%80%93-apart-from-this-one/

[tjwmason]

9. The comparison with Churchill is particularly telling.

Few would now agree with his support for colonialism, many are (or these days better to say were) far from convinced by his government in the 1950s...it wasn't for his 'normal' Prime Ministering that he was given a state funeral, it was for his role in leading the country through the Second World War. Thatcher has nothing to even begin to compare with that.

If her fan club (which is still very very strong in some areas) want to have a massive-scale funeral, fine by me. If the Beeb (or more likely Sky) want to televise it, fine by me. A state funeral is an endorsement by the state (as opposed to the government), which is inappropriate for somebody who provokes such massive disagreement in the country.

I still think that Blair came up with the idea to try and get one for himself.

[LeftishBrit]

11. Agreed including your last sentence!

[LeftishBrit]

10. No; the plans for her bloody funeral have been a topic for years and years

I'd feel a bit uncomfortable if people were constantly planning my funeral; but in her case, it seems to be a great honour.

All reminds me of the joke from the time of her evil reign:


Maggie fell into the Thames and was going under for the third time.

Just in time, a strong teenage boy came by and pulled her out.

'You have saved my life!' she cried. 'What do you want in return?'

'A state funeral', he replied.

'But you are young and strong and healthy; you don't need a funeral!'

'I will, when my Dad finds out whom I've rescued!'

[oldironside]

12. Reminds me of the bus game.

Apparently at a Tory conference sometime in the mid-80s a group of MPs were playing the bus game. "If Margaret Thatcher were knocked down and killed by a bus tomorrow, who would you vote for as the new leader. The usual candidates were there: Heseltine, Tebbit, Baker, etc. But the winner, with over 50% of the vote was "the driver of the bus".

[steve2470]

7. I was going to sign this petition but I cannot, alas nt

[dipsydoodle]

8. We have the same problem at times

with stuff over your side - polls, write to Nanci Pelosi whatever. You have to be "local".

[T_i_B]

14. Kicking this to the top.

It's what she would have wanted.

[steve2470]

15. k&r nt