The first female British Prime Minster, the first to win three consecutive general elections, the longest serving PM in 150 years, solved Britain’s chronic economic problems turning her form the sick man of Europe to a healthy and vibrant economy, instrumental in ending the cold war plus liberated the Falkland Islands. And my favourite achievement of all, slayed the old left here in the UK and in Europe. Yet some question the viability of giving her a fitting send off!?

Come on!

Those who can’t see she deserves the best funeral money can buy, lack serious common sense and decency.

Now a vile song celebrating her death tops the charts and possibly makes it on radio in time for her funeral!

All of that embarrasses me when friends and family from outside the UK ask in horror are these Brits insane? Where I came from, when an important elder pass on, people and communities chip in to give them a fitting farewell. And no one speaks ill of the dead. But if they must, they wait until they are buried.

At first I used to cringe. However, after watching some of the debates and hearing from those who knew and worked with the Baroness, I realised that she won’t have wanted it any other way. I can picture her smiling at all the hullabaloo and the fuss made over her, over her legacy, her funeral both negative and positive. As someone who never shied away from an argument or denied people their voice and their say. Margaret Thatcher will be happy that people showed their feelings, let rip and spoke their minds. She wanted and always encouraged people, inside and outside this country to have a voice and speak up. It is one of the things that made her the great and rare conviction politician that she was.

This entire commotion after her death and over her funeral is just another addition to her legacy.

May she rest in eternal peace!

Yesterday I had a wonderful first time sit down meeting with a Prime Lady, we knew each other for years but the most we managed was the occasional exchange of pleasantries at meetings and events. At the Party Conference this year, we decided to do a coffee and have a proper catch up. So we meet yesterday and spend two hours talking, the best two hours and properly the most eyes opening meeting I had with one person in a very, very long time.

One of the things we touched on was women in public live and of course Margret Thatcher came up. I did not, until yesterday know that The Iron Lady had voice lessons in her early years as leader of the Conservative Party – and what a great and clever move. I have to admit, even though I have no idea what her untrained voice sounded like (one of the drawbacks of not growing up in Britain), but the finished product is very impressive.

Listening to Red Ed speak has always been a chore for me, and now that he is the Leader of the Opposition and therefore speaks to us more, I find it a real shame that keeping up with what he says is an uphill struggle and I know I am not alone in feeling that way. Every time he speaks it takes me a few seconds to get over the sound of his voice then a couple more to catch up and understand what I’ve missed and before long I’m half way behind. So why doesn’t he just take some voice coaching or elocution lessons. Judging by Baroness Thatcher’s outcome, it’ll do wonders to his speech making.

And before anyone blows a gasket! My intentions are not at all to have a dig at Mr. Miliband. Public speaking is an art and like most gifts for some people it comes naturally but for many it’s a craft they develop and prefect by learning it and train at bettering it and in Red Ed’s case he needs to do both.

Twenty years ago today Europhiles in the Conservative Party conspired and succeed to unseat the greatest Prime Minster of the Twentieth Century. Margaret Thatcher, loath or love her has left a legacy paralleled to none and very big shoes for any future Prime Minsters to fill. Until today she divides opinions, and ignites heated debate both of which are signs of her greatness and visionary leadership.

Who’d have thought back then that twenty years later, the European experiment will be where it is today and have serious question marks hanging over its viability and possible continuity!?

Thatcher’s achievements were and are still enormous, she took a bankrupt country that depended on IMF loans and turned it around, nationalised industries and brought government spending to just below 60 percent of GDP making the UK a serious and formidable financial player in the global economy. Plus, she won the Cold War, the Falkland’s war and took a tough stance when it came to terrorism and the IRA.

However, looking at Baroness Thatcher’s time with the eyes of an African girl in Sudan – I saw a woman who came from a modest background, a grocer’s daughter who did not belong to the old boys’ club with their smoke filled back rooms where big deals and the fate of whole nations were sealed with a handshake over Brandy. I saw a woman who believed in equality and not just preach it but actually delivered it – council tenants were allowed to own their homes and social mobility became a reality not just an election slogan or the working class wishful dream. A Lady who held genuine believes and convictions and was not afraid to act on them.

Of course there are those who will disagree with me and that’s OK! But the pride Maggie filed the young me all those years ago touched many people specially women young and old the world over!

Long lives Thatcher, long live the Iron Lady and thank you for the legacy!