Thoughts about Thatcher

My mother always taught me, as a rule, not to speak ill of the dead. I, therefore won't speak ill of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, but I find no praise for her time in Government.

There is no doubt that Margaret Thatcher was a formidable politician: She smashed the Unions, she defeated the Argentinian military junta, she even scared the Conservative elite who had run the country for centuries. The reality is, however, her time in power coincided with one some of the darkest episodes of race relations in recent British history.

Black people had been on the receiving end of continued harassment from the police due to Thatcher's new policing directive the - 'Sus laws', this meant the police could 'Stop and Search' anyone they suspected of crime. As a result major race riots broke out in more than 6 cities across England, many perceived that Thatcher's new Government had given the police 'carte blanche' to harrass and even 'fit up'-plant drugs and other crimes -on innocent Black people. These acts along with rising employment and a political narrative that demonised Black people to gain electoral advantage ensured that many viewed the Conservative Party as the 'nasty party'.

Subsequent Conservative leaders have sought to turn around and rehabilitate their 'nasty' image which was born during the Thatcher era.

Truth is though I suspect that there will be few Black people of a certain age who will be deeply mourning her passing away.

Race equality campaigner Lee Jasper will write a fuller piece about the impact and legacy of the Thatcher era.

Simon Woolley