Thatcher, my Grandad and me

Without hearing a person’s accent, I reckon you can have a fair idea of where a person grew up by how they react to today’s death of Baroness Thatcher. While I have absolutely no wish to gloat over her death, I can understand some of the less than sympathetic sentiments being expressed. Quite simply, she destroyed communities up and down the country with her actions and many people do not wish to be hypocritical by expressing sorrow over her loss.

Many people whose lives were ruined as a result of her policies are expressing their emotions about that today. Should they perhaps wait for another day? Maybe.  Should they clarify first that they are not glad she is dead, just angry about these policies? Probably. But I understand how deep these emotions run and how hard it can be to hide them when you remember the extent of your family’s suffering.

Growing up in a shipbuilding community with a grandparent, uncles, aunts and a step-dad all reliant on the work there, I have first-hand experience of how families were directly affected by her decisions. My granddad was a lovely man. He was quiet, calm and worked very hard as a shipwright in the dockyard to provide for his family. He certainly would not rejoice in the death of anyone, but I know if he met Baroness Thatcher up in heaven he’d have a few choice words for the woman I grew up thinking must utterly hate Scotland.

My home town is only now getting back on its feet after being beaten to within an inch of its life thanks to Thatcherism. Those ship building contracts were the lifeblood of my town, and provided a steady career path from apprenticeship to retirement if you wanted it. Whilst now it seems perhaps unrealistic to have ever expected a job for life, back then it was taken as a given. 

And if you look at our economy now, we’re promoting ship building, industry and trying desperately to get more apprentices, I have to wonder how improved we could be as a nation had she left us alone? Would my step-dad have been able to stay in Scotland and spend his last few precious years on earth with my little sister instead of having to traipse up and down to Plymouth every week in search of work?

Baroness Thatcher may have a legacy of being the first female leader of a major democracy, and for that I applaud her. But her real legacy, in Scotland at least, is one of destruction. Whether that be communities, industry or the spirit and livelihoods of families who will never forgive her. That sounds harsh on today of all days, but as I said, while I am truly sorry an old lady has died, I cannot be a hypocrite and forget what she did as Prime Minister to my family, town and country.