Yes, we're milking Margaret Thatcher for profit and publicity. It's what she would have wanted

I am not a fan of Margaret Thatcher. I’m not a Conservative, but I recognise she still divides opinion.  

The centenary of her birth is not something everyone would want to celebrate – she is one of the most polarising figures of recent political history.  

Maggie Thatcher is the most famous woman to come from Grantham.  

My aim is that anybody coming into the town – regardless of whether they are the son of a mining family or the daughter of an industry baron – should remember that Grantham was the town that sent Margaret Thatcher out into the world. 

Mrs T was the most divisive public figure of her time and, even 35 years after she was forced to resign from office, she remains a totemic figure of the British political landscape.  

Some people are fond of her legacy, and some despise it. Many people in Grantham would rather the town was not associated with Thatcher. They would prefer she had been born somewhere else, or not at all.  

Read more:

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Margaret Roberts grew up above her father’s grocer shop and went to the Kesteven Girls’ grammar school before moving onto bigger things. In 1943 she left the town to study chemistry at Oxford and in 1959 she entered politics as an MP.  

Twenty years later, she became prime minister of the UK. She was not only the country’s first female premier but also the longest serving PM of the 20th century. 

However, this month the council and community are running a festival to mark the centenary of Thatcher’s birth, as a ruse to get people to come and spend their money in our town. Yes, we are milking the reputation of the original milk snatcher for profit and publicity. It’s what she would have wanted! 

Thatcher Fest includes a wide range of activities from across the political and artistic spectrum. There are guided tours of the town which will show visitors the church, the school and the infamous corner shop. There are talks by famous former MPs Edwina Currie and Gyles Brandreth, as well as professor James Cooper, an expert on the politics and history of the last days of the Cold War.  

This is not everyone’s cup of tea, so there will also be two evenings of irreverent music and poetry, including contributions from left-wing performance poet, Attila the Stockbroker, and Billy Blagg (a tribute act to the Bard of Barking). The regular Saturday market in Grantham will feature sounds of the 80s and there will also be exhibitions of art and Thatcherabilia across the town. 

Theatrical performances will include the acclaimed drag show Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho which reimagines her on the eve of the vote on Section 28 (which outlawed the promotion of homosexuality in schools), as well as a specially commissioned production by the Grantham Dramatic Society entitled Living Over the Shop which will be performed in the church and the library once attended by young Margaret.  

By using Thatcher Fest to tell the story of the 1980s from these different perspectives, we hope more people will be likely to come to Grantham to see the bronze statue of the Iron Lady and to visit Grantham Museum which houses a collection of her artefacts and explains how Thatcher went from living above the shop to living at Downing Street. 

Whether you remember Mrs T as the milk snatcher or the Iron Lady, we would love to see you during the festival. The overriding aims are to promote political debate and to drive footfall to Grantham. 

As a politician and a British prime minister, Thatcher had a massive impact on the global stage and on contemporary British society. 

Regardless of what you think of her views or her policies, a woman getting to the position of prime minister in 1979 was astonishing. 

Thatcher Fest runs until 18 October.

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