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| Margaret Thatcher: Tributes from Wales to former PM | Margaret Thatcher: Tributes from Wales to former PM |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Tributes from Wales have been paid to former Conservative Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, who has died aged 87 following a stroke. | Tributes from Wales have been paid to former Conservative Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, who has died aged 87 following a stroke. |
| Welsh Secretary David Jones said the prime minister of 11 years was "the greatest Briton of the post-war era". | Welsh Secretary David Jones said the prime minister of 11 years was "the greatest Briton of the post-war era". |
| Flags flew at half mast over the Wales Office and at the Welsh assembly. | Flags flew at half mast over the Wales Office and at the Welsh assembly. |
| Political opponents also paid tribute, with former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock saying he admired her for being Britain's first woman prime minister. | |
| Lord Kinnock as opposition leader faced Mrs Thatcher in the House of Commons for seven years until her resignation in 1990. | |
| He said: "I recognise and admire the great distinction of Baroness Thatcher as the first woman to become leader of a major UK political party and prime minister. | |
| "I am sorry to hear of her death and offer my sympathy to her family." | |
| Welsh Secretary Mr Jones, the Tory MP for Clwyd West, said: "Margaret Thatcher was the greatest Briton of the post-war era." | |
| He added: "She inherited an economic situation that was very weak. | |
| "We had some very large state owned industries which were not profitable. | |
| "She decided that they had to be restructured and sadly the restructuring process did cause a lot of pain but I believe we came out the process a stronger nation economically." | |
| Welsh Labour First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "Margaret Thatcher was a major force in British political life who undoubtedly had a significant influence on the political, social and economic landscape in Wales and the UK. | |
| "There's no doubt about her personal achievement as the first woman to become British prime minister. | |
| "Her place in the history books is assured." | "Her place in the history books is assured." |
| Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh assembly, said: "Baroness Thatcher put the Great back into Great Britain. | Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh assembly, said: "Baroness Thatcher put the Great back into Great Britain. |
| "She was one of a kind amongst politicians - a truly great leader and a magnificent prime minister." | "She was one of a kind amongst politicians - a truly great leader and a magnificent prime minister." |
| Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: "Margaret Thatcher dominated the political landscape for over 20 years, an achievement in itself regardless of one's position on her politics and the effects of which are still felt today." | |
| Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams tweeted: "Thoughts with the Thatcher family. Rarely agreed with her politics but she was but a formidable politician and a very strong woman." | |
| Former first minister Rhodri Morgan said she was a "Marmite" politician who divided opinions. | Former first minister Rhodri Morgan said she was a "Marmite" politician who divided opinions. |
| "The way the Marmite was spread in Wales, you will find more people who think her time as prime minister was very destructive," he said. | "The way the Marmite was spread in Wales, you will find more people who think her time as prime minister was very destructive," he said. |
| Under her leadership the Conservatives won 14 seats at the 1983 general election. | Under her leadership the Conservatives won 14 seats at the 1983 general election. |
| However, for many her time in office will be associated with the clashes of the miners' strike the following year. | However, for many her time in office will be associated with the clashes of the miners' strike the following year. |
| 'Extremely divisive' | |
| Former Labour MP Kim Howells, a research officer for the National Union of Mineworkers during the strike, said she was "a pretty remarkable woman". | |
| "She was extremely divisive, but she changed the country," he said. | "She was extremely divisive, but she changed the country," he said. |
| "It was really the very first dent in the post-war consensus. But she could have handled it in a less divisive way. It is difficult to imagine anyone else taking on the Falklands as she did." | "It was really the very first dent in the post-war consensus. But she could have handled it in a less divisive way. It is difficult to imagine anyone else taking on the Falklands as she did." |
| Vale of Glamorgan Conservative MP Alun Cairns said: "Margaret Thatcher empowered people to buy their own homes, to gain greater rewards for hard work and made state industries realise that they couldn't survive on subsidies from the taxpayer." | |
| Monmouth MP David Davies said he would "always remain proud to call myself a Thatcherite" and that governments of the right and left emulated her economic reforms." | |