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Britain divided on Thatcher record, but 50% claim positive contribution – poll Britain divided on Thatcher record, but 50% claim positive contribution – poll
(6 months later)
Margaret Thatcher may have been divisive in life, but in death the balance of British public opinion looks admiringly at her record, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. On the day of her death, half of all respondents, 50%, told the pollster that they look back on her contribution as a positive one for Britain. That is 16 points more than the 34% who say she was bad for the country.Margaret Thatcher may have been divisive in life, but in death the balance of British public opinion looks admiringly at her record, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. On the day of her death, half of all respondents, 50%, told the pollster that they look back on her contribution as a positive one for Britain. That is 16 points more than the 34% who say she was bad for the country.
Opinions remain strong on both sides: half of her admirers, 25%, rate her record as "very good", and most of her detractors, 20% of the overall sample, deem it to have been "very bad". Indeed, only 11% sit on the fence and say she was "neither good nor bad"; an even smaller slither of opinion, just 5%, told ICM that they didn't know.Opinions remain strong on both sides: half of her admirers, 25%, rate her record as "very good", and most of her detractors, 20% of the overall sample, deem it to have been "very bad". Indeed, only 11% sit on the fence and say she was "neither good nor bad"; an even smaller slither of opinion, just 5%, told ICM that they didn't know.
ICM's detailed polling on specific Thatcherite policies suggests a very mixed picture, but on Thatcher's role as a role model – as the first female prime minister – the voters are emphatic. Two-thirds, or 62%, say her example played an important part in "changing attitudes about the role in society that women can play", whereas only half as many – 31% – believe that she changed little about gender relations in wider society "because she played by men's rules".ICM's detailed polling on specific Thatcherite policies suggests a very mixed picture, but on Thatcher's role as a role model – as the first female prime minister – the voters are emphatic. Two-thirds, or 62%, say her example played an important part in "changing attitudes about the role in society that women can play", whereas only half as many – 31% – believe that she changed little about gender relations in wider society "because she played by men's rules".
Women are even more convinced than men of the importance of the Thatcher example: 64% of them think she changed societal attitudes. But on rating Thatcher's overall record in power, women are a little more sceptical – 48% rate her as a force for good compared with 52% of men. There are also important national divisions: 55% of English voters rate Thatcher as having been good for Britain, compared to just 23% of Scots and 34% of the Welsh respondents questioned.Women are even more convinced than men of the importance of the Thatcher example: 64% of them think she changed societal attitudes. But on rating Thatcher's overall record in power, women are a little more sceptical – 48% rate her as a force for good compared with 52% of men. There are also important national divisions: 55% of English voters rate Thatcher as having been good for Britain, compared to just 23% of Scots and 34% of the Welsh respondents questioned.
ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 965 adults aged 18+ online on the afternoon of 8 April 2013.ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 965 adults aged 18+ online on the afternoon of 8 April 2013.
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