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| British Lawmakers to Debate Thatcher Legacy | British Lawmakers to Debate Thatcher Legacy |
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| LONDON — British lawmakers gathered on Wednesday for a remarkable and potentially lengthy session of Parliament to commemorate Margaret Thatcher after her death two days ago with members of the dominant Conservatives set to laud her while others were expected offer more qualified testimony to her era, seen generally as among the most divisive of modern British history. | LONDON — British lawmakers gathered on Wednesday for a remarkable and potentially lengthy session of Parliament to commemorate Margaret Thatcher after her death two days ago with members of the dominant Conservatives set to laud her while others were expected offer more qualified testimony to her era, seen generally as among the most divisive of modern British history. |
| The parliamentary session was unusual in two senses — both the upper House of Lords and the lower House of Commons had been recalled from recess and the time set aside for tributes was more than seven hours, compared to the 63 minutes devoted to the last former prime minister after his death, Edward Heath, in 2005. | The parliamentary session was unusual in two senses — both the upper House of Lords and the lower House of Commons had been recalled from recess and the time set aside for tributes was more than seven hours, compared to the 63 minutes devoted to the last former prime minister after his death, Edward Heath, in 2005. |
| The debate is to be opened by Prime Minister David Cameron, who, like many Conservatives, casts himself as a political heir to Mrs. Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” whose tenure spanned 11 years from 1979 to 1990 when the same party that is now praising her pushed her from office to be replaced by John Major. | The debate is to be opened by Prime Minister David Cameron, who, like many Conservatives, casts himself as a political heir to Mrs. Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” whose tenure spanned 11 years from 1979 to 1990 when the same party that is now praising her pushed her from office to be replaced by John Major. |
| The Thatcher era is generally recalled as a time when Mrs. Thatcher, who died of a stroke at the age of 87 on Monday, unleashed a capitalist revolution that crushed labor unions, decimated staid industries that had once formed the nation’s economic base and inaugurated a period depicted as one of thrusting economic growth that sanctified a generation’s acquisitiveness. | The Thatcher era is generally recalled as a time when Mrs. Thatcher, who died of a stroke at the age of 87 on Monday, unleashed a capitalist revolution that crushed labor unions, decimated staid industries that had once formed the nation’s economic base and inaugurated a period depicted as one of thrusting economic growth that sanctified a generation’s acquisitiveness. |
| The parliamentary debate on Wednesday — a week before her ceremonial funeral under tight security precautions in central London — presents a challenge to Ed Miliband, the opposition Labour Party leader, who must balance showing respect for Britain’s only female prime minister and the longest-serving of the 20th century, against acknowledging the passionate and enduring belief of many of his supporters that, more than any other postwar leader, she caused distress and hardship for hundreds of thousands of blue-collar Britons as she broke the power of once-mighty mining, print and other unions. | The parliamentary debate on Wednesday — a week before her ceremonial funeral under tight security precautions in central London — presents a challenge to Ed Miliband, the opposition Labour Party leader, who must balance showing respect for Britain’s only female prime minister and the longest-serving of the 20th century, against acknowledging the passionate and enduring belief of many of his supporters that, more than any other postwar leader, she caused distress and hardship for hundreds of thousands of blue-collar Britons as she broke the power of once-mighty mining, print and other unions. |
| Parliament is to debate a single motion saying they have “considered the matter of tributes” to Mrs. Thatcher. A vote is not expected. Such are the passions stirred by her memory that some opposition lawmakers said they would boycott the session. | |
| John Healey, a former government minister from the Labour party, said Mr. Cameron had sought to use Parliament for his own political purposes. “He’s wrong to recall Parliament, and wrong to hijack it in this way. I will play no part and I will stay away,” he said. | |
| Profoundly contentious in life, Mrs. Thatcher seems also to be stirring debate after her death, with some lawmakers challenging the cost and appropriateness of a funeral similar in pomp and solemnity to those of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, and the Queen Mother in 2005. | Profoundly contentious in life, Mrs. Thatcher seems also to be stirring debate after her death, with some lawmakers challenging the cost and appropriateness of a funeral similar in pomp and solemnity to those of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, and the Queen Mother in 2005. |
| British news reports said there was speculation that guests might include former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and the former American first lady, Nancy Reagan. Given her disputed legacy, security arrangements as her body is borne on a gun carriage to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a service to be attended by Queen Elizabeth II among many others are expected to be similar to those in force for the 2012 London Olympics, the news reports said. | British news reports said there was speculation that guests might include former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and the former American first lady, Nancy Reagan. Given her disputed legacy, security arrangements as her body is borne on a gun carriage to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a service to be attended by Queen Elizabeth II among many others are expected to be similar to those in force for the 2012 London Olympics, the news reports said. |
| Two former Labour prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, plan to attend the funeral next week, British news reports said. | |
| Even as the debate approached, though, partisan sniping underscored the depth of division about her legacy. The Conservative foreign secretary, William Hague told BBC television that the biggest problem for the British Left was that “they could never beat her” at the ballot box in her three terms in office. | |
| He added: “They claimed to stand for millions of people but they could never get as many votes as Mrs. Thatcher in an election.” | He added: “They claimed to stand for millions of people but they could never get as many votes as Mrs. Thatcher in an election.” |
John F. Burns reported from London and Alan Cowell from Paris. | John F. Burns reported from London and Alan Cowell from Paris. |