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| Cameron Opens Debate on Thatcher Legacy | Cameron Opens Debate on Thatcher Legacy |
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| LONDON — Two days after the death of Margaret Thatcher, as divided Britons sought to define her contentious and transformative legacy, Prime Minister David Cameron lauded her on Wednesday as a woman who had broken through Britain’s “glass ceiling” from her beginnings as the daughter of a greengrocer to make Britain “great again.” | LONDON — Two days after the death of Margaret Thatcher, as divided Britons sought to define her contentious and transformative legacy, Prime Minister David Cameron lauded her on Wednesday as a woman who had broken through Britain’s “glass ceiling” from her beginnings as the daughter of a greengrocer to make Britain “great again.” |
| The British leader was speaking at the start of what was likely to be a protracted debate in Parliament to commemorate Mrs. Thatcher, widely seen as one of the most abrasive and influential figures of modern British history. | The British leader was speaking at the start of what was likely to be a protracted debate in Parliament to commemorate Mrs. Thatcher, widely seen as one of the most abrasive and influential figures of modern British history. |
| As much as the verbal tribute, the debate reflected the long reach of her impact as Mrs. Thatcher’s radical policies reshaped Britain in the 1980s. In Parliament, even her ideological adversaries acknowledged her stature on Wednesday even as her free market policies on the labor unions, taxation and the economy divided the land and provoked strikes and, in the end, riots. | As much as the verbal tribute, the debate reflected the long reach of her impact as Mrs. Thatcher’s radical policies reshaped Britain in the 1980s. In Parliament, even her ideological adversaries acknowledged her stature on Wednesday even as her free market policies on the labor unions, taxation and the economy divided the land and provoked strikes and, in the end, riots. |
| At the same time, her staunchest supporters, like Mr. Cameron, acknowledged that her style of rule as a “conviction politician” meant that “her political story was a perpetual battle” in the country, within Parliament “and sometimes in her own cabinet.” | |
| The measure of her legacy, he said, was that “so many of the principles that Lady Thatcher fought for are now part of the accepted political landscape in our country.” | The measure of her legacy, he said, was that “so many of the principles that Lady Thatcher fought for are now part of the accepted political landscape in our country.” |
| Mr. Cameron recalled that she had been Britain’s first and so far only female prime minister and that her 11-year tenure from 1979 to 1990 was the longest among British prime ministers for over 150 years. | Mr. Cameron recalled that she had been Britain’s first and so far only female prime minister and that her 11-year tenure from 1979 to 1990 was the longest among British prime ministers for over 150 years. |
| “They say ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man,'” Mr. Cameron said. “Well, in 1979, came the hour and came the lady. She made the political weather, she made history, and — let this be her epitaph — she made our country great again.” | “They say ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man,'” Mr. Cameron said. “Well, in 1979, came the hour and came the lady. She made the political weather, she made history, and — let this be her epitaph — she made our country great again.” |
| “At a time when it was difficult for a woman to enter Parliament, almost inconceivable that one could lead the Conservative Party, and by her own reckoning virtually impossible that a woman could become prime minister, she did all three,” he said. | “At a time when it was difficult for a woman to enter Parliament, almost inconceivable that one could lead the Conservative Party, and by her own reckoning virtually impossible that a woman could become prime minister, she did all three,” he said. |
| Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour opposition, recalled what he depicted as errors by Mrs. Thatcher, including her attacks on the mining industry at home and, in foreign policy, her condemnation of Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress as a “terrorist” organization. | Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour opposition, recalled what he depicted as errors by Mrs. Thatcher, including her attacks on the mining industry at home and, in foreign policy, her condemnation of Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress as a “terrorist” organization. |
| Mrs. Thatcher’s critics accuse her of being on the wrong side of history in South Africa, seeming to support the apartheid government in its bloody confrontation with protesters in the 1980s and opposing economic sanctions designed to weaken white rule. But some in South Africa say she contributed to Mr. Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years in 1990. | Mrs. Thatcher’s critics accuse her of being on the wrong side of history in South Africa, seeming to support the apartheid government in its bloody confrontation with protesters in the 1980s and opposing economic sanctions designed to weaken white rule. But some in South Africa say she contributed to Mr. Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years in 1990. |
| “She exerted more influence in what happened in South Africa than any other political leader,” F.W. de Klerk, the country’s last white president, said in a statement issued in South Africa, according to The Associated Press. | “She exerted more influence in what happened in South Africa than any other political leader,” F.W. de Klerk, the country’s last white president, said in a statement issued in South Africa, according to The Associated Press. |
| Mr. Miliband, seeking to strike a balance between offering respect and maintaining ideological distance, told Parliament that, while Mrs. Thatcher was a “unique and towering figure,” she “made the wrong judgment about Nelson Mandela and sanctions in South Africa.” | Mr. Miliband, seeking to strike a balance between offering respect and maintaining ideological distance, told Parliament that, while Mrs. Thatcher was a “unique and towering figure,” she “made the wrong judgment about Nelson Mandela and sanctions in South Africa.” |
| “I disagreed with much of what she did,” Mr. Miliband said, “but I respect what her death means for many, many people who admired her and I honor her personal achievements.” | “I disagreed with much of what she did,” Mr. Miliband said, “but I respect what her death means for many, many people who admired her and I honor her personal achievements.” |
| He went on: “it would be dishonest and not in keeping with the principles Margaret Thatcher stood for, even on this day, not to be open about the strong opinions and deep divisions there were and are.” | He went on: “it would be dishonest and not in keeping with the principles Margaret Thatcher stood for, even on this day, not to be open about the strong opinions and deep divisions there were and are.” |
| 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 with the 63 minutes devoted to former Prime Minister Edward Heath after his death in 2005. | |
| Mr. Cameron, like many Conservatives, casts himself as a political heir to Mrs. Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” whose ascendancy ended when the same party that is now praising her pushed her from office to be replaced by John Major. | Mr. Cameron, like many Conservatives, casts himself as a political heir to Mrs. Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” whose ascendancy ended 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 parliamentary debate on Wednesday came a week before her ceremonial funeral under tight security precautions in central London. It presented a particular challenge to Mr. Miliband, some of whose followers believe that, more than any other postwar leader, Mrs. Thatcher 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 came a week before her ceremonial funeral under tight security precautions in central London. It presented a particular challenge to Mr. Miliband, some of whose followers believe that, more than any other postwar leader, Mrs. Thatcher 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. |
| Such are the passions stirred by her memory that some opposition lawmakers said they would boycott the session. | 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. | 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. |
| Some lawmakers have also challenged 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. | Some lawmakers have also challenged 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 the 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. About 700 military personnel will take part. | |
| Mark Thatcher, Mrs. Thatcher’s son, said in a statement outside her London home on Wednesday that her family was “enormously proud and grateful” that the queen would attend. “And I know my mother would be greatly honored as well as humbled by her presence,” he said. | Mark Thatcher, Mrs. Thatcher’s son, said in a statement outside her London home on Wednesday that her family was “enormously proud and grateful” that the queen would attend. “And I know my mother would be greatly honored as well as humbled by her presence,” he said. |
| Two former Labour prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, plan to attend the funeral next week, British news reports said. | Two former Labour prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, plan to attend the funeral next week, British news reports said. |
| Partisan sniping, though, 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.” | |
| And some figures in the Church of England questioned whether the tone of the funeral service would match the church’s opposition to parts of Mrs. Thatcher’s vision. | And some figures in the Church of England questioned whether the tone of the funeral service would match the church’s opposition to parts of Mrs. Thatcher’s vision. |
| Giles Fraser, a former senior cleric at St. Paul’s Cathedral, said the Anglican Church was often the “unofficial opposition” to Mrs. Thatcher’s policies. | Giles Fraser, a former senior cleric at St. Paul’s Cathedral, said the Anglican Church was often the “unofficial opposition” to Mrs. Thatcher’s policies. |
| “We have to be very, very careful that this is not just an opportunity for political point-scoring through a funeral,” he said in a radio interview. “It is problematic. Every day in that cathedral, the choir will sing about Jesus, that he brought down the mighty from their thrones then lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. They are very strong words. They are not words that you would necessarily associate with Mrs. Thatcher, this is a problem.” | “We have to be very, very careful that this is not just an opportunity for political point-scoring through a funeral,” he said in a radio interview. “It is problematic. Every day in that cathedral, the choir will sing about Jesus, that he brought down the mighty from their thrones then lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. They are very strong words. They are not words that you would necessarily associate with Mrs. Thatcher, this is a problem.” |
John F. Burns reported from London and Alan Cowell from Paris. | John F. Burns reported from London and Alan Cowell from Paris. |