We pay tribute as an Association to Margaret Thatcher, thrice elected a Conservative prime minister, radical reformer and the towering figure of the age.
As a shaping force in British politics, economy and society, Margaret Thatcher was the most potent and transformative prime minister of the 20th century. She remains the figure against whom all successive British leaders should be measured.
In 1979 Ambassador to Washington Nicholas Henderson was quoted in the Economist as stating: 'It is our decline since then in relation to our European partners that has been so marked, so that today we are not only no longer a world power, we are not even in the first rank as a European one'.
From the long, drawling, receding tides of the 1970s, Margaret Thatcher decisively wrenched post war Britain from the path of demoralisation, diminishment, and decline, restoring Britain to success influence and prosperity.
Through supply side reforms including privatisation, labour market reform, fiscal retrenchment, restored tax competitiveness, the medium term financial strategy and deregulation the British economy progressed from being the sick man of Europe to an international success story.
As a London Conservative Association in Tower Hamlets we are particularly mindful that the City was transformed and the hugely significant Canary Wharf project kick started, underscoring London’s status as a global powerhouse. It is no exaggeration to say that London’s re-emergence as a world city is inextricably linked to her policies.
Together with Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher led a rightward shift in western politics by articulating a set of vital ideas about economic freedom, the nation state and deterrence. Margaret Thatcher’s foreign policy played a major role in precipitating the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
Prime Minister David Cameron commented on the passing of Margaret Thatcher: Today we lost a great leader, a great Briton, and a great Conservative.
A lot of things will be written about Lady Thatcher in the days and weeks to come, but for me one thing stands out above all other: her passionate belief in Britain.
As she once said: "for the Conservative Party politics has always been about something more than gaining power. It has been about serving the nation. We are above all a patriotic party" – and she was a true patriot Prime Minister.
It was for Britain that she took on the unions, privatised industry, unleashed enterprise, rescued our economy, spread home ownership and fought the Falklands war. And it was for liberty that she helped win the Cold War and freed countless people from oppression.
Her achievements were colossal. Her impact was immense. And we can be proud that Margaret Thatcher was a Conservative Prime Minister.
Today, the best tribute we can pay is to keep her values and vision alive in Government: to keep backing Britain's hardworkers; to keep believing in Britain – and to keep making it as great as can be.