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| Britain |
| Thatcher causes stir with tea at No 10 |
| 2007-09-14 |
| Margaret Thatcher returned to Downing Street for tea with Gordon Brown on Thursday in the Labour prime minister’s most brazen attempt yet to attract Conservative voters. Baroness Thatcher, who declined an offer to enter through the back door, posed for pictures with Mr Brown. The encounter infuriated activists at both ends of the political spectrum. Downing Street aides said Lady Thatcher brought toys for Mr Brown’s two sons. She talked with the prime minister for 45 minutes before taking tea. Lady Thatcher’s warmth towards Mr Brown contrasts with the frosty relations she enjoys with David Cameron, the Conservative leader. Michael Ancram, a Tory former deputy leader, accused Mr Cameron last week of “trashing” his party’s Thatcherite legacy. However, the insiders said the meeting was set up four weeks ago, before Mr Ancram’s attack and was not designed to overshadow the launch of Tory proposals on the environment. An aide to Mr Cameron said: “She is not about to join the Labour party. It is a straightforward meeting between a prime minister and a former PM.” Contributors to Conservative Home, an activists’ website, expressed a mixture of shock, anger and grudging respect for Mr Brown. One wrote: “I thought I was dreaming about the return of our most glorious and blessed leader.” Another said it was “a sad, sad day for the Conservative party and yet another nail in David Cameron’s coffin”. Labour also revealed that it had hired Saatchi & Saatchi, the advertising agency which helped Lady Thatcher win power in 1979 with the slogan “Labour isn’t working”, to support its next election campaign. The agency has designed an advertisement showing the premier under the slogan “Not flash, just Gordon”. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 I'm happy to hear that Lady Thatcher is still up and about. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2007-09-14 17:00 |
| #1 There is no one to blame for this but David Cameron. Weak. Weak. Weak. This is the first thing Gordon Brown has done I have agreed with. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-09-14 14:34 |