Bishop speaks on ‘iconic’ politician

BARONESS THATCHER was an “iconic conviction politician”, the Bishop of Oxford has said.

Bishop John Pritchard said the UK’s first female prime minister was a “remarkable woman”, but also pointed to the often uneasy relationship between her and church when she was in office and wishes she had been more often been “for turning”.

“The change that she made to the face of Britain was complete,” he said in the House of Lords after peers had been recalled to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher, who died last week aged 87.

“It opened up new avenues of possibility in all directions: share ownership, home ownership, liberalisation of the markets, entrepreneurial innovation, and so on.

“She strengthened Britain’s role in the world immeasurably with clear policies on defence, the Falklands, Northern Ireland, communism, Europe, South Africa and more. No one was in any doubt that there was a force in the land.”

But he said he spent the end of the 1980s in County Durham so knew some of “deep divisions” her policies caused.

“‘Billy Elliot’ country was not an allsinging, all-dancing landscape. It is almost impossible to find moderate opinion for or against on her style of leadership, but the one thing that we can all acknowledge is that she was a leader of absolute integrity in terms of her own beliefs. She was an iconic conviction politician.”

Bishop Pritchard said one of the earliest run-ins between Church and Prime Minister came in 1980 when she wanted to move the date of the enthronement of Robert Runcie as the new Archbishop of Canterbury so that it did not clash with the Budget.

“Happily, on that occasion, the lady was for turning. In the end, it was the Budget that was rescheduled,” he said

“The church traditionally has a role of critical solidarity with Governments of all persuasions, so the production of the influential report Faith in the City and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Falklands sermon, in which he remembered the bereaved on both sides of the conflict, both caused momentary mayhem in the press.

“That was to be expected when issues of principle were at stake. It did not dent her respect for the church, or our regard for her steely qualities.

“It was entirely fitting that the place where she particularly enjoyed the chance to walk securely and privately in her latter years was the grounds of Lambeth Palace, which successive archbishops placed at her disposal.” He also pointed to the importance of her Methodist upbringing and the role of her Christian faith in her policies.

“Methodism was born in the pursuit of justice and hope among working people,” he said.

“It had, and still has, a radical edge, and it is from that edge that Margaret Thatcher drew much of her strength. You do not have to agree with every decision that she took to acknowledge the strength of her character and her determination and passion in all she did.

“History will continue to debate the legacy of Baroness Thatcher for years to come, but she clearly defined politics not just for her generation but for many generations.

“Some of us perhaps wish that, on a few more occasions, the lady had been for turning - for turning has a good pedigree in Christian theology - but we can still applaud her many achievements while regretting some of the excesses. We will most certainly not forget her. May she rest in peace.”