Lib Dem deputy denounces Thatcher statue critics as ‘sexist’

CAMPAIGNERS for a statue of Margaret Thatcher in Parliament Square have gained an unlikely ally in the deputy leader of the Lib Dems, who has accused those opposing it of being “pretty sexist”.

Jo Swinson yesterday said the debate over the statue had been marred by a “whiff of misogyny,” as she expressed her disappointment at the decision by Westminster Council to reject the plan.

Ms Swinson said it was right that Britain’s first female prime minister be commemorated, adding that there was “no denying” Baroness Thatcher’s significance as a political figure.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Ms Swinson said that politicians from across the spectrum should back the plans if they were serious about furthering gender equality. She added that it was unacceptable that Parliament and public spaces remained “packed” with monuments to men, and that MPS needed to “fight for space for women” – even those they “vigorously disagree with”.

It came as Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, snubbed calls for a statue, suggesting that female politicians should be measured by how much “progress” they make for women that come “behind us”.

However, Ms Swinson said that it was wrong to judge Baroness Thatcher on her record on women because the same “standard” would not be applied to male politicians.

Westminster council turned down new plans for a bronze likeness of the former prime minister in January, having previously rejected the original proposals on the grounds that the statue could be vandalised.