Thatcher statue egged after `call to arms'
A statue of Margaret Thatcher was egged within two hours of being placed in her hometown despite efforts to protect the monument from “politically minded” vandals.
Jeremy Webster, the 59-year-old boss of a university arts centre, said he “got the first hit with an egg” after the bronze was placed on a plinth in Grantham, near where Baroness Thatcher's family owned a grocery shop. Webster, who previously worked for the local council for more than 15 years, put out a “call to arms” after he visited the monument, suggesting that people should “pull it down.”
The statue was installed Sunday morning in defiance of threats of attack, with a local councillor insisting “we must never hide from our history.”
The $475,000 statue was originally due to be placed in Parliament Square in Westminster but was moved to the town where Baroness Thatcher grew up owing to fears of a “motivated far-left movement ... who may be committed to public activism.”
After an unveiling ceremony was approved by the council in 2020, a Facebook group proposing an “egg-throwing contest” at the event attracted interest from thousands.
In the wake of backlash, the council said that it would not give any public money to the unveiling.
Instead, without ceremony, the statue was lowered on to three-metrehigh granite plinth.
The statue, which is around six metres high, stands in Grantham's Civic Quarter between existing statues of Sir Isaac Newton and Frederick Tollemache.
A CCTV camera has been installed opposite the memorial to combat vandalism, the council said.
Motorists driving past the statue in Grantham could be heard booing loudly Sunday, with one man shouting “tear it down.”
Despite the criticisms, a number of people stopped to take selfies.
Kelham Cooke, the Tory council leader, said the monument was a “fitting tribute to a truly unique political figure.”
“Margaret Thatcher will always be a significant part of Grantham's heritage.