What Margaret Thatcher Was Really Like | John Major | Leading

Former Prime Minister John Major provides an insider's perspective on the enigmatic Margaret Thatcher. Uncover the real story as Major shares his firsthand experiences of working closely with the Iron Lady. From her leadership style to her decision-making process, he delves into the intricate details that shaped Thatcher's reign.
#MargaretThatcher #JohnMajor #TheRestisPolitics

[@ysgol3]

I'm a socialist, but I admire and respect the decency and honour John Major always displayed. He really did try his best for the country, and I hope he feels relaxed and content about what he attempted so hard to do.

[@seansmith445]

None of these rotten globalists do their best for the country that should be obvious to everyone by now.

[@trinkabuszczuk6138]

Ditto, brother. How times have changed with the likes of Boris and his ilk. Sunak seems far more statesmanlike and he’ll surely be re-elected next time with Starmer as opposition.

[@DHTCF]

We should be able to disagree with people, without becoming disagreeable.

[@ianrobinson7753]

He will be remembered more kindly by history than he was viewed by the press when he left office.

[@john1703]

@@trinkabuszczuk6138 Only if he removes the Whip from Truss.

[@ChristopherTyson-be1fy]

I listened to John Major at the Oxford union. How far have we fallen that a prime minister who is honest, intelligent and persuasive yet respectful is too much to ask? Whatever you think about people like May or Major, they have integrity and put the country first

[@CG-or1re]

i'm not sure i would agree with that regarding may. she blatantly prioritised her party over the country re brexit

[@CBfrmcardiff]

Christ! You people! Anyone who implements Brexit is in your mind morally bad, "pandering to their party". While someone who exploits their supporters by making Eurosceptic noises but being resolutely pro-European (Major/May) is a statesman woman. Rory Stewart was elected on a 'leave the EU' platform but prepared to resign to prevent it happening. Campbell is the WMD guy, and now he pontificate over lies. The idea that Thatcher would not have purged the Tory benches In 2019... The pro-European in her Cabinet purged *her*. They have no compunction about eliminating their opponents.

[@Muzzy68]

@@AlbionDreameryou beat me to it!

[@castelodeossos3947]

As party whip, John Major admonished MPs for their sexual escapades while he was having one himself with Edwina Currie. After his time in office, he grabbed the tails of GHWBush's coat to use the connections he had made as prime minister to become member of the secretive Carlyle Group, and to promote and hugely feather his nest with proceeds from sales by said group, the main product of which is weaponry.

[@liamb8644]

@@AlbionDreamerWell what effect has their bedroom activities had on your life?

[@Taporeee]

John Major had possibly the most eclectic and unique upbringing of all modern British Prime Minsters

[@stevendurrant1724]

For someone always supposed dull, he has a lot of charm and insight. We are fools to mistake bombast for character.

[@dietrichrosiers8184]

Agreed! The Grey Mice of this world are most qualified - in contrast to popular sentiment!

[@chrispalmer7893]

Even back in the day it was often said that he was much more engaging if you met him personally than he appeared to be on TV

[@john.premose]

He still served a psychopathic ideologue.

[@hamzariazuddin424]

well said....exactly what i was thinking

[@RPKGameVids]

Mr Bombastic, telephontastic.

[@elcorado83]

This video clip shows WHY we MUST see video versions of the podcast soon! Riveting seeing the reactions along with the dialogue!

[@paulc7798]

Why do I dislike politicians when they are in office but then like them when they have left Parliament ?

[@aituk]

Because a lot of them are well meaning people but it's an incredibly hard job with winners and losers from every decision made

[@robgrainger5314]

To be fair to him, of all the Conservative PMs in my lifetime, he was the least bad, and he was the person who first started talking to Sinn Fein, starting the Northern Ireland peace process.

[@QuantumWalnut]

You're not allowed to be human while in office, whereas you have no choice but to be human outside of office. That is the nature of power - it warps people.

[@kellypaws]

Don’t worry. You’ll still hate Johnson.

[@LordOfLight]

Because it's only after they've left office that they can be honest. No one votes for honest politicians, in spite of the BS on the subject.

[@EMidMSO]

Poor Rory, he'd have been a so much better fit in a Major Cabinet

[@idleishde6124]

Rory 4 Conservative Leader. Even in opposition he'd be a great and honourable leader. And if he did win I'd trust his government to at the very least not completely fuck things up.

[@anonUK]

That's because 1/2 of Major's Cabinet were neither arch-neoliberal nor completely mental (or both). The madness of Boris and Truss hadn't yet swallowed up the entire Tory party, although it had been building since the Powell-Heath battles and the rise of Keith Joseph in the 70s.

[@sheilamargaretwardstoriesa494]

He'll be back.

[@morerobotwarscontent1476]

As in voted out at first opportunity? There is not a single politician in that room who have the will or knowledge to fix today's problem. No amount of centrist wishing will change that.

[@mrandquist2653]

I am an American and just bought his book. I have been studying the British Prime Ministers for awhile now and it seems like there is currently a period of instability with five PM's in 14 years and the mess that was Brexit. I personally would like NAFTA to just become the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement and invite the UK to join and then the new NAFTA could hammer out a trade agreement with Europe. I like Mr. Major's candor and honesty in his interviews.

[@feliscorax]

Not a bad idea - Maggie Thatcher proposed something very similar to this in her book “Statecraft”, as it happens, and I suspect this was the whole idea behind Brexit all along. Edit: The only problem being, the least and dimmest figures who were leading Brexit were also alway forever in her intellectual and political shadow; and, on their best day, they would never have been able to light a candle next to her even on her worst. As a consequence, those same figures boasted to the country about an ‘oven-ready deal’ only to confirm once again for all the world why British cooking enjoys the dubious reputation it does to this day.

[@mrkeogh]

Genuine statesman. He's only continued to grow in stature since leaving Number 10.

[@JupiterThunder]

As people forget how wet, useless and incompetent he was.

[@MrBoliao98]

Nope, it's because the quality of Prime Ministers since have fallen so much. He and Theresa May are the bare minimum a Prime Minister should be.

[@PlanofBattle]

Agree.

[@fintonmainz7845]

I know a little man who sincerely hopes you're correct.

[@mediolanumhibernicus3353]

Fascinating. This is the podcast that keeps giving!

[@darrylshamrock]

Thank you Mr S and Mr C.......these podcasta are ace. Especially since you two know what you are talking about. Keep it up.

[@simpleminded1uk]

I seem to remember her being brutal to the poor, the elderly, the sick, the very young...people who couldn't fight back, in fact.

[@JonathanWrightZA]

The medicine might suck, but you won't get better if you don't take it, and you will get worse if you don't take it. Blame the socialists for creating the problem that preceded her.

[@IZn0g0uDatAll]

Exactly. Thatcher was nothing short of crual.

[@johnjordan1948]

Say what you will about her policies, the poor people who took her advice to pull themselves up by the bootstraps 40 years ago, are a hell of a lot better off for it today than the poor people who just thought she was a nasty woman not worth listening too. Many of them are now middle class and well off.

[@pouetpouetdaddy5]

and the lgbt

[@pouetpouetdaddy5]

@@johnjordan1948yeah...thanks to the tories of 2018, with brexit, those middle class who used to be poor will be back to where they come from

[@QuantumWalnut]

This is actually a very interesting conversation. If anything, it feels like a much needed correction of how history had protrayed her so far.

[@opinion3742]

Still, it is her policies that she will and should be judged on.

[@Robert-tl2vg]

@@opinion3742 apart from the Community Charge her policies were just what the U.K. needed.

[@opinion3742]

@@Robert-tl2vg Lol

[@lolly1811]

She’s been portrayed accurately and in some ways got off lightly for the damage she inflicted on hard working innocent people.

[@mustafamar1437]

The UK is the world's 5th biggest economy today due to Thatcher and Blair refusing to accept decline and irrelevance which was 1970s dogma. They were no angels but we should be grateful to them.

[@lenwilkinson672]

Just watched this video.Enjoyed it very much.When he was P.M. the media did him a great disservice.Always thought he was not appreciated,he was never dogmatic,a very able and honest man. That is how I see him.

[@modmod392]

Superb creases in Sir John’s shirt. Really quite excellent.

[@howlingmocassin2917]

Top bloke, great interview.

[@nektekket852]

How far have we fallen when Major looks reasonable...

[@JM-rq1gd]

I could listen to him all day

[@johnholland6842]

This is good, coming from the minister responsible for moving women's retirement age to 66 and beyond. Without even bothering to tell them, and letting the department of Work and Pensions not inform them until they reached 60!

[@PurpleAlogia]

Did you know that John Major is the only real-life person that appears in the Harry Potter books, even as a point-of-view character?

[@georgeiii2998]

Isn't Thatcher mentioned after Voldemort kills Harry's parents in 1981? I seem to remember something along those lines.

[@PurpleAlogia]

@@georgeiii2998 Maybe. But John Major is the unnamed Prime Minister in the first chapter of Half-Blood Prince. From Nearly Headless Nick's Birthday Cake we know that HBP starts in 1996. This is when Fudge visits the Prime Minister to introduce him to his successor.

[@jonathancampbell5231]

@@PurpleAlogia It's likely a fictional Prime Minister- when Fudge is talking to him, he refer's to this PM's predecessor, but calls them a "he" even though, if it was Major, that predecessor would have been Margaret Thatcher. Also, there is no mention of the Muggle Prime Minister changing halfway through HBP even though Tony Blair would have been Prime Minister by the end of it, and Shacklebolt seems to have been secretary to this same PM throughout the whole book.

[@timelwell7002]

I have never voted Tory, or and I never will. However, I have a great deal of respect John Major as a man who took the responsibility of his office very seriously. Where I *disagree* with JM is that there WAS a paradigm shift from the Mixed Economy model followed by both Labour and Tory governments prior to Thatcher, who foisted Neoliberal Free Market Capitalism (where EVERYTHING has to be privately owned) upon our nation. This paradigm shift involved the sale of almost the entire Council Housing stock, and the denial of the right of Councils to build any more, and of the privatisation of vital utiities such as Water and Energy. And boy, are we suffering from all these things today. Property values are so high as to now be unaffordable to all but the richest peole, electricity prices are through the roof, and ALL the rivers and coastal waters of England have industrial quanities of raw sewage pumped into them on a regular basis. I will never forget the speech which former Tory PM Harold MacMillan made in the House of Lords criticising Thatcher for 'Selling off the family silver.' MacMillan was entirely right. When HE was PM he was still building Council Houses, and he supported the state-owned and run Water and Energy companies, as well as the NHS. Thatcher poisoned the well, and sadly it has remained poisoned ever since.

[@peteroneill2991]

100% correct.

[@zetectic7968]

The flaw with Thatcher & May is that they both professed a religious/Christian upbringing & yet displayed a complete absence of compassion plus believe that the poor were the architects of their own misfortune thus undeserving of help. Thatcher hated the unions with a passion, she engineered the Miner's strike & outwitted Scargill completely. her governments were the roots of the gig economy, housing booms & stock market crashes due to "free market economics".

[@timsimpson9367]

Anyone who sells off Gas, Electric & Water must have been thick. Look at the mess she left behind.

[@ImperialGuardsman74]

Wasn't thatcher proudly agnostic? Talking about how she calculated the wingspan angels would need to fly and such?

[@zetectic7968]

@@ImperialGuardsman74 Her father was a Methodist lay preacher.

[@manephewlenny6401]

@@zetectic7968 I liked them but they kinda peaked with Motorcycle Emptiness in 1992.

[@MiningForPies]

@@zetectic7968that doesn’t answer the question.

[@dieterneudeck8726]

I was just before A level - Abitur and had as well English tests before and I still remember one was an article from the Guardian 'Maggie's mixed team' we had to deal with. It was analysing her first cabinet after the election win in 1979. And as Major is pointing out, it was not dominated by hardliners but she had to consider all positions of the Tories in her government.

[@global001]

So disappointing that John Major was interrupted & prevented from answering a question about his own relationship with Thachter just for Alistair to read what he wrote in his book & the audacity to say he’s knows the answer better! Interviewer should never make themselves the subject. Let John speak!!!

[@MazzaEliLi7406]

Thank you.

[@MancunianDrummer4hire]

Quality stuff this, chaps. John is an excellent conveyor. As are you lads

[@markdwestwood]

Great interview. The background music is quite distracting unfortunately

[@ElizabethJBond]

I heard similar. She could be a terrible bully to those in her Cabinet, and there was no love lost between her and Geoffrey Howe. However, Matthew Parris said she was never nasty to those who worked for her in a more menial capacity. The opposite, in fact. She was always very considerate towards her staff.

[@Marktherock]

John Major is a great guy...

[@SagaciousFrank]

No, he isn't.

[@steverichmond7142]

Honest John.... Wonderful.... What I wouldn't give for somebody of any party who tells the truth.

[@Muzzy68]

Except to his wife …

[@alexandercarder2281]

I have a desire for John Major to come back and be prime minister again. He is older now and wiser and he is incredibly intelligent man.

[@loganjohnston89]

Great clip! - where can we find the full interview? - in my opinion Sir JM is probably one of a few prime minister's and mp's who has grown in standing since leaving office.

[@juliehannam5226]

Cant help recalling Edwina Curry and eggs I like mine scrambled but my mum makes a mean cheese omlette 😉

[@pipoo1]

She by all accounts had a lot of time and respect for her opponents, and enjoyed debating ideas with people of all ages and backgrounds. There's the famous appearance on Saturday Superstore where she discusses nuclear war with a 10 year old on the phone, not rude or patronising she gives as honest an she can. She even wrote to the producers after thanking them for inviting her on the program.

[@stephenelkington4971]

She wasn't so keen on debating the sinking of the Belgrano with a woman who phoned a phone in [ believe it was Radio Bristol and the woman's name was Diana Gould] to challenge her as to whether it was sailing away when it was sunk. Far from being happy to debate the issue she exploded with rage off air at the end.

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@stephenelkington4971 The Graf Spee was sailing away when it was attacked near the Falklands.

[@tvgerbil1984]

She had little time or respect for Geoffrey Howe, the mildest of man and her longest-serving cabinet colleague which precipitated the rebellion within the Tories and her eventual downfall.

[@caveydavey2486]

So the protesting miners were capable of fighting back against the shield walls and cavalry charges at the Battle of Ogreave?

[@pendorran]

Unwise to start fights you can't win. Especially without even bothering to hold a democratic ballot first. If you want to know who fucked the miners, look at the Communist fool Scargill.

[@brianmarshall1637]

I wish we had had her these last few years since 2019 we would be in better shape in this country.

[@thegrumpygeordie9007]

A few years a go a Republican friend of mine posted something about Maggy on Facebook. I saw the picture and immeditely commented 'Thatcher the Milk Snatcher' for whatever reason. It surprised many of the american that a Brit could have a low opinion of Thatcher, I also had to explain the Milk Snatcer thing, I had to inform them that areas of the country hated her so much that they had parties when she died, which I found in the poorest taste let me just be clear on that point. In all honesty Thatched was PM when I was born so her policies were a bit before my time its only in recent years I've taken an interest in politics

[@cinhh]

Gentlemen, with such an interesting conversation, you don't need dramatic elevator music in the background. I'm already listening, please don't make it harder.

[@carol2336]

I remember Thatcher and major during the Falklands war. They worked together.

[@uptoapoint7157]

Private Eye had a long-running cartoon strip based on the versatile J-cloth entitled "101 uses for a John Major"

[@keithbutler1997]

Put these three in power 👍

[@pipoo1]

Anyone who wants to know who she really was should watch her speech on global warming to the UN in 1989. She was decades ahead of them on the subject. Decades.

[@Kidderman2210]

She was a chemistry graduate. The only Prime Minister we have had with any background in science

[@nudisco300]

Yes but if she was still running things now she wouldn't be taken in by the hysteria and she'd have those awful oil protesters off the roads so that decent ordinary people can get to work and earn money for their families .

[@sporkfindus4777]

He did pretty well, given his background

[@franticranter]

I love the way Alistair wears the headphone on his head

[@rrickarr]

Margaret Thatcher was FULL OF HERSELF and thought only she knew, and that was her downfall!

[@Contraster671]

I met Thatcher and we talked for quite a while how her policies with miners effected the young entering the workplace. On the other hand I also came across union leaders. Both sets had strong ideas. Thatchers difference was that she could talk though the practicalities the union leaders then, not now may I add was all personal power. Her empathy was genuine.

[@mn4169]

well she brainwashed you

[@timmurphy5541]

@@mn4169 You're used to viewing someone as a bogeyman instead of a human so the washing might be something that happened to you.

[@MeTube3]

It was entertaining how people like Scargill and Hatton went up against her and got crushed like insects.

[@NathTMcC]

Only rude to those in a position to fight back? This woman was evil. She sent police into communities in Wales to beat people in the street. May she rot.

[@MrElliottjc]

Looking back now Major was probably the UK's best Prime Minister. Perhaps if the press pillory you for being boring that's as good a sign as you can get of competent leadership.

[@markendicott6874]

Brutal only to those that could fight back? Don't make me £#cking laugh. That mad witch punched down at pretty much every element of Society that COULDN'T fight back. We live in the poisonous mess she left behind.

[@mechakonga4324]

I think he was referring to those people immediately at her side in Government: Cabinet Ministers, certain Tory MP's etc who challenged her. But yes otherwise that is correct, she did irreparable damage to England, Scotland, Wales etc and the worse off suffered the most.

[@archvaldor]

@@mechakonga4324 "I think he was referring to those people immediately at her side in Government: Cabinet Ministers, certain Tory MP's etc who challenged her" She wasn't mean to other rich elite people less powerful than her. Wow, what a saint she must have been.

[@scotsbillhicks]

+1 we live on a planet, a planet, utterly changed for the worse by her and Hopalong. Trickle-down economics. Privatisation. Monetarism. Energy conflicts. The weaponisation of fascist theocracies. Empowering media barons. Everyone knows Rupert Murdoch. They seem to have forgotten David English (Dacre’s predecessor)

[@stevebbuk9557]

Why did he sack the Nottinghamshire miners, who couldn't fight back, why put VAT on fuel and why spend so much parliamentary time on Maastricht? He may have been a conviction politician, but his political instincts deserted him after the soap box triumph of 1992.

[@hanktheblesseddeejay]

Nice clip, very enjoyable discussion, but you need to work out the camera positioning especially when guests are talking to Rory, the lighting isn’t great either

[@edwardrea8924]

Him to rishi where the hell did the tories go wrong

[@smellslikethinice1107]

Three people in politics, grooming, fluffing, and generally feeling good about their egos. This is what is wrong with this country....pampering to these people.

[@cactusjack9846]

Top bloke John Major

[@GurmitBSingh]

That's leadership

[@garethmartin6522]

She was a cruel monster lacking in all human empathy.

[@reginaldamoah8608]

Her policies were brutal to those who couldn't fight back

[@tonysuffolk]

A good man.

[@sarahp007]

A good man who cheated on his.

[@johnwright9372]

In humble opinion she was a self righteous, opinionated, didactic, bullying, petit bourgeois. She obtained a degree in chemistry then law and was called to the Bar. A story was told by Richard DuCann QC when she was a pupil in his chambers. Pupils are nobodies supposed to listen, watch and be quiet. It is known that many barristers in the pre ECG era swore a lot, but with characteristic presumption, Thatcher complained about his bad language. A dreadful solicism.

[@timmurphy5541]

"petit bourgeois" ... how terrible. Imagine a woman not listening or being quiet and then being bourgeois ontop of that!

[@Theolife]

Is there a place you can download this full podcast?

[@joshhoffman1975]

Can we please have the full Thatcher content.

[@john.premose]

"Particularly on economic and social matters"....what other matters are there?

[@Greebstreebling]

'What Margaret Thatcher was really like'. Is that supposed to be some kind of revelation to those of us who lived through the time of the governments that she led? I'm still trying to recover.

[@staffie1uk]

2:00 made me jump out of my skin

[@jonathanpardoe8722]

Could somebody remind me of the name of the dentist that John Major said he was at during the vote to get rid of our great lady .

[@markwalker4142]

A decent man . Can’t agree with his politics but he’s a different human being compared to the liar . I’ll never mention that person name ever again , but refer to him as ‘The Liar ‘ . I have profound contempt for ‘The Liar’ and hope he burns in hell where he belongs. Thatcher was direct , ruthless and uncompromising, but she would never have tolerated ‘The liar’ . He’d be out on his ear .

[@Brink1957]

Serial liar, cheat and criminal is my estimation.

[@georgeiii2998]

Is "The Liar" the man who received just 7 votes about 90 minutes ago?

[@seansmith445]

Decent men don't lie and cheat behind their wives back.

[@hellodavey1902]

3:13 Michael Caine?

[@jakeblair4215]

A written constitution would solve 80% of the politically generated problems by creating stability

[@darkstar223]

Yea right

[@josefschiltz2192]

Sorry. As soon as I see that woman I have a visceral reaction that makes me veer away very quickly.

[@buonafortuna8928]

Me too she did some awful things, just look at some of those mining towns now but would you agree that she was true to herself. Like her or loathe her she did what she believed was best. Certainly not the case with Bozo, Truss or even Cameron.

[@josefschiltz2192]

@@buonafortuna8928 That's the problem with beliefs, politically, religiously or otherwise and especially when they converge. There's a channeling at work which doesn't cover that outside the programming. That which is outside gets ignored, ridden over or derided as irrelevant or just inconvenient or recategorized. Supposedly, she had a background in science, it fell short severely as far as human science is concerned. She may have had the backbone for some things of the moment. She hadn't for the humanity that was falling and failing about her.

[@EMidMSO]

Me too. And that voice!

[@pendorran]

Next time be sure it's off a cliff.

[@duncanallen9940]

how do you watch the full episode

[@grandmundi7107]

spotify

[@StephenAndrew777]

I was way too baked to look up and see that his head phone was on the wrong part of his head. I'm sorry about that, brain.

[@briangasser973]

For all the people gushing about Sir John, he had one of the worst defeats of any sitting PM and brought in a decade of Labour rule.

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Thatcher was right about the ERM - which is what in the end sunk Major's government.

[@peteroneill2991]

She was PM when we joined and also insisted against the view of germany on sterlings high rate against the DM.

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

@@peteroneill2991 She had people like Lawson, Howe, Major, Clarke in her cabinet all pushing for it. Plus - all of media, the opposition parties. The only people really calling it was her economics advisor Alan Waters. When Lawson resigned and she appointed Major - she was kind of backed into a corner and couldn't afford to lose another Chancellor. Even Peter Hitchens thinks that is one of the few things that Thatcher was right on - to see the dangers of the ERM.

[@peteroneill2991]

@@alphabetaxenonzzzcat She insisted on the pounds unrealistically high exchange rate all black Wednesday did was force sterlings long overdue devaluation you are right the rest of the cabinet also bears responsibility.

[@CockWomble1000]

Fight Fight Fight. Fight back against fascism 💚🤘

[@malcolmhayward4431]

If the interviewer is Alister Campbell I wouldn’t trust him at all

[@BossySwan]

*_MARGARET_*

[@michaelwalker4022]

Lady Thatcher was one of the Greatest Prime Minister's of the 20th century our Iron Lady unfortunately John Major wasn't! and Lady Thatcher's good name will be etched in history as a Great Prime Minister and a conviction politician and towering figure!

[@peteroneill2991]

I would say worst and has only been beaten since 2019.

[@dougoneill7266]

One of the last of the 'Wets' a decent man.

[@seansmith445]

Decent men don't lie and cheat behind their wives back.

[@dougoneill7266]

@@seansmith445 True enough, I forgot about that thing with Egwina.

[@deathmetalmusicals6759]

Bollocks, slapping section 28 down during the HIV crisis is the very definition of being rude to those who couldn't fight back.

[@johnfisher247]

Major was a total drip as Prime Minister. Old age may have increased his candour.

[@TringmotionCoUk]

The first question would be which sort? Let's look at theeads Whitworth - renowned for stripping , but very common US SAE? BSC? BA? Spanners , whitworth or BSF? And so on....

[@clivesmith9377]

We still suffer because of that wicked witch. Evil to the bone. As hateful as evil.

[@timmurphy5541]

If you see people like this you are making them non-human which is not fair. It doesn't matter really but it would be interesting to see you trying to solve the problems of a country and how you justified your difficult decisions.

[@marktaylor6491]

The most extreme case of 'useful idiot', that's what. She was that curtain-twitching, provincial housewife who really did believe the world operated like her father's grocers shop. Which meant when she spoke and acted, she did so with complete conviction. Which made her indispensable to those monied elites that we dead set on undoing Attlee's Post War reforms.

[@timmurphy5541]

"provincial housewife" - so you're a person who doesn't respect women because they work at home or people that don't live in the capital - because these comments are insults to you.

[@marktaylor6491]

@@timmurphy5541 No, I disrespect ignorance masquerading as wisdom. But I disrespect even more bad faith misreadings of what I originally said. And for the record, I too live in a small town in Lincolnshire. Not far from Grantham in fact.

[@xavierhucklenbruch1798]

Sir John Major, the best PM we ever had !!

[@kevinmiguel1597]

Certainly, the best Conservative Prime Minister in recent memory. Shame we didn't get to appreciate him when he was in office. And let's also not forget that had Thatcher fought on in 1992, they would likely have lost and even when Major took over, they were seen as being on the road to defeat and it was (and still is) a minor miracle that he managed to win in 1992. I do think that deep down, Sir John secretly relishes the fact that almost all the succeeding Tory prime ministers (Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak) are almost universally seen as being worse than he was. He wasn't as politically reckless as Cameron, was a much better campaigner than May (He did still win an outright majority in 1992 compared to May in 2017), he was not even remotely as dishonest as Johnson or as ideologically insane as Truss and, unlike Sunak, is more willing to stand up to the more rogue elements of his party (his narrow majority didn't stop him from punishing some of the Maastricht rebels and he did willingly submit himself to a leadership contest in 1995). But alas, whatever good he accomplished as PM was drowned out by a combination of Tory infighting over Europe, sleaze and the rise of Tony Blair and New Labour. And I also think that being vindicated with regard to Brexit and the consequences, especially with regard to Northern Ireland, has also helped partially rehabilitate him somewhat. I think the public now largely realize that had they listened to him (and to a lesser extent, Blair) during the referendum then the UK wouldn't have ended up in this mess. I genuinely believe that had Major remained in parliament all the way through to the Brexit wars then he will almost certainly have been among the moderate, pro-EU Tory MPs booted out by Johnson, maybe even emerging as a central figure around which, the One-Nation wing of the party would've rallied around. I have never voted Tory in my life. But I would've been okay with Sir John running the country. Shame I can't say the same for the Tory PMs that have come since.

[@pipoo1]

Paddy Ashdown said it best. A great man leading a truly awful party. Sadly even by his time the Conservatives had been torn apart by Eurosceptic nutters. Many of them like Neil Hamilton ending up in UKIP.

[@user-il6ve2vc4i]

Most importantly Thatcher wouldn't have been so stupid to throw away her comfortable position as PM of the second largest economy in the EU after 40 years of cherry picking and haggling in Brussels...for virtually nothing.

[@keithchappell7323]

Great, except for the stupid, annoying music!!

[@laurie9142]

From Australia, we all Remember Margaret Thatcher as a GREAT leader, who in the hell are you

[@peteroneill2991]

Yes a safe distance away.

[@michaeljohnson5365]

87 biggest majority ever

[@clivebennett7985]

This woman was evil. They only gave her a state funeral so we could all be sure she was really dead

[@anthonyedwards7796]

Hate this, am listening to a tory MP and am starting to like him, God help me😂

[@martynhaggerty2294]

So that makes it ok to be brutal?

[@pendorran]

Grow a pair

[@pwp8737]

Singularly, Thatcher is the worst PM, even with BoJo. Never agreed with anything that woman ever uttered apart from her views on the common currency.

[@calumcookson740]

Nice peas

[@spankflaps1365]

3:46 That pic of Johnson looks so fash 🤮

[@Jason-gd4qr]

We need her back to sort out the mess. Stories of politicians whinging she was making sure people where doing what they where paid to do and was willing to fight for what she thought was right. Politicians today are weak and dont care

[@neilevans4352]

listening to this all they are all talking about is their careers lol

[@markw1413]

John had an affair with Edwina. I wouldn't trust him. Poor Norma..

[@NewscorpPhoneHackingDepartment]

we do not care rip bozo

[@darkstar223]

That was an odd cut to a laugh and a lot of inbred gums