3 h. ago The scrawls that made Margaret Thatcher: A century on from her birth, nomination papers that won Britain's first female PM leadership of the Conservative Party in 1975 are found in a garage

One of the papers, which is dated January 27, 1975, is written and signed by Mrs Thatcher's key supporter Keith Joseph. Mrs Thatcher had been considered a rank outsider when the contest began.

Politics

4 h. ago Farage denounces ‘cretins’ in charge of the economy as he pledges ‘big bang two’

The Reform UK leader has pledged to boost trade in digital assets if his party forms a government.

Politics

7 h. ago Margaret Thatcher’s 1975 Tory leadership nomination paper found in forgotten box

They were among a cache of papers belonging to Sir Edward du Cann, who was chairman of the influential Conservative backbench 1922 Committee.

Politics

11 h. ago How Margaret Thatcher 'held the late Queen in awe' but the Palace 'slightly looked down on her', royal author claims

Today would have been Margaret Thatcher's 100th birthday. The Iron Lady was the most marmite of British politicians conjuring up feelings of admiration amongst some and deep disdain among others.

Politics

28 h. ago Tories and Reform battle to be heirs to Thatcher’s legacy on her centenary

Gala dinner to remember Conservatives’ most successful leader puts spotlight on who will carry forward her ideasIt is a glittering annual dinner in honour of the Conservative party’s most successful leader and, on the 100th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s birth, one that is bigger than ever.Yet as Tory grandees, celebrity backers and wealthy donors prepare to sit down at a gala dinner at London’s Guildhall on Monday evening, a battle for her legacy is under way between the party she once led and the insurgent threat to its survival, Reform UK. Continue reading...

Events

57 h. ago The day that Margaret Thatcher nearly died: How first female PM was almost killed in fog

It was December 22, 1984 and Mrs Thatcher's RAF VC-10 had spent nearly 20 hours in the air, returning from high-stakes talks in China over the future of Hong Kong .

Events

59 h. ago BRIAN READE: 'For their arrogance and shameless lying, Tories deserve to be in history's dustbin'

The Conservative Party Conference was almost pornographic with its passion for Margaret Thatcher, says Brian Reade, but clinging to the memory of a dead leader while in total denial of its disastrous recent past, speaks volumes

Politics

4 d. ago Thatcher was born 100 years ago and her reign feels a lifetime away. Why is her effect on the country still so huge? | Martin Kettle

The battles she fought as prime minister in the 1980s belong to the past. Today’s politicians need to learn that she is not the answer to contemporary problemsYou have to be approaching your mid-50s or older to have been of voting age during Margaret Thatcher’s period as prime minister. Only a third of those of us alive today were adults when she finally left Downing Street in November 1990. The proportion who remember the 11 years that Thatcher spent in Downing Street is even smaller.For at least the other two-thirds of Britons, Thatcher’s is a name from the past, and little more. The fact she would have been 100 next Monday only emphasises the large gulf that now separates her era from this one. Yet the centenary could be a helpful moment all the same. It could provide a contemporary chance to reflect on what she really means – and does not mean – for modern Britain. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago 'Cringe' Kemi Badenoch does 'karaoke' in pub of young Tories as she fights 'ghost town' claims

EXCLUSIVE: Deluded Kemi Badenoch is comparing herself to Tory battleaxe Margaret Thatcher as she fights claims the Conservative party conference has been a “ghost town”.

Sport

6 d. ago 'Conservative conference shop had all sorts but MAJOR thing was missing'

While images of former Tory PMs Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill were littered around the shop, current Tory leader Kemi Badenoch was nowhere to be seen

Economics

7 d. ago Donald Trump branded 'completely mad' by top Margaret Thatcher ally

Former Conservative deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer, 85, said Donald Trump is 'incredibly rude', acted like a child, and that no country deserved a leader like him

Politics

8 d. ago Tory MP humiliated after ranting about Margaret Thatcher before sudden realisation

A Tory MP was humiliated after ranting about what Margaret Thatcher would do tackle today’s issues - before remembering that her party was in power for 14 years

Politics

8 d. ago Nuclear bunker hidden underneath car park in Welsh town and nobody realises

During the Cold War, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher implored local councils to build nuclear bunkers at a cost of £400,000 in case World War Three started. Naturally, Carmarthen District Council thought it was a good idea

Events

9 d. ago Why does Reform seem unassailable? Because this is party conference season, when politicos always lose the plot | Simon Jenkins

They wrote off Margaret Thatcher in 1981 when the SDP – like Reform today – was ascendant. They were wrong about her; they could also be about StarmerParty conference time is when British politics goes berserk. Leaders soar and crash in a morass of cliches. Polls go mad and cataclysm always delivers the best copy.Thus, back in 1981, Margaret Thatcher was at her Blackpool conference, two years into office. Brixton was rioting, inflation was 11% and the Tories were polling at 23%. The Labour opposition was faring as badly, also at 23%. Meanwhile, a third force, the Social Democratic party (SDP), in alliance with the Liberals, was running at more than 50% and dominating the news. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Japan poised to get first female PM after Sanae Takaichi wins ruling party leadership

Margaret Thatcher admirer beat her more moderate rival to become leader of Liberal Democratic partyJapan is poised to get its first female prime minister after Sanae Takaichi was elected as leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party (LDP) – a victory that should lead to her being installed as the country’s new leader in the middle of the month.Takaichi, a rightwing politician who has voiced admiration for Margaret Thatcher in her quest to build a “strong and prosperous” Japan on the international stage, beat her moderate rival, Shinjiro Koizumi, in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago I’m a sleep expert – follow my eight simple tips throughout the day to guarantee good shut

FORMER PM MARGARET THATCHER famously got by on just four hours’ kip, while wartime leader Winston Churchill hit the hay for just a few hours a night. A study suggests the average person gets just six hours and 50 minutes sleep – and others are getting less than three hours. But a good night’s shut-eye...

Politics

4 w. ago Margaret Thatcher's daughter Carol rejects return to I'm A Celebrity's All Stars

Carol, 72, won I’m a Celebrity in 2005 but lost her TV career in 2009 after making a racist remark on The One Show.

Politics